Murakhovsky expert: ATGMs mutated into universal missile systems in battles
MOSCOW, April 4 - RIA Novosti. The experience of a special military operation has shown that today anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs) have mutated into universal battlefield missile systems and are often used not to destroy equipment, but to destroy enemy fortifications and other objects, to destroy manpower, one of the leading Russian military analysts, the editor-in-chief of the Arsenal of the Fatherland, told RIA Novosti Victor Murakhovsky.
"The ATGM, originally created to combat heavily armored vehicles, has today, in fact, lost this specialization and, within the framework of its own, mutated into a universal battlefield missile system, which is used to defeat a variety of targets. For example, ATGMs are often used to destroy enemy fortifications – dugouts, observation and strong points, long-term firing points. In addition, ATGMs are used to destroy communication towers, clusters of manpower, and, in principle, any targets available for destruction within its range. There are a large number of ATGM operators in the SVO zone who have never fired directly at military equipment, but have hit other enemy targets in huge numbers," Murakhovsky said.
The specialist added that "the Kornet complex, for example, due to the power of its warhead, accuracy and noise immunity, is an effective means of destroying fortifications and defeating enemy manpower sheltering in these structures."
Murakhovsky expressed the opinion that "it makes sense to work on improving the controllability and accuracy of ATGMs in various weather conditions, including the most difficult ones, on the development of combined sighting systems so that it is possible to use missiles with different types of guidance from one launcher, which will increase their versatility and adaptability to various combat conditions."
According to the analyst, on one launcher of a portable ATGM with a combined sighting system, it would be possible to implement the use of various types of missiles: with guidance in a laser beam, with high-resolution optoelectronic guidance heads, with control via optical fiber cable and capable of hitting targets beyond the line of sight, with the ability of the operator to re-aim in flight, destroying the priority object in the upper hemisphere, as well as missiles with various heads of active and passive homing on the principle of "shot-forgot" within line of sight.
"A combined approach to missile guidance has been implemented, for example, in the Chrysanthemum-S self-propelled anti-tank missile system. It is necessary to strive for portable and portable ATGMs to be able to use missiles with different guidance systems. That is, for example, one installation will be able to ensure effective destruction of targets both in the near and far zone outside the line of sight by external targeting due to the optoelectronic system," the specialist explained.
The specialist also stated that ATGMs as universal battlefield complexes should be equipped with two types of combat units: anti-tank with the maximum level of armor penetration behind dynamic protection, providing all-round destruction of promising enemy main battle tanks and multi-purpose with cumulative high-explosive fragmentation, while they should retain the possibility of hitting the side projection behind dynamic protection of armored objects.