9K121 Vikhr - Confusion With The 9M120 Ataka-V

Confusion With The 9M120 Ataka-V

There was much confusion toward the end of the 1980s regarding the latest Soviet anti-tank systems. The end of the Cold War cleared much of this up but also led to a general failure to properly publicise new information. This has resulted in a large portion of Western literature including incorrect information.

The most common error is simply confusing the 9M120 Ataka-V complex with the 9A4172 Vikhr system. These are completely different systems which have been competing for the Russian market. Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant favours the former, while Sukhoi and Kamov favour the latter. As some foreign Mi-24 derivatives have actually been fitted with the 9A4172 the most reliable way to tell them apart is to look for the number of barrels: Eight per launcher for the helicopter borne 9M120 and the fixed wing version of the 9A4172 and six per launcher for the helicopter version of the 9A4172. A four barrel launcher is typical of the Igla short range anti-aircraft missile. Russia does not use currently four barrel launchers for airborne anti-tank systems although this will possibly change with the next generation of missile (which will probably weigh considerably more).

The next most common error is in understanding the guidance systems:

• The 9M120 is radio command SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line-Of-Sight) and an improved version of the popular 9K114 Shturm system carried on the Mi-24V and some ground units. This system gradually loses accuracy at longer ranges (as each as radii as viewed from the launch platform encompasses more space) but can be fired in any condition where a target can be spotted.
• On the other hand the 9A4172 is a "laser beam riding missile". When this first became known it caused much confusion in the West. Analysts simply assumed that the Soviet designers (KPB Instrument Design) had produced a weapon similar to the AGM-114 Hellfire which uses semi-active laser homing (similar to laser guided bombs). Early artist impressions even went so far as to show what appears to be a miniature copy of the Kh-29L (or "AS-14 Kedge" a large semi-active laser guided missile that borrows its aerodynamic design from the R-73).

When the first good photographs appeared they led to still more confusion: There was no visible seeker (causing some analysts to believe it to be an unguided rocket system).

All of this was a long way from the mark: Russia had developed very different approach. A series of non-imaging detectors face backwards from the missile toward the launch platform and guide the missile toward the centre of the laser beam (unlike semi-active laser seekers which aim for a laser reflected off the target). This is much cheaper and also more resistant to countermeasures.

To capitalise on the advantage given by using a lower cost seeker the Soviet designers also produced a new flight control system: Fixed fins cause the missile to spin in flight and a single moving control surface adjust its course during this rotation. The result is that for the cost of one equivalent Western model, the Soviets could build five. Any loss of effectiveness being partially counteracted by pilots being encouraged to fire their missiles in pairs.