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9K111 Fagot
9M111 AT-4 Spigot
AT-4 Spigot anti-armor team
Type Anti-tank weapon
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1970 – present
Used by See Users
Production history
Designed 1962
Produced 1970
Variants See Models
Specifications
Mass 11.5 kg (25 lb)
Length 1,030 mm (3 ft 5 in)
Barrel length 875 mm (2 ft 10 in) without gas generator
Diameter 120 mm (4.7 in)

Muzzle velocity 80 m/s (180 mph; 290 km/h) at launch
186 m/s (420 mph; 670 km/h) in flight
Effective firing range 70–2,500 m (230–8,200 ft)

Guidance
system
SACLOS

The 9K111 Fagot (Russian: 9K111 «Фагот»; English meaning of the word: "bassoon") is a SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union. "9M111" is the GRAU designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name is AT-4 Spigot.

Development[]

The 9K111 Fagot was developed by the Tula Machinery Design Bureau (Tula KBP). Development began in 1962 with the aim of producing the next generation of SACLOS ATGMs, for use in both the man portable role and the tank destroyer role. The 9K111 Fagot was developed alongside the 9M113 Konkurs; both missiles use similar technology – only differing in size - and can use the same launchers.

The missile entered service in 1970.

History[]

The anti-tank platoon of a Soviet BTR equipped motor rifle battalion had two ATGM squads, each squad with two 9K111 Fagot teams. The team consisted of 3 men - the gunner carries the 9P135 launcher and tripod as a back pack - the other two men carry two launch tubes each. The men also carry assault rifles, but do not carry a RPG - because, unlike the earlier missiles, there is only a small deadzone inside which the missile cannot engage the target. In addition to the four missiles the team carries, they normally have a BTR with an extra 8 missiles.

It can also be deployed from the BMP-1P, BMD-1P, BTR-D and UAZ-469.

Description[]

POLK 9K111 Fagot

9K113 Konkurs missile system (launcher and missile) and a 9M111M Faktoriya missile in launch tube (standing)

The missile is stored and carried in a container/launch tube. It is fired from the 9P135 launcher post - a simple tripod. A 9S451 guidance box is fitted to the tripod - with the missile sitting just above. The 9Sh119 sight is fitted to the left side (from the gunners POV). The complete launcher system weighs 22.5 kg. The gunner lays prone while firing. The system can engage moving targets, provided that they are travelling at less than 60 km/h. The launcher post can traverse through 360 degrees horizontally, and +/- 20 degrees in elevation. The sight has a magnification of 10x and a 5 degree field of view. Up to 3 missiles a minute can be fired from a launcher post.

The system uses a gas generator to push the missile out of the launch tube - the gas also exits from the rear of the launch tube in a similar manner to a recoilless rifle. The missile leaves the launch tube at 80 m/s. It is quickly accelerated to 186 m/s by its solid fuel motor. This initial high speed reduces the deadzone of the missile, since it can be launched directly at the target, rather than in an upward arc.

The launcher tracks the position of an incandescent infrared bulb on the back of the missile relative to the target - and transmits appropriate commands to the missile via a thin wire that trails behind the missile. The SACLOS guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS, with the accuracy of the system stated as 90% in some sources, though its performance is probably comparable to the TOW or the later SACLOS versions of the 9K11 Malyutka.

Models[]

ATGM Fagot

Slovenian soldiers launching a Fagot

Missile[]

  • 9M111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot and AT-4A Spigot A) Entered service in 1970. Maximum range 2000 m, minimum 70 m. Warhead 400 mm versus RHA or 200 mm towards armour inclined at 60°[1]
  • 9M111-2 Fagot (NATO: AT-4B Spigot B) Slightly improved version.
  • 9M111M Faktoriya (Trading post) or Fagot-M (NATO: AT-4C Spigot C) Improved motor, longer guidance wire. Maximum range 2500 m, mimimum 75 m. Improved single HEAT warhead; penetration 400 mm versus RHA or 230 mm towards armour inclined at 60°[1][2][3] (some publications claimed 9M111M to have tandem HEAT warhead).

Launcher[]

  • 9P135 22.5 kg. Can only fire the 9M111 Fagot series.
  • 9P135M Can fire the 9M111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot) series as well as the 9M113 Konkurs (NATO: AT-5 Spandrel) series missiles.
  • 9P135M1 Updated version of the 9P135.
  • 9P135M2 Updated version of the 9P135.
  • 9P135M3 Deployed in the early 1990s. Adds 13 kg TPVP thermal imaging night sight - range 2500 m at night.
  • 9S451M2 A launcher with a night sight featuring an anti-dazzle system has been developed.

Users[]

  • Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan - 100
  • Flag of Algeria Algeria - 100
  • Flag of Angola Angola - 100
  • Flag of Armenia Armenia - [4]
  • Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina - 52
  • Flag of Belarus Belarus - 500
  • Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria - 222
  • Flag of Croatia Croatia - 119
  • Flag of Cuba Cuba - 100
  • Flag of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia - all transferred to both successors after Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
  • Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic - 50
  • Flag of East Germany East Germany - all retired after German Reunification
  • Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia - 50
  • Flag of Finland Finland - Several hundred 9P135M-1 launchers (withdrawn from service) and AT-4B as well as AT-5A missiles, known as PstOhj 82 and PstOhj 82M respectively.
  • Flag of Georgia Georgia [5]
  • Flag of Greece Greece - 262
  • Flag of Hungary Hungary - 50
  • Flag of India India - 100
  • Flag of Iran Iran -
  • Flag of Iraq Iraq - use by iraqi kurdistan this era
  • Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan -
  • Flag of Kuwait Kuwait - 100
  • Flag of Libya Libya - 100
  • Flag of Moldova Moldova - used on BMP-1
  • Flag of Mozambique Mozambique - 10
  • Flag of North Korea North Korea -
  • Flag of Poland Poland - 100
  • Flag of Romania Romania - acquired in the 1980s.
  • Flag of Russia Russia - 1,000
  • Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic - 40-50
  • Flag of Serbia Serbia - 250
  • Flag of Slovakia Slovakia - 50
  • Flag of Slovenia Slovenia - 10 (withdrawn from service)
  • Flag of Syria Syria - 100
  • Flag of Ukraine Ukraine - 800
  • Flag of Yemen Yemen - 100
  • Flag of Vietnam Vietnam

See also[]

References[]

  • Hull, A.W., Markov, D.R., Zaloga, S.J. (1999). Soviet/Russian Armor and Artillery Design Practices 1945 to Present. Darlington Productions. ISBN 1-892848-01-5.
  1. 1.0 1.1 Maksim Sayenko. "Bronya »krylyatoy pyekhoty«" (Armour of "Winged infnatry"). Tekhnika i Vooruzhenie no.02/2007, p. 39 (Russian)
  2. ПТРК 9К111 «ФАГОТ» (Russian)
  3. [1] ПТУРС «9М111М». Техническое описание и инструкция по эксплуатации. (9M111M military manual). Soviet Ministry of Defence. Moscow 1983 (Russian)
  4. Old missiles not so old after all - Russia Today, October 12, 2011.
  5. "Armament of the Georgian Army". Georgian Army. http://geo-army.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=9&lang=en. Retrieved 2007-06-25. 

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at 9K111 Fagot and the edit history here.
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