The 9M113 Konkurs (NATO reporting name AT-5 Spandrel) is a Soviet SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile. A development of the 9K111 Fagot with greater firepower, the 9M113 Konkurs can use the same launchers and is very similar visually, distinguishable only by a slight bulge towards the end of the Konkurs' missile tube.

Development

The 9M113 Konkurs was developed by the Tula Machinery Design Bureau (Tula KBP). Development began with the aim of producing the next generation of SACLOS anti-tank missiles, for use in both the man-portable role and the tank destroyer role. The 9M113 Konkurs was developed alongside the 9M111; the missiles use similar technology, differing only in size. The original 9M113 with a single-charge warhead can penetrate 600 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). The missile entered service in 1974. Iran bought a license for the Konkurs in 1991 and began producing a copy, the Tosan (not to be confused with the Toophan), sometime around 2000. In 1992, the export price of a 9M113 missile was $13,000 United States dollars and the price of a 9P135M launcher was $135,000.

Design

The missile is designed to be fired from tracked/wheeled vehicles, although it can also be fired from the later models of 9M111 launchers. It is an integral part of the BMP-2, BMD-2 and BRDM-2 vehicles. The missile is stored and carried in a fiberglass container/launch tube. 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 meters per second, and is quickly accelerated to 200 meters per second by its solid fuel motor. This initial high speed reduces the missile's deadzone, since it can be launched directly at the target, rather than in an upward arc. In flight, the missile spins at between five and seven revolutions per second. 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 system has an alarm that activates when it detects jamming from a system like Shtora. The operator can then take manual control, reducing the missile to MCLOS. The SACLOS guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS. The system's accuracy is quoted in some sources as 90%, though its performance is probably comparable to the BGM-71 TOW or later SACLOS versions of the 9K11 Malyutka.

Models

Operators

Current operators

Former operators

Non-State operators

Sources