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36-488: The ZT-6 Mokopa is a South African air-to-ground anti-tank guided missile . As of 2005, it is in its final stages of development, and is being integrated onto the South African Air Force 's Rooivalk attack helicopters . The missile is produced by Denel Dynamics , formerly Kentron. The current version uses semi-active laser (SAL) guidance, requiring the target to be illuminated by a laser designator either on

72-406: A joystick or similar control system to steer the missile to a target. One disadvantage of this is that an operator must keep the sight's reticle cross hairs on a target and then steer the missile into the cross hairs, i.e., the line-of-sight. To do this, an operator must be well trained (spending many hours on a simulator) and must remain stationary and in view of a target during the flight time of

108-466: A laser, electro-optical imager ( IIR ) seeker or a W band radar seeker in the nose of the missile. Once the target is identified, the missile needs no further guidance during flight; it is " fire-and-forget ", and the missile operator is free to retreat. However, fire-and-forget missiles are more subject to electronic countermeasures than MCLOS and SACLOS missiles. Examples include the German PARS 3 LR and

144-425: A limited ability to penetrate modern armour, and other issues. Still, many countries maintain significant stockpiles. Approximately, first generation ATGMs have an effective range of 1500m and the ability to penetrate 500mm of rolled homogeneous armor . Second-generation semi-automatically command guided to line-of-sight, or semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) missiles require an operator to only keep

180-445: A part of a re-design is possible, as in the numerous types derived from the T-72 . Slat armor is lighter and as such can be added to many vehicles after construction but still adds both bulk and weight. Particularly for vehicles that are designed to be transported by cargo aircraft, slat armor has to be fitted in the field after deployment. Either approach can never offer complete coverage over

216-458: A vehicle from any angle of attack. While these may be answered and allow for lightweight, highly maneuverable vehicles that are strongly defended against missiles and rockets that are extremely well suited for urban and guerrilla warfare, such a system is unlikely to be as effective against kinetic energy projectiles, making it a poor choice for fighting against tanks. As kinetic energy projectiles move faster than guided missiles, this often means that

252-559: A wire-guided anti tank missile derived from the Ruhrstahl X-4 air to air missile concept in the closing years of World War II. Known as the X-7, it was probably never used in combat and allegedly had serious guidance to target issues. It never entered service, though a few were produced. First-generation ATGMs use a type of command guidance termed manual command to line of sight (MCLOS). This requires continuous input from an operator using

288-403: Is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it ( command guidance ). This guidance system is most commonly used in anti-tank missiles, where its ability to be used in areas of limited line-of-sight make it useful, while

324-518: Is also available for customers who wish to use the Mokopa as a ship-board defence weapon, or as the armament of specialised ship-board helicopters. The missile is considered to be very accurate, with an accuracy believed to match that of the company's other anti-tank missile, the Ingwe , at around 300 mm CEP at maximum range. It also has a long range for an anti-tank missile; at 10 km (6.2 mi) it

360-530: Is greater than the published range of most current competitors, including the Hellfire . The range is achieved due to an advanced solid-fuel composite rocket motor (developed by Somchem), which has a relatively slow burning rate compared to similar motors, as well as being essentially smokeless. Anti-tank guided missile Earlier man-portable anti-tank weapons , like anti-tank rifles and magnetic anti-tank mines , generally had very short range, sometimes on

396-600: Is usually much weaker. Third generation systems and beyond are generally much more expensive than second generation systems. Fourth generation fire-and-forget anti tank guided missiles have larger range and rely on a combination of seeker for guidance. Examples include India's SANT , which has a stand-off range of 15 to 20 km (9 to 12 mi), uses dual seeker configuration of electro-optical thermal imager (EO/ IR ) and millimeter-wave active radar homing for control and guidance with lock-on before launch and lock-on after launch capabilities. Some ATGMs, notably

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432-626: The French Army in 1955. It was also the first anti-tank missile used by the US Army and Israeli Defense Forces . The Malkara missile (named from an Australian Aborigine word for " shield ") was another of the earliest ATGMs. It was jointly developed by Australia and the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1954, and was in service from 1958 until gradually replaced by the Vickers Vigilant missile in

