The Pirat is an ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) jointly developed by the defense industry of Ukraine and Poland.
Pirat ATGM displayed at MSPO 2022. On the screen in the background, a video shows live firing tests of Pirat missiles from a Perun UGV (Picture source: Army Recognition)
Two versions of the laser-guided missile have already been developed. Pirat-1 is an infantry version designed to reach a maximum firing range of 2,500 m and the missile can be fitted with three different types of 2.5-kg warhead: armor-piercing, thermobaric, and high explosive fragmentation. More precisely, the Pirat-1 project is based on the Ukrainian R-3 Korsar missile offered by the KKB Luch company, nonetheless, the collaboration with Ukraine is focused primarily on the aerodynamic component. Pirat-1 is a light, portable shoulder-launched ATGM. The tactical and technical assumptions mention the range of 2,500 meters, missile weight of 10.1 kilograms (2.5 kg for the warhead) and diameter of the missile body of 107 mm. In its final form, Pirat would be capable of penetrating up to 550 mm of steel armor covered by ERA. Whereas it is also assumed that fuel-air explosive and high-explosive warheads would also be available.
The second version is the Pirat 2 which is a light short-range ATGM weapons system with a manually-launched missile that is self-guided after launch following the target-reflected laser beam trajectory. Pirat-2 variant is a missile of higher velocity, featuring a HE warhead. Most of its tactical and technical parameters are expected to be analogous to the Pirat-1 version. It is assumed though that the time-to-target for the missile, at the longest distance, would be shortened from more than 12 seconds, down to 5.5 seconds. Emphasis is going to be placed on the missile with the HE warhead. The said missile could be used to neutralize machine gun stations, points of resistance, gathering points for the military units, logistics equipment, helicopters or small vessels. The technology demonstrator of the Pirat-2 missile has already gone through the initial field tests.
