North Korea has upgraded old anti-tank missile with laser guided system called Bulsae-3

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Defence & Security News - North Korea
 
 
North Korea has upgraded old anti-tank missile with laser guided system called Bulsae-3
North Korean defense industry has upgraded an old anti-tank missile design with an advanced laser guided system (ATGM), its media reported. The missile, called Bulsae-3, was tested on a range during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who said it passed and was ready for series production.
     
North Korea has upgraded old anti-tank missile with laser guided system called Bulsae-3 640 001North Korean soldier tests the new laser guided anti-tank missile Bulsae-3
     
North Korean weapon engineers have upgraded an old anti-tank missile design with an advanced laser guidance system, its media reported.

The missile, called Bulsae-3, was tested on a range during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who said it passed and was ready for series production.

Bulsae-2 is North Korea’s reverse-engineered version of the old Soviet anti-tank missile called 9K111 Fagot, which entered service in the 1970s. Fagot uses a so-called wired semi-automatic command to line of sight system. The guidance box mounted on the launcher track the missile in flight via an infrared sensor and correct its trajectory by sending signals through a wire reeled out behind it.

A laser-guided system used in anti-tank missiles has a different approach. The launcher is equipped with a laser designator, which aims a laser beam at the target. The missile has a rear-facing sensor that picks up the beam and makes the missile ride along it. The technology was widely adopted in the 1980s, when laser technology became cheap and portable enough.

Laser-guided anti-tank missiles have greater range compared to wire-guided ones. Fagot’s range is 2.5km, compared to 5.5km for the 9M133 Kornet, a modern laser-guided anti-tank missile developed by Russia. They are also not vulnerable to radio jamming, unlike missiles that use radio instead of wires, like the extended-range version of the BGM-71 TOW, the TOW-2B Aero RF.