Description
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:
- Primary mode - the gun is elevated 3 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, all the gunner has to do is 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 about 80% in this mode.
- Ballistic mode - the gun is elevated 3 degrees above the line of sight. The missile then flies 3 to 5 meters above the gunners 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.
- Emergency mode - This mode is only for use if a target suddenly appears within 1000 m and the missile is already loaded. The gun is at only 40 minutes of arc above 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 peak, but averages 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, that can penetrate 600 mm of RHA.
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