• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) Anti-Tank Guided Missile

The AT-8 (Songster) is a Russian ATGM. It was designed to be fired from the 125 mm smooth-bore gun. It uses radio for guidance from the gunner. The AT-8 has a flight speed of 250m/s and a range of 4000m. It can penetrate 550 mm of flat steel and 445 mm of sloped steel armour.

9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) Russian Anti-Tank Missile is a SACLOS Anti-Tank Guided Missile system of the Soviet Union. It is fired from the 125 mm main guns of the T-64 and T-80 series of tanks. A newer design based on the same concept is the 9M119 (NATO reporting name AT-11 Sniper). The 9M112 Kobra missile consists of two sections: 9M43 head section – containing the 9M129 shaped charge warhead and the 9D129 sustainer motor 9B447 tail section – containing a battery, the flight controls, a light source for the guidance system on the tank to track, and a small antenna to receive commands from the tank The two separate sections are stored in the autoloader of the tank in the same way as conventional 125 mm rounds. As the round is hoisted into the gun the two halves are mated together.

The missile can be fired in any of three modes:

1. Primary mode – the gun is elevated three degrees above the line of sight to reduce the amount of dust generated by the missile launch. This is critical since the tank has to see both the target and the light source on the rear of the missile in order to be able to guide the missile to the target. The missile system uses SACLOS guidance, the gunner has to keep the crosshairs centered on the target, and the 1A33 fire control system generates course corrections, which are broadcast to the missile. Accuracy at 4000 m is estimated to be 80% in this mode.
2. Ballistic mode – the gun is elevated three degrees above the line of sight. The missile then flies three to five meters above the gunner's line of sight, dropping down to the line of sight just before reaching the target. This further reduces the amount of dust kicked up by the flight of the missile, reducing the chance of the guidance system losing the missile.
3. Emergency mode – this mode is only for use when a target suddenly appears within 1000 m and the missile is already loaded. The gun is at only 40 minutes of arc above the line of sight to the target, and the command link is activated early. The hit probability is lower in this mode. The missile has a muzzle velocity of 125 m/s, this increases to 800 m/s at its peak, but averages out at 350 to 400 meters a second. The flight time to 4000 meters is 9 to 10 seconds. The missile has a single 4.5 kg HEAT warhead, which can penetrate 600 mm of RHA.

The 9K112-1 "Cobra" guided weapon system includes the following elements: 9M112 (9M112M) guided missile, 9S461 tank control equipment. The complex is functionally connected with the 1A33 fire control system and the 1G42 laser rangefinder sight.

Rocket 9M112 is made according to the "normal" aerodynamic scheme. The bearing aerodynamic surfaces of the rocket are crescent-shaped rectangular wings that create lift and stabilize the rocket. Due to the installation angle of misalignment of the wings, the rocket rotates in flight about its longitudinal axis. The control organs of the rocket are trapezoidal rudders in plan. The wings and rudders, when folded, fit into the midsection of the rocket. The opening of the wings and rudders is carried out after the release of the rocket from the cannon bore.

The missile consists of two parts transported separately in the tank ammo rack: the head compartment and the tail compartment, interconnected in the trays of the tank loading mechanism in the process of sending the missile into the gun chamber. The head compartment consists of a warhead and an engine. The tail compartment consists of an equipment compartment and a throwing device. The equipment compartment contains all the onboard equipment of the rocket, its rudders, wings and the mating part of the docking mechanism with the head compartment.

When fired, the rocket moves along the bore due to the pressure of the propellant gases of the expelling charge of the propelling device. After the rocket leaves the barrel and the end of the muzzle gas period, thethe action of starting overloads. The wings open and the pallet is dropped, the engine and control system are turned on.

