A batch of new anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Kornet-EM, entered service with the Russian military base in Tajikistan amid developments in neighbouring Afghanistan, Russian military officials said.
Russian Central Military District disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
“A batch of modern infantry anti-tank guided missiles Kornet entered service with the 201st Russian military base stationed in Tajikistan.
“The new missiles are in service with artillery units,’’ the military added.
Kornet was designed to destroy enemy armored vehicles and air targets, including helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The missile is guided by a laser beam.
Its maximum firing range is estimated at 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles).
The Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile system is a day/night, precision-guided long-range missile system with a jam-resistant laser-beam riding guidance system, intended to counter ground and air targets in electronic and optical countermeasures environments.
The Kornet is among the most capable Russian ATGMs.
The Kornet anti-tank missile was unveiled in October 1994 by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau.
The missile started development in 1988 as a modular, universal system able to engage any target from a mix of platforms using a reliable laser beam guidance system that was simple to use.
It is a heavy ATGM, superior to the earlier 9K111 Fagot (NATO: AT-4 Spigot) and 9K113 Konkurs (NATO: AT-5 Spandrel) wire-guided ATGMs, but not to replace them (due to the cost).
The missile entered service in the Russian army in 1998. Its export designation is the Kornet-E.