468-771: The Fritz X and Henschel Hs 293 , both used the Kehl-Strassburg radio guidance system for control. However, because the British proved to be able to develop countermeasures to interfere with the Germans' use of the Kehl-Strassburg ordnance guidance system, rushed projects were started in 1944 in order to develop alternatives. The first system to be modified in this fashion was the Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship missile . Other examples included

504-700: The Israel Defense Forces to defeat the Saggers involved firing in front of the tank to create dust. While fire-and-forget missiles have definitive advantages in terms of guidance and operator safety, and include abilities such as top attack mode, older missiles continue in use, both in the front line armies of less developed countries, and in reserve service the world over, due to their lower cost or existing stockpiles of less advanced weapons. [REDACTED] Media related to Anti-tank missiles at Wikimedia Commons Wire-guided missile A wire-guided missile

540-510: The X-4 missile . The X-7 influenced other military thinkers after the war. By the early 1950s a number of experimental systems had been developed (for example, Malkara missile ), leading to their widespread deployment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Large numbers of Israeli tanks were destroyed using wire-guided AT-3 Sagger missiles during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Wire guidance has remained

576-508: The American BGM-71 TOW , with hundreds of thousands of missiles built, is a second-generation system. Second generation ATGMs are significantly easier to use than first generation systems, and accuracy rates may exceed 90%. Generally they have an effective range of between 2,500 and 5,500 meters and penetration of up to 900 mm of armor. Cost is around $ 10,000 USD per missile. Third-generation " fire-and-forget " missiles rely on

612-683: The French Akeron MP and the latest variants of the Israeli Spike (such as the Spike LR2 and ER2), have been called "5th generation" by their manufacturers and marketed as such. They appear to have the following additional or amplified attributes: Countermeasures against ATGMs include newer armors such as spaced , perforated , composite or explosive reactive armor, jammers like the Russian Shtora , active protection systems (APS) like

648-745: The Israeli Spike . Most modern ATGMs have shaped charge HEAT warheads, designed specifically for penetrating tank armor. Tandem-charge missiles attempt to defeat explosive reactive armour (ERA): the small initial charge sets off the ERA while the follow-up main charge attempts to penetrate the main armor. Top-attack weapons such as the US Javelin , the Swedish Bill and the Indian Nag and MPATGM are designed to strike vehicles from above, where their armor

684-533: The Israeli Trophy and the Russian Arena , and other methods. Armor systems have continued in development alongside ATGMs, and the most recent generations of armor are specifically tested to be effective against ATGM strikes, either by deforming the missile warhead or fusing to prevent proper detonation (such as in slat armor ) or using some form of reactive armor to 'attack' the missile upon impact, disrupting

720-405: The battlefield against post-war tank designs. The introduction of semi-automatic guidance in the 1960s further improved the performance of ATGMs. As of 2016, ATGMs were used by over 130 countries and many non-state actors around the world. Post-Cold-War main battle tanks (MBTs) using composite and reactive armors have proven to be resistant to smaller ATGMs. Germany developed a design for

756-536: The exposure time of the launch platform to enemy fire. Full scale development of the Mokopa began in November 1996, due to a long-term United States arms embargo against South Africa blocking acquisition of the US AGM-114 Hellfire . The first air-launched tests from a Rooivalk helicopter took place in 1999, with the first guided tests following in 2000. As of 2005 the missile's development is virtually complete, and

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792-549: The first batches are currently being delivered to the SA Air Force's Rooivalk squadron. However, due to budgetary constraints the South African Air Force has decided to stop the integration of the weapon onto the Rooivalk until an unspecified date. Though mainly designed to be launched from a helicopter, the Mokopa has been tested on a variety of platforms, including mounting it on light armoured vehicles, ships, and small boats. For

828-407: The internal space for the control system and could, in the future, be a near-perfect defense against any missiles. The weaknesses of the systems include potential developments in missile design such as radar or IR decoys, which would drastically reduce their chance to intercept a missile, as well as technical challenges such as dealing with multiple missiles at once and designing a system that can cover

864-525: The late 1960s. It was intended to be light enough to deploy with airborne forces , yet powerful enough to knock out any tank then in service. It used a 26 kilograms (57 lb) high-explosive squash head (HESH) warhead. Other early first generation ATGMs include the West German Cobra and the Soviet 9M14 Malyutka . In 2012, first-generation systems were described as obsolete due to low hit probability,

