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AT-8 Songster


pmaidhof

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Brad, in your stash of military systems references, do you have any info or opinion on the performance of the Russian (NATO Designation) AT-8 Songster ATGM which is carried by the T-80 and even referenced to have been carried by the T-64. This is a through-the-barrel ATGM similiar in theory to the dismally failed Shillelagh ATGM found on the US M-60A2 Tank.

 

Thanks

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I have some info, from a variety of sources, none particularly recent ... I know JED (now defunct) did a nice series on Soviet/Russian anti-tank missiles a while back, but iirc, the AT-8 wasn't among them.

 

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AT-8 "Songster" (9M112 Kobra)

 

US alphanumeric designation: AT-8

NATO codename: Songster

Russian designation, missile: 9M112 Kobra

Russian designation, system: 9K112

Missile diameter: 125 mm

Launch weight: 25 kg

Max range: 4000 m

Muzzle velocity: 125 m/s

Max velocity: 500 m/s

Warhead: HEAT

Penetration: 600 mm steel armor

Guidance: radio command SACLOS

 

The Songster is fired from the gun tube of the T-64B MBT. A boost motor launches the ATGM from the barrel and a main motor carries it all the way to the target, at a max range of 4000 m. Its HEAT warhead probably penetrates at least 600 mm of steel armor but likely not Chobham type or ERA. The radio transmitter for the AT-8 is located in a steel box in front of the right commander's cupola. The gunner need only keep the sight on the target until the ATGM impacts. The T-64B can fire a max of four AT-8 Songster ATGMs per min. The MBT normally carries six ATGMs plus its 36 rds of 125mm ammunition. It can also engage helicopters with the AT-8 ATGM.

 

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The Russians have operated gun tube launched ATGWs for some time now, and there are at least four types currently in service. The first, the AT-8 Songster, showed up aboard the T-64B back in the very early 1980s or possibly earlier. It is also fired from the T-80 and T-80B. The T-72B1 (Super Dolly Parton), T-72S, T-80U and T-90 can fire the AT-11 Sniper (Svir 9M119). The 125mm 2A45M Sprut-B towed anti-tank gun may also be able to launch these ATGMs. The AT-10 Sniper (Bastion 9M117) can be fired from the T-55 AM2P, T-55 AMB, T-55 AMV, BMP-3 and the T-12 towed anti-tank gun. Even the T-62M has been retrofitted with an ATGM called the Sheksna. Unlike most conventional ATGMs of its kind, the AT-8 Songster relied on a radio datalink, instead of wires, to transmit guidance commands. The later AT-10, AT-11 and Sheksna are all laser beamriding weapons. They are not laser homing ATGMs like Hellfire, which homes on a spot of reflected laser light on the target. Instead, they maintain their position in the centre of a cone of focused laser light projected from the launcher. As the ATGM travels further from the launcher, the focus is adjusted further downrange, maintaining a constant field which the ATGM can refer to in order to sense its own position. Since the laser is not focused on the target, laser warning receivers will not respond until very late in the engagement when the laser is high due to the proximity of the ATGM. At this point it is usually too late to react. The purpose of gun-launched ATGWs was to correct for Russian deficiency in long range gun accuracy, and the fall-off in penetrating power of KE rounds, especially early high-drag fin stabilized versions. The AT-8 Songster has a range of 4000 m, and the AT-10 and AT-11 have a range of somewhere between 4000-5000 m. Both have respectable penetrations in the region of 700-800 mm RHA. While this will not bother an Abrams frontally, it would certainly stir up the majority of NATO MBTs at the time the weapons were designed, and wreak havoc with anything more lightly armored. The AT-8 is listed as having a secondary anti-helicopter capability. Let us compare it with the AT-6 Spiral, another ATGW with an explicit AA role. The AT-6 has a speed of 350-400 m/s, and a range of 5000 m. It is claimed to be capable of engaging airborne targets with a crossing speed of 60 m/s (134 mph) and at heights up to 3000 m. This is certainly within the envelope of most helicopters. The AT-8 has a speed of 500 m/s and a range of 4000 m, suggesting that it has more energy than the AT-6 at medium to long range, and thus an equal or greater ability versus fast-moving airborne targets. Furthermore, with a speed of almost twice that of most NATO ATGWs (ie. HOT at 235 m/s, TOW at 278 m/s), Songster has a fighting chance of getting to the target before the helicopter can escape or respond. The AT-10 and AT-11 are not claimed to be anti-helicopter weapons, but with a quoted speed of Mach 2+ (5 sec to 4000 m), they have both the energy and the reaction time. They would not be the only laser beamriding air defence missile (ie. ADATS, Starburst and Starstreak). Hellfire has a speed of about Mach 1.4, and has been successfully fired against drones in tests.

 

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The AT-8 “Songster” is a Russian ATGM designed to be fired from the 125mm smoothbore gun of MBTs. It uses radio guidance and has a flight speed of 250 m/s. With a range of 4000 m, it can penetrate 550 mm of flat steel and 445 mm of sloped steel armor.

 

Weight: 30 kg

Range: 4000 m

Speed: 250 m/s

Guidance: Radio command

Warhead: HEAT

Armor penetration: 445 to 550 mm

Alternate launch platform: Mi-24

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