The complex is functionally connected to the 1AZZ fire control system and has a semi-automatic projectile control system using a modulated light source on the projectile and a radio command line. The 9S461 control equipment has five lettered frequencies and two control signal codes. The feedback of the projectile with the control equipment on the tank is carried out automatically from a modulated light source (emitter) installed on board the projectile. To control the missile on the trajectory, the gunner keeps the aiming mark on the target, and the guidance system automatically leads the missile to it. The coordinates of the rocket relative to the sighting line are determined using an optical system using an onboard source of modulated light. Control commands are transmitted over a narrow beam. Based on the requirements for compatibility with the standard armament of the T-64 tank, the 9M112 missile intended for the Cobra complex is made in the form of two blocks - the head 9M43 and the hardware 9B447, made in the size of a projectile and a charge of conventional ballistic ammunition and can be placed in any tray of a mechanized ammunition rack of an assault rifle loading. When a rocket is sent to a 125 mm smoothbore gun - a 2A46-2 (2A46M) launcher, both components are automatically joined, and in this form the 9M112 rocket flies out of the barrel. At the same time, in order to increase reliability, the designers tried, if possible, to exclude the docking of electrical networks, for which they concentrated all the elements of the onboard equipment in the tail unit - the radio command line receiver, control system units and controls. The consoles of the four aerodynamic rudders open after the rocket exits the gun barrel. On the tail block there are also arched rectangular wings in the transport position pressed against the rocket body and opened by a special device after launch. The planes of the wings and aerodynamic rudders are shifted relative to each other by 45°. At the tail end there is a source of light radiation and an antenna for radio command equipment. The desire to provide the required length of the head block determined the placement of four oblique nozzles of the solid propellant engine in a "recessed" position in front of the combustion chamber. The nozzles are located in the same planes as the aerodynamic rudders. Severe overall restrictions on placement in a previously created tank automatic loader did not allow the use of pointed contours that are optimal for a supersonic missile - the ogive contour of the missile's nose begins with a developed spherical bluntness. The complex allows simultaneous firing of guided projectiles as part of a company of tanks at closely spaced targets, including from two tanks at one target with an interval between firing tanks along the front of at least 30 meters and operation of radio links at different letter frequencies and codes KBTM (Moscow) was the first in the world to make a rocket fired through the barrel of a high-ballistic tank gun, the chief designer Nudelman enjoyed the patronage of the GRAU since the Great Patriotic War and he was given the opportunity to conduct the most promising developments. Despite the superiority, the concept of controlling a rocket via a radio command line had serious drawbacks. The complex posed a particular danger to the crew and its troops located at a distance 100 meters in a sector of 30 ° from the longitudinal axis of the tank turret due to high-frequency radiation through the antenna. And if the waveguide inside the tank broke down, the tank crew itself was also exposed to radiation. There were also failures in the operation of the onboard equipment of the guided projectile or its unreliable docking in the MOH tray during the loading process. Thus, the indisputable truth was once again confirmed: "there are no free cakes." For increasing some parameters, you have to pay either by lowering others, or by complicating the design, or by increasing the amount of maintenance and increasing the level of crew training. All these shortcomings were not a secret either for the designers and manufacturers of the tank, its SLA and KUV, or for the military. The developments of a competing company - KBP (Tula), chief designer A. G. Shipunov, went the other way. They were the first to develop laser-guided missiles. Although Shipunov was kept "on the sidelines", his concept turned out to be more promising.

9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) Anti-Tank Guided Missile - Program

