9M113 Konkurs

The 9M113 Konkurs (Russian: 9М113 «Конкурс»; cognate of French: Concours; English: "Contest") is a SACLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. "9M113" is the GRAU designation of the missile. Its NATO reporting name is AT-5 Spandrel.

Development

The 9M113 Konkurs was developed by the Tula Machinery Design Bureau (Tula KBP). Development began with the aim of producing the next generation of SACLOS anti-tank missiles, for use in both the man-portable role and the tank destroyer role. The 9M113 Konkurs was developed alongside the 9M111; the missiles use similar technology, differing only in size. The warhead penetration is 600 mm vs rolled homogeneous armour (RHA).

The missile entered service in 1974. Iran began producing a copy, the Tosan (not to be confused with the Toophan), sometime around 2000.^[1][2]

Description

9M113 Konkurs launching rails on the top of 9P148 vehicle

9P148 launching vehicle on BRDM-2 base for 9M113 Konkurs

The missile is designed to be fired from vehicles, although it can also be fired from the later models of 9M111 launchers. It is an integral part of the BMP-2, BMD-2 and BRDM-2 vehicles. The missile is stored and carried in a fiberglass container/launch tube.

The system uses a gas generator to push the missile out of the launch tube. The gas also exits from the rear of the launch tube in a similar manner to a recoilless rifle. The missile leaves the launch tube at 80 meters per second, and is quickly accelerated to 200 meters per second by its solid fuel motor. This initial high speed reduces the missile's deadzone, since it can be launched directly at the target, rather than in an upward arc. In flight, the missile spins at between five to seven revolutions per second.

The launcher tracks the position of an incandescent infrared bulb on the back of the missile relative to the target and transmits appropriate commands to the missile via a thin wire that trails behind the missile. The system has an alarm that activates when it detects jamming from a system like Shtora. The operator can then take manual control, reducing the missile to MCLOS. The SACLOS guidance system has many benefits over MCLOS. The system's accuracy is quoted in some sources as 90%, though its performance is probably comparable to the BGM-71 TOW or later SACLOS versions of the 9K11 Malyutka.

Models

• 9M113 Konkurs (NATO: AT-5 Spandrel, AT-5A Spandrel A)
• 9M113M Konkurs-M (NATO: AT-5B Spandrel B) Tandem warhead – with extended explosive probe. The warhead penetration is 750–800 mm vs RHA. Adopted in 1991.^[3]
• Tosan Iranian-built missile ^[1]

Operators

Map with 9M113 operators in blue with former operators in red

Romanian 9P148 Konkurs launching a missile during a military exercise

Current operators

•  Algeria^[4][5] – used by mechanized infantry units
•  Armenia^[6]
•  Azerbaijan
•  Egypt – mounted on Fahd armoured personnel carriers purchased in 1990s
•  Bulgaria
•  Croatia^[7]
•  Cuba – not confirmed
•  Czech Republic
•  Finland – known as PstOhj 82M, fired from 9P135M-1 launchers (withdrawn from service)
•  Georgia^[8]
•  Hungary
•  Indonesia – mounted on BVP-2 infantry fighting vehicles operated by the marine corps
•  India – 15,000 Konkurs-M, ordered in 2008 for Rs 1,380-crore.^[9][10] Another 10,000 Konkurs-M ordered for US$250 million.^[11]
•  Iran manufactures its own version, upgraded and high explosion named Tosan.
•  Morocco
•  Mongolia
•  Moldova – used on BRDM-2
•  North Korea – produced domestically
•  Peru – used by Navy infantry
•  Poland
•  Romania
•  Russia – about 300 Konkurs-M complexes delivered annually in the last years (2014)^[12]
•  Slovakia
•  Turkey
•  Syria
•  Ukraine

Former operators

•  Czechoslovakia – produced in licence, passed on to successor states.
•  Soviet Union – Passed on to successor states.

See also

• List of Russian weaponry

References

• Hull, A.W., Markov, D.R., Zaloga, S.J. (1999). Soviet/Russian Armor and Artillery Design Practices 1945 to Present. Darlington Productions. ISBN 1-892848-01-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 9M113 Konkurs.

• ATGM launcher vehicle "KONKURS" (BRDM-2) – Walk around photos
• AT-5 SPANDREL Anti-Tank Guided Missile
• PTRK Konkurs (Russian)