The
Director General of the Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport
Anatoly Isaykin has announced Tuesday, August 12, 2014, the supply of
Kornet-EM anti-tank missile to Bahrain. According to the Rosoboronexport
executive, Bahrain has become the first buyer of Kornet-EM systems. |
Rosoboronexport
has signed large contracts with a number of Middle East and North African
countries. Rosoboronexport will supply Kornet-EM antitank missiles to
Bahrain while Namibia is buying small arms, Kornet-E systems, Isaikin
said.
The Kornet-EM was unveiled for the first time in 2011 during the defense
exhibition MAKS in Moscow. The Kornet-EM is based on the chassis of
the Tigr 4x4 light armoured vehicle with two retractable launcher units,
each with four missiles ready to fire. In road position, the launcher
units are stowed inside the vehicle.
The missile has a minimum range of 150 m and a maximum firing range
of 10,000 m. The missile system is able to destroy advanced and modern
tanks fitted with explosive reactive armour, light-armoured vehicles
and fortifications.
The Kornet-EM variant uses optronic vision with an automatic guidance
and tracking system to make it a "fire and forget" missile,
giving it a 5-times increase in accuracy of target tracking at any range.
The fire and forget capability gives a vehicle the ability to salvo
launch against two different targets at once, increasing its rate of
fire and decreasing the number of vehicles needed for a mission. It
can also salvo fire two missiles against one target to defeat vehicles
equipped with an active protection system.
The weapon is designed as an automatic combat system, incorporating,
besides the firing unit itself, both reconnaissance and control assets,
and ensuring full automation of all combat operation constituents –
target detection and distribution, issuing and processing of target
designation, missiles' guidance. The operator's task within such system
is limited to supervision of its proper functioning and launch of missiles.
The Kornet-EM system comprises:
- Tigr combat vehicle with two automatic launchers and operator’s
panel with a display;
- Battery commander's reconnaissance and control vehicle, equipped with
combined surveillance system including TV, IR and radar reconnaissance
aids, navigation, communication and data exchange systems, automated
control suite and weapon system (Kornet-EM ATGM and PKTM machine-gun),
- Guided missile with HE warhead with impact and proximity fuses and
firing range of up to 10 km;
- An antitank guided missile with a maximum firing range of 8,000 m
and shaped charge warhead armour penetration of 1,100-1,300 mm which
enables the Kornet-EM system to engage modern and future tanks bearing
in mind the tendency to growth of their armour protection.
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