AT-10 redirects here. For the aircraft, see AT-10 Wichita

The 9M117 Bastion is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n laser

Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 beam-riding anti-tank missile. It is used in a number of separate weapon systems including the 9K116-1 Bastion missile system (AT-10 Stabber), 9K118 Sheksna

9K118 Sheksna

9K118 Sheksna is a laser beam riding guided anti-tank missile system of the Soviet Union, also known under the NATO reporting name of AT-12 Swinger. It is fired from the smoothbore gun of the T-62 tank. The system fires the same 9M117 missile as the AT-10 Stabber, BMP-3 guided round, and Kastet...

 (AT-12 Swinger), Kastet and the 3UBK12 fired from the BMP-3

BMP-3

The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...

. The 100 mm projectile

Projectile

A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....

 entered service in 1981.

Development

The 9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) was the first Soviet tube fired anti-tank missile to enter service, however it was only deployed in limited numbers to front line units. Development work began in the late 1970s on a third generation of guided projectiles that would use laser guidance rather than radio command links. The guidance system was developed by Igor Aristarkhov, and the missile was developed by Petr Komonov. The Bastion was developed firstly as a relatively cheap missile fired from towed 100 mm smoothbore AT-guns MT-12

T-12 antitank gun

2A19 or T-12 is a Soviet smoothbore 100-mm anti-tank gun, which served as the main Eastern Bloc towed anti-tank gun from 1955 until the late 1980s.-History:The T-12 entered service in 1955, replacing the BS-3 100 mm field gun...

. The missile 9M117 was a part of 3UBK10 round and a whole weapon system was designated 9K116 Kastet. A laser guidance device was seated on a tripod next to the gun. The system was commissioned in 1981.

During development of the 9K116 system it was recognized, that it could enhance the long range firepower of the older T-55

T-55

The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...

 and T-62

T-62

The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be...

 tanks. The system for 100 mm rifled gun D-10T of T-55 was designated 9K116-1 Bastion (3UBK10-1 round), and for 115 mm smoothbore gun U-5TS of T-62 - 9K116-2 Sheksna (3UBK10-2 round). The missiles 9M117 were identical, as in the towed version, only the 115 mm version had additional guiding rings. They were commissioned in 1983. Then, 9K-116-3 system was developed for 100 mm smoothbore gun of the BMP-3

BMP-3

The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...

 infantry fighting vehicle, commissioned in 1987. Similar systems, with larger missiles 9M119 Svir, were developed for 125 mm guns of T-72

T-72

The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...

 and T-80

T-80

The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...

 tanks.

Description

The 100 mm round resembles a normal 100 mm anti-tank round, and is loaded and fired in the same fashion. The round uses a reduced explosive charge to launch the projectile out of the barrel of the gun at around 400 to 500 m/s. After leaving the barrel

Gun barrel

A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....

 of the gun

Gun

A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...

, a small cover falls away from the window on the rear of the missile. The rocket motor ignites 1.5 seconds after firing the missile, and it burns for 6 seconds.

The projectiles use laser guidance

Laser guidance

Laser guidance is a technique of guiding a missile or other projectile or vehicle to a target by means of a laser beam. Some laser guided systems utilise beam riding guidance, but most operate more similarly to semi-active radar homing . This technique is sometimes called SALH, for Semi-Active...

. A cone of laser light divided into sectors was projected from the launching tank, each sector having a different frequency or modulation. The missile has a small window in the rear with a sensor to detect the modulation of the light

Light

Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...

. Using this modulation

Modulation

In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted...

, the missile steers itself, maintaining its position in the cone. The laser beam-riding guidance system was less spacious, than radio command one, and cheaper and simpler, than semi-active laser guidance. The missile was also not prone to radio or optical jamming. On the other hand, a target had to be tracked by laser sight all the time, and the system could not be used on the move.

The missile's flight time to 4,000 meters is approximately 12 seconds, and the probability of hitting a tank sized target is reported as 80%. After 26 to 41 seconds the missile self-destructs.

Variants

Ammunition firing the 9M117 Bastion missile; average armour penetration 600 mm Rolled homogeneous armour

Rolled homogeneous armour

Rolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...

 equivalency after ERA

• 100 mm 3UBK10 (MT-12)
• 100 mm 3UBK10-1 (T-55)
• 115 mm 3UBK10-2 (T-62)
• 100 mm 3UBK10-3 (BMP-3)

Ammunition firing the 9M117M Kan Tandem HEAT

Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...

 missile; average armour penetration 650 mm RHAe after ERA

• 100 mm 3UBK10M (MT-12)
• 100 mm 3UBK10M-1 (T-55)
• 115 mm 3UBK10M-2 (T-62)
• 100 mm 3UBK10M-3 (BMP-3)

Ammunition firing the 9M117M1 Arkan Tandem HEAT

Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...

missile with extended range of 100–6,000 m; average armour penetration 750 mm RHAe After ERA

• 100 mm 3UBK23 (MT-12)
• 100 mm 3UBK23-1 (T-55)
• 115 mm 3UBK23-2 (T-62); average armour penetration 850 mm RHAe After ERA
• 100 mm 3UBK23-3 (BMP-3); firing Range, 100-5,500 m

Sources

• Angelskiy, R., Otechestvennye protivotankovye kompleksy ("Domestic anti-tank systems"), Moscow, 2002, ISBN 5-17-011744-2