AT-12 SWINGER

The 9K118 Sheksna (AT-12 SWINGER) is a laser-beam riding, antitank missile launched from the main gun of an improved T-62 main battle tank. The 9K118 system is essentially a 9K116 system modified to be fired through the 115-mm gun of the T-62 instead of the 100-mm of the T-55.

The US designated AT-12 (Russian Federation and Associated States (CIS) name Sheksna) was developed by the Tula Design Bureau for Instrument Building. It entered service sometime in the mid-1980s and is identical in configuration and performance to the AT-10, but is adapted to fit the 115 mm 2A20 (U-5TS) tank gun of the T-62M, T-62M-1, T-62MV, T-62MV-1, T-62D and T-62D-1 MBTs. All were fitted with the Volna computerised fire-control system and 1K13 guidance sight package.

The 9K116 Sheksna guided weapon system includes the 115 mm 3UBK10M-2 round with the 9M117M laser guided missile, IK13 tracker with built-in missile guidance laser channel and the 9S831 voltage converter. The missile has four wrap round fins at the rear and two control surfaces at the front.

The installation of this laser guided projectile enables targets to be engaged beyond the normal effective range of the 115m main armament of the tank. A typical load of Sheksna missiles would be six. In addition to being used to engage other tanks the system also has the capability to engage slow flying helicopters.

First production 9M117 laser guided missiles had a single HEAT warhead, but the latest versions have a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat targets fitted with explosive reactive armour. The latest production missile, the 9M117M, has a tandem HEAT warhead.

While the KBP Instrument Design Bureau is the design authority of the system the ammunition is manufactured by the Tulamashzavod Joint Stock Company.

It has a 0.8 hit probability at 4,000 m with a flight time of 13.5 seconds. Maximum armour penetration is approximately 650 mm with an effective engagement envelope of 100 to 5,000 m. Maximum flight endurance is between 26 and 41 seconds, after which the missile self-destructs.