The idea of equipping a tank with rocket weapons was of particular relevance during the "rocket boom" of the 50s and 60s. For the first time the issue was raised in the USSR in 1953, it was planned to involve a group of factories, including PO Box 989, NII-88, director Yangel Mikhail Kuzmich, Chief Designer Korolev Sergey Pavlovich. Subsequently, all the leading design bureaus on tank topics in the USSR joined in the development. The greatest scale in the creation of tanks with missile weapons was achieved during the leadership of N.S. Khrushchev as part of the research work on the creation of a tank destroyer with missile weapons, which was called "theme number 1". So, in accordance with the Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 505–263 of 08.05.57. (topic No. 1) the Malyshev plant was entrusted with the creation of an experimental model of a rocket tank, product "431", which was supposed to be ready by the 4th quarter of 1959. Its TTT: weight 25..30 tons, crew 3 - 4 people, rockets 15..20 pieces. On the issue , A. A. Morozov had his own vision and did not blindly follow any extravagant instructions that came from above, in his diary he noted: artillery. This mistake cost a lot of time and money and was eventually corrected by the restoration of cannon artillery with the parallel development of tank missiles. During the meeting of the State Committee for Defense Equipment (GKOT) held on 12/14/62, it was decided to entrust the Malyshev Plant with the development of a promising medium tank based on the 432 product with the Rubin guided missile. Efforts were focused on the implementation of the precision engineering proposed by the team of the Moscow Design Bureau headed by A.E. Nudelman started in 1964 work "Nail" on the creation of a guided artillery projectile for a 125-mm gun. With the transition to the stage of full-scale development, given by the decision of the military-industrial complex of December 28 1966, the Gvozd complex changed its name to Cobra. The design of the first guided rocket of the second generation "Cobra" and "Gyurza" was set by the Decree of the Council of Ministers in May 1968. Since both missiles were intended for 125-mm guns of the D-81 type. they were supposed to have the same weight and size characteristics as a 125-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile of separate loading. Thus, the rocket itself was supposed to have a weight of 23.0-23.3 kg and a length of about 642 mm, while the ejection device could be created on the basis of a standard 4Zh40 propellant charge placed in a sleeve with a burning body.

According to TTZ, the maximum firing range of "Cobra" and "Gyurza" was to be 4000 m, and the minimum - 100 m. The flight time at a distance of 4000 m should not exceed 10 s. Normal armor penetration was supposed to be 500-600 mm,

Initially, the Cobra was developed as a guided projectile with a semi-automatic control system and the use of a standard 4Zh40 propellant charge, which gives the guided projectile a speed of about 850 m / s when fired. The guided projectile was supposed to hit enemy tanks at ranges from 100 to 4000 m. Although experimental launches confirmed the possibility of implementing a guided projectile and the operability of the equipment under the conditions of an artillery shot, a problem arose that required lengthy work on its solution and changed the original appearance of the complex, which was a dust and smoke cloud formed after the shot. Attempts to equip the gun with a choke tube led to a disruption in the regular functioning of unguided ammunition. As a result, the guided projectile turned into a guided missile, divided into two compartments. The design of the Gyurza tank guided missile was carried out at KBM (Chief Designer of the Joint Venture Nepobedimyy), and the Cobras at the Moscow Precision Engineering Design Bureau. TOURS "Gyurza'" had a semi-automatic control system with an infrared communication line, created by a branch of TsNIIAG MO. The Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant has greatly delayed the production of a "rangefinder-tracker sight" created on the basis of the "Kadr-1" rangefinder sight. As a result, the Cobra significantly outstripped the Gyurza in time, and on January 14, 1971, work on the Gyurze was stopped.

