Russia: new antitank missile created for T14 Armata main battle tank.

The Russian T-14 tank on Armata platform received a new guided missile. It has been included into the ammunition load of the prospective 125mm gun. No modern tank protection can survive the missile hit as it is capable of breaking through the armor which is twice as thick as that of the US Abrams tank, the Izvestia daily writes. The Uralvagonzavod Corporation said the modular construction allows installing any modern armament and engaging a completely new ammunition load.

T-14 Armata main battle tank displayed at Army-2018 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The new missile uses the technologies of Reflex-M 9K119M guided weapons based on modern fire control principles. The complex includes artillery ammunition comprising a guided missile and a thrower to push the missile out of the barrel. It has the size of an ordinary high-explosive fragmentation shell for 125mm gun. The missile is fired as an ordinary shell from the gun. It then switches on the engine and flies to the target. The aiming system integrated into Armata automatically tracks the target. It controls the missile flight, but the operator can interfere any time to adjust it. Previous models had no automatic aiming. The missile was controlled manually and aiming was adjusted by a joystick.

The new aiming system makes the missile high-precision and reliable. The missile flies along a laser beam which makes it nearly impossible to lose the course. It will not lose the target even if the adversary sets up smokescreens or resorts to other camouflage. The new weapon will thus increase combat capabilities of tank units. The missile can effectively destroy objects at a distance of over five kilometers. Modeling showed that at such a distance Armata leaves no chance in duel fire to existing foreign tanks. The missile can break through an armored plate nearly one meter thick. It easily fights reactive and dynamic armor. The armor penetration is increased by a special tandem warhead and a major weight of the munition. The missile destroys hardware moving at a speed of up to 70 km/h.

The weapon will be upgraded to shoot down helicopters and low-flying aircraft. "If Russian tanks are armed with 125mm guns, the efficiency of the antitank systems will considerably grow. The bigger the diameter of the cumulative crater the more is the missile effectiveness," expert Alexey Khlopotov said.

The Pentagon used to consider integrated antitank systems as unpromising. But in the past years well-financed programs were launched to create new-generation short and medium-range missiles. In particular, the weapons are designed for prospective Abrams tank modifications, the Izvestia said.