Kornet
Kornet
Basic data
Function	anti-tank missile
Manufacturer	KPB Instrument Design Bureau
Entered service	1994
General characteristics
Engine	solid-fuel rocket
Launch mass	27 kg
Length	120 cm
Diameter	15.2 cm
Speed
Range	0.1 - 10 km
Warhead	shaped-charge HEAT tandem warhead, with armour penetration of about 1200 mm of RHA behind ERA. Thermobaric anti-personnel/anti-material warhead is also available.
Guidance	SACLOS laser beam riding

The 9M133 Kornet (Russian for "Cornet") is a Russian anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). "9M133" is the GRAU designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name is AT-14. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (600x800, 92 KB) fr: Missile russe Kornet anti-char Image by B. Harry From http://www. ... A B61 nuclear bomb in various stages of assembly; the nuclear warhead is the bullet-shaped silver cannister in the middle-left of the photograph. ... A HEAT round. ... A tandem-charge is a weapon that has two stages of detonation. ... RHA stands for Rolled Homogeneous Armour. ... SACLOS (short for Semi-Automatic Command to Line-Of-Sight) is a second-generation method of missile guidance. ... B♭ cornet The cornet is a brass instrument that closely resembles the trumpet. ... An Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) or weapon (ATGW) is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. ... Main Agency of Missiles and Artillery of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (Главное ракетно-артиллерийское управление МО РФ, ГРАУ) is a department of Soviet/Russian Ministry of Defense which is subordinated to the Chief of Armament and Munition of the Armed Forces, vice-minister of defense (начальник вооружения ВС РФ - заместитель Министра обороны РФ). In particular, the GRAU is responsible for assignment... NATO reporting names were code names for Soviet and Chinese military equipment. ...

Overview

The KBP Instrument Design Bureau unveiled the Kornet in October 1994, and it is believed the missile entered service in the Russian army the same year. It is a heavy ATGM intended to replace the earlier 9K111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot) and 9K113 Konkurs (NATO: AT-5 Spandrel) wire-guided ATGMs in both vehicle and tripod mounts. The missile is capable of engaging helicopters. A variant with a thermobaric warhead is produced for use against soft-skinned vehicles, exposed personnel and fortifications. KBP Instrument Design Bureau is a developer and manufacturer of high-precision weapons. ... AT-4 Spigot team. ... The AT-5 Spandrel is the NATO reporting name for the 9M113 Konkurs (Contest) SACLOS wire-guided Anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. ... Thermobaric weapons distinguish themselves from conventional weapons by using atmospheric oxygen, instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosives. ...

Combat history

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Kornets were initially rumoured to have been used by Iraqi forces to destroy American M1 Abrams tanks, but later studies revealed that the tanks had been hit by either friendly fire or Iraqi rocket propelled grenades. No evidence of the use or presence of Kornet missiles in Iraq has been found.^{[citation needed]} GlobalSecurity.org claims that at least two M1 Abrams tanks and one M2 Bradley armoured personnel carrier were disabled by Kornets.^[1] The US Army however has stated that no Kornet ATGMs were found in Iraq.^{[citation needed]} Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom South Korea Australia Poland Romania others. ... The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ... An RPG-7 captured by the US Army A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is a loose term describing hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead. ... GlobalSecurity. ... The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC). ... Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport infantry on the battlefield. ...

The first verified episode of Kornet ATGM combat use occurred during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, where the missiles, reportedly supplied by Syria, were successfully used by Hezbollah fighters to destroy Israeli Merkava Mk4 tanks. Combatants Hezbollah Amal LCP  Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General of Hezbollah) Imad Mughniyeh (Commander of Hezbollahs armed wing) [5] Dan Halutz (CoS) Moshe Kaplinsky[13] Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[6] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC) [14... For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ... For the religious/mystical connotations of the word, see Merkabah. ...

This episode occurred in the final stage of the conflict around Wadi al-Saluki and the village of Ghandouriyeh on August 11, 2006. With the UN-brokered ceasefire about to take effect, IDF made a poorly organized attempt to take control of Lebanese territory up to Litani river. Hezbollah was aware of Israeli preparations to cross Wadi al-Saluki for days, and had ample time to prepare, including the deployment of Kornet ATGMs. When the Israelis attacked, Hezbollah ATGM teams managed to hit at least 11 out of 24 participating tanks, inflicting significant casualties to tank crews.^[2] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: ‎  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Sea Corps. ... The Litani River in red The Litani River (Arabic: نهر الليطاني; transliterated: Nahr al-Lytany) is an important waterway in southern Lebanon. ... For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...

One of the first detailed accounts of IDF's successful capture of Kornet ATGMs on Hezbollah positions in the village of Ghandouriyeh appeared in the Daily Telegraph article, which also reported that the boxes were marked with "Customer: Ministry of Defense of Syria. Supplier: KBP, Tula, Russia."^[3] Several months after the cease-fire, this report has been corroborated in the paper by Israeli Center for Special Studies dealing with the use of human shields by Hezbollah; this report has finally provided sufficient photographic evidence that Kornet ATGMs were indeed both in possession of, and used by, Hezbollah in this area.^[4][5] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: ‎  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Sea Corps. ... This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ...

Reports of the Kornet use earlier in the war ^[6][7] could not be verified and are possibly cases of misidentification.

Israel claim that Russian weapons were smuggled to Hezbollah by Syria, and Israel has sent a team of officials to Moscow to show Russia the evidence of what they say can only be Syrian weapons transfers.^[8] Despite initial public denials by the Russian officials that any proof of actual use of Kornet by Hezbollah has been presented^[9][10], the Russian government in fact has moved to tighten control over the use of Russian-made weapons by the importing states, suggesting that the visit of the Israeli delegation did bear fruit.^[11]

Users

Known users include Russia, Iran, Greece, South Korea, Morocco, Syria and Hezbollah. For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...

See also

• AT-15 Khrizantema
• List of NATO reporting names for anti-tank missiles

AT-15 is the NATO reporting name for the Russian 9M127 Khrizantema (Russian: Chrysanthemum) radar-guided or laserbeam-riding anti-tank missile system. ... NATO reporting name for AT series anti-tank guided missiles, with Soviet designations: AT-1 Snapper (3M6 Shmel) AT-2 Swatter (3M11 Fleyta) AT-3 Sagger (9M14 Malyutka) AT-4 Spigot (9M111 Fagot) AT-5 Spandrel (9M113 Konkurs) AT-6 Spiral (9M114 Kokon) AT-7 Saxhorn (9M115 Metis) AT-8...

References

GlobalSecurity. ... The May 16, 1948 Palestine Post headline announcing the creation of the state of Israel The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English language broadsheet newspaper, originally founded on December 1, 1932, by American journalist-turned-newspaper-editor Gershon Agron as the The Palestine Post. ... This article concerns the British newspaper. ... Ynetnews is an English language Israel news and content website operated by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most-read newspaper, and the Hebrew Israel news portal, Ynet. ... Ynetnews is an English language Israel news and content website operated by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most-read newspaper, and the Hebrew Israel news portal, Ynet. ... BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ... RIA (Russian Information Agency) Novosti is a Russian press agency based in Moscow. ... BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ...

External links

• KORNET-E Antitank Missile System on KBP site
• Kornet-E ATGW at Defense Update