The propellant charge decreased many times, the initial speed decreased, a solid rocket engine was designed, installed between the warhead and the control compartment. The flight time to the maximum range increased to 9 s. The first tests of tanks began in February 1971 and revealed the lack of reliability of the new equipment, both the Kobra complex and the Ob control system. The designers of the tank, weapons and fire control complex, being "pioneers" in this area, faced complex problems that required a lot of time. A batch of experimental machines by the Cobra complex was released in 1973, without waiting for the end of the tests. At that time, the complex was far from perfect. The issue of dust formation during the shot, which prevented the vision of the target, was not resolved. A. A. Morozov in his diaries (11/25/74) noted: “Nudelman promises to work out the Cobra system in the 1st quarter of 1975. In general, the work is going badly. Everything is very expensive. With serial production of the RS "Cobra" will build about 5 thousand rubles. We need to drastically reduce the cost of the system. Now the reliability of the system is -0.74, they promise to raise it to 0.9. In total, it was done: launches - 57, hits - 30, failures - 14, misses - 13. One drawback remained unresolved - dust!"" The cause of dust formation, along with the impact of the shock wave of muzzle gases, was also the suction of dust during the flight of the rocket along the line of sight at supersonic speed. This problem was solved only by the introduction of a special rocket flight program - the "shooting in excess" mode. Due to problems with the complex, the timing of its production was postponed, instead of manufacturing 100 vehicles with the Cobra in 1975, it was planned to make only 15. In 1975, the 9K112 "Cobra" complex was tested as part of the " object 447 ", which was a converted T-64A tank equipped with a 1G21 type quantum rangefinder sight and a Cobra missile weapon system with a 9M112 missile. The rocket was launched from a standard D-81 (2A46) gun. After the successful completion of the tests, the upgraded T-64B tank with the 9K112 missile system (with the 9M112 missile) was put into service in 1976. The complex was brought to a working state in 1977, when its mass production began to equip the T-64B tank (product "447A"). Since almost all the problems of the Cobra had been solved on the T-64, the tests on the T-80 were quick and painless. On June 6, 1978, by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the T-80B tank was adopted (tests were carried out on the T-80B object 219R), equipped with a 2A46-2 gun, a 9K112-1 guided weapon system (with a 9M112M missile) and a control system fire (SUO) 1A33 "Ob" consisting of: a quantum sight-rangefinder of the tracking device 1G42, an electronic ballistic computer 1V517 with automatic corrections, an electro-hydraulic two-plane gun stabilizer 2E26M, a shot resolution unit 1G43 and a set of sensors. In the future, the Cobra complex was equipped with the main tanks with dynamic protection of the T-64BV and T-80BV types and some other samples of experimental and small-scale vehicles: "object 219RD ", " object 487 ", " object 219A ", etc. In 1979, successful firing at night was carried out at the Gorokhovets training ground, as well as tests on the use of the KUV "Cobra" on helicopters. Night launches at a maximum range of up to 4 km were provided by the use of two or three 120-mm illumination mines, which were fired at an interval of 4-8 s. The 9K112 "Cobra" complex, although it continues to be in service with the Russian Armed Forces, is obsolete. In the eighties, KBTM carried out the modernization of the 9K112 complex under the name "Agona" using the new 9M128 missile. According to the results of the work carried out, it was possible to penetrate homogeneous armor up to 650 mm thick. However, by the time the development was completed in 1985, the Svir and Reflex complexes with laser-guided missiles had already been put into service , so all newly produced tanks of the T-80 family were equipped with these complexes. It was planned to release a modification of the T-64B without the Cobra complex T-64B1, the cost of which was 18% lower than the missile version, but 40% higher than the corresponding T-64A, mainly due to the expensive 1AZZ fire control system. The costs were justified, since the effectiveness of the SLA 1A33 was 1.6 times higher than that of the T-64A. The increase in firepower due to the use of guided missiles amounted to 14%. The operation of the Cobra complex in the realities of the Soviet army was significantly different from what was described in the operating instructions. Those who wanted to learn and teach subordinates studied and could realize the possibilities of the complex, those who did not want to came up with all sorts of excuses. The preparedness of the gunner is the most important component of a hit in the case of using a complex of guided high-precision weapons. At the same time, tanks with rocket and cannon armament entered the troops earlier than specialists were trained for their operation. “In Gorokhovets, we were cadets (on an internship) who knew how to use this technique on their hands on the eve of the exercises, there were simulators and trained specifically, and the built-in control allowed us to train in the launch simulation mode until we lost our pulse, which was done at the school,” recalls Dr. so-called colonel I. B. Chepkov . The high cost of a guided missile did not allow it to be used frequently during firing. “We shot really a little, usually 6 rounds - 2 races of 3 cars. In our battalion, T-64Bs were in the first company. Of the 4 officers, only one taught Beshka. And nothing, they knew both preparation and operation. It all depends on the desire of the officer and the will of the commander. Well, if they mastered it in the rear district, then what can we say about the GSVG . "It is not difficult to prepare gunners for operators and for a short time everything is akin to current computer games. as a rule, these are studying the order of turning on the equipment and training on 9F68 simulators, electronic launches, for the preparation of a good specialist it was required with an average load of study, orders from three weeks to a month, with the condition that the gunner performs 800-1000 launches on simulators. After that, the probability of hitting at a distance 4 km was 0.95 ~ 1.0 in the company(remembers Guards Mr. Lukyanenko Sergey Viktorovich).

9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) Anti-Tank Guided Missile - Specification

9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) Anti-Tank Guided Missile - Pictures