Russian soldiers are actively using the famous tank killer ATGM, 9M133 Kornet in destroying Ukrainian Armed Forces Armoured Vehicles. Since it’s introduction in the armed forces of several nations, this powerful missile has destroyed many powerful tanks including the Israeli Merkava MBT.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has recently released two new videos, recording the combat activities of Russian airborne troops in a fierce conflict in Ukraine. Among these are specialized tank hunting units, equipped with the 9M133 Kornet Anti-tank guided missiles.
This is the most powerful and advanced anti-tank missile currently used by the Russian motorized infantry battalions. The main task of the tank hunting teams is to destroy all enemy armoured vehicles on the battlefield.
In fact, on the battlefield, the tank hunting teams not only launch shoulder-fired ammunition to destroy enemy armoured vehicles, but they also destroy enemy motor vehicles, fortifications, bunkers, etc.
These teams accurately destroy enemy armoured vehicles when the Ukrainian Army makes a counterattack.
Since it entered into active service with the Russian Army and armed forces of several other countries, the 9M133 Kornet Anti-tank Guided Missile has made many western tanks to fall.
The Missile’s high destructive power and high accuracy make the Kornet ATGM one of the most trusted anti-tank weapon. The Kornet missile is currently used by Russia and 7 other nations.
The 9M133 Kornet ATGM is produced by Russia and put into service in 1994. This missile was developed by the KBP design bureau, with a unit price of $125,000 USD.
In addition to anti-armour and anti-tank, the 9M133 Kornet Anti-tank Missile is also very effective in destroying enemy concentration of troops and fortifications.
A complex of 9M133 Kornet Anti-tank Missiles consists of three main components: 9M133 Kornet Anti-tank Missiles, tripod mount and thermal viewfinder.
The 9M133 Kornet complex is operated by a crew of two, the Ukrainian Forces complex can be mounted on motor vehicles and even warships.
The 9M133 missile together with its 9P163-1 tripod launcher and 1PN79-1 thermal sight which can be carried and easily operated by a two-person infantry crew. The transfer to the firing position takes less than one minute, and preparation and production of a shot in at least one second.
During the Iraq War, Kornets were used by some groups of Iraqi special forces to attack U.S. armored vehicles, disabling at least two Abrams tanks and one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in the opening week of the war.
The second verified episode of the Kornet ATGM in combat use occurred during the 2006 Lebanon War, where the missiles, reportedly supplied by Syria, which were reverse-engineered Kornets produced in North Korea, were used by Hezbollah fighters to destroy up to four Israeli Merkava tanks. Kornets pierced the armor of 24 tanks in total. One of the first detailed accounts of IDF’s successful capture of Kornet ATGMs on Hezbollah positions in the village of Ghandouriyeh appeared in a Daily Telegraph article, which also reported that the boxes were marked with “Customer: Ministry of Defense of Syria. Supplier: KBP, Tula, Russia”. Several months after the cease-fire, reports have provided sufficient photographic evidence that Kornet ATGMs were indeed both in possession of, and used by, Hezbollah in this area.
The firing range of the Kornet ATGM is from 100 metres to 5,000 metres.
Currently, in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War these missiles have destroyed hundreds of Ukrainian Army Main Battle Tanks,