AT-3 (Sagger) / 9M14 (Malyutka)

History

As missile technology allowed the introduction of viable battlefield weapons in the 1950s and 1960s, military powers quickly began to use them for frontline service. One of the biggest threats to a ground attack remains the main battle tank - soon manifested in the main battle tank - a heavily armed and well-armed enemy that can turn the tide of any battle (lack of air support). This resulted in the Army's services investing heavily and eventually employing various missile-directed countermeasures to defeat armor at long distances.

Over time, wire-guided anti-tank missiles (ATGMs) became the pinnacle of armor-piercing infantry firepower.

The wire-guided nature of these missile-guided weapons relies on signals processed by the operator's launch vehicle component, connected directly to the missile guidance unit via a physical cable. While this limits the usable effective range to the length of the wire supply, it provides a basic approach to precision-guided munitions.

This operation frees the operator as it requires line-of-sight (LoS) from the transmitter to the associated target.

Of course, this approach is better than projectile-based weapons used in previous conflicts, which required a narrower attack range and lower penetration values, while also requiring LoS to target. At this point in military history, missiles are the future of warfare, and armed forces are pushing to surpass each other and gain any necessary advantage.

When the Soviet authorities were looking for a new anti-tank weapon, the focus was on missile methods, the Engineering Design Bureau began work on this weapon. The Army needed a fully portable system that could also be mounted on a vehicle/helicopter and weighed no more than 25 lbs. The production and operation of products requires ease of mass production and mass distribution.

The range should be up to 10,000 feet, with the missile warhead capable of destroying up to 200mm of armor.

Working time span from 1961 to 1962, after a long period of testing, the 9M14 "Malyutka" ("Little Guy") was adopted by the Soviet Army (NATO recognized this new weapon as the AT-3 "Sagger"). This simple tank killer has had lasting success, with tens of thousands of missiles produced and a large number of operators relying on this type.

It can be seen in many Cold War conflicts.

By design, the rocket consists of a tubular body that contains all applicable systems, including the rocket motor, fuel supply, guidance kit and warhead. The nose of the weapon is conical with a small cylindrical protrusion. The missile is stabilized along its trajectory by four large fins at the rear of the fuselage. The rocket engine exhaust is located at the rear of the fuselage.

The operator's separate control box is used for guidance and includes a set of optics and a joystick-like control stick for precise maneuvering of the missile as it steers toward the target.

The original model in 1963 was the 9M14 (AT-3A "Sagger-A"), followed by an improved 9M14M (AT-3B Sagger-B) in 1973, which introduced a new propulsion system that increased range Attack 3 km. Then there is the 9M14P (AT-3C Sagger-C), which includes sub-variants with better warheads and higher penetration values.

Launched in the 1990s, the AT-3D Sagger-D received improved flight performance. Several sub-variants mark this entry, including further penetration improvements as well as an anti-infantry warhead model (9M14-2F).

Several Soviet allies at the time began local production/development of the AT-3 Sagger series. In China, the missile became the HJ-73 "Red Arrow", which entered service in 1979 with the following variants. In Iran, the series is called "RAAD" and North Korea has adopted a local version called "Susong-Po". Romania was followed by the "Maliutka M2T", and Slovenia deployed the "POLK" based on the AT-3C production model.

For the island nation of Taiwan, the local Sagger development is "Kunwu No. 1".

The Sagger family runs a number of operators, eventually from Afghanistan and Algeria to Vietnam and Zimbabwe. While some have transitioned to more modern anti-tank/anti-tank means, the AT-3 missile family still has a strong presence in today's world (2017), which has always been their impression of modern warfare.

Notable conflicts in which the AT-3 series served include the Vietnam War (1955-175), Yom Kippur War (1973), Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Gulf War (1991), Chechnya War (1994-1996; 1999) -2000), and more recently civil wars in Libya (since 2011), Syria (since 2011) and Iraq (since 2014). Its availability and relative effectiveness against new armor, as well as sheer availability, means the AT-3 Sagger should be in service for decades to come.

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