900-438: The latter purpose, the Mokopa is available with an anti-ship warhead. The Mokopa uses a powerful tandem shaped charge , high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead , able to penetrate over 1,000 mm (3.3 ft) (tests show over 1,000 mm) of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA), and also effective against explosive reactive armour (ERA). Thus, the Mokopa can counter any current vehicle armour threats. An anti-ship warhead

936-476: The launch platform before launch. LOAL in contrast allows the launch platform to launch the missile with or without being in sight of the target. For the SAL version, this allows either the launch platform to move into place and illuminate the target only immediately before a missile strikes a target, or allows an observer on the ground equipped with a laser designator to guide a missile. This method of launch greatly reduces

972-410: The launch platform or elsewhere; though there are alternative guidance packages available including a millimetre-wave radar (MMW) seeker and a two-colour imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. All variants of the Mokopa feature two launch modes, lock-on before launch (LOBL) and lock-on after launch (LOAL). LOBL is the older, more conventional mode of missile launching, where a target must be illuminated by

1008-586: The main system for most smaller weapons although newer systems such as laser beam riding have come into use in anti-aircraft and some anti-tank use roles (such as the US Hellfire missile and the Russian 9M133 Kornet ). Some torpedoes can be wire-guided, such as the U.S. Mk 48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) torpedo, Russian UGST torpedo, or the Swedish Torped 613 , which is guided by an insulated wire. This

1044-463: The missile. Because of this, the operator is vulnerable while guiding the missile. In addition to the low kill probability, other problems with first generation ATGMs include slow missile speed, high minimum effective range, and an inability to use top attack missiles. The first system to become operational and to see combat was the French Nord SS.10 during the early 1950s. It entered service in

1080-410: The much larger return from the jammer, with the operator unlikely noticing the difference without a radar screen to see the return. However, any missile that has a backup tracking system can defeat jamming. Active protection systems show a great deal of promise, both in counteracting ATGMs and unguided weapons. Compared to armor systems, they are very lightweight, can be fitted to almost any vehicle with

1116-548: The order of metres or tens of metres. Rocket-propelled high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) systems appeared in World War II and extended range to the order of hundreds of metres, but accuracy was low and hitting targets at these ranges was largely a matter of luck. It was the combination of rocket propulsion and remote wire guidance that made the ATGM much more effective than these earlier weapons, and gave light infantry real capability on

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1152-517: The range limit imposed by the length of the wire is not a serious concern. The longest range wire-guided missiles in current use are limited to about 8 km (5.0 mi). Electrical wire guidance dates back to the early 20th century with an early example being the Lay Torpedo . A prototype ground-based electrical wire-guided torpedo was built by the Germans during World War II . The pair of deployed German guided air-delivered ordnance designs,

1188-479: The sensors attached to an active protection system can not keep up. Traditionally, before "fire-and-forget" ATGMs were used, the most effective countermeasure was to open fire at the location where the missile was fired from, to either kill the operator or force them to take cover, thus sending the missile off course. Smoke screens can also be deployed from an MBT's smoke discharger , and used to obscure an ATGM operator's line of sight. Other improvised methods used by

1224-416: The shaped charge that makes the warhead effective. Both come with the downside of significant weight and bulk. Reactive armor works best when a vehicle is specifically designed with the system integrated and while developments continue to make armor lighter, any vehicle that includes such a system necessitates a powerful engine and often will still be relatively slow. Inclusion of such armor in older vehicles as

1260-546: The sights on the target until impact. Automatic guidance commands are sent to the missile through wires or radio , or the missile relies on laser marking or a TV camera view from the nose of the missile. Examples are the Russian 9M133 Kornet , Israeli LAHAT , the NLOS version of Spike , and the American Hellfire I missiles. The operator must remain stationary during the missile's flight. The most widely used ATGM of all time,

1296-423: The vehicle, leaving tracks or wheels particularly vulnerable to attack. Jamming is potentially an effective countermeasure to specific missiles that are radar guided, however, as a general purpose defense, it is of no use against unguided anti-tank weapons, and as such it is almost never the only defense. If jamming is used continually, it can be extremely difficult for a missile to acquire the target, locking on to

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