Last updated on February 17th, 2019 at 09:48 pm
The AT-3 Sagger anti-tank guided missile is a first generation Soviet anti-tank missile that uses MCLOS (Manual Command to Line Of Sight) guidance. The operator uses a joystick to guide the missile to its target. The operator’s instructions are passed to the missile via a trailing wire.
A SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight) guidance system is used in variants AT-3C Sagger C and AT-3D Sagger D.
The Soviet Union developed the AT-3 Sagger in the early 1960s.
With a length of 34.65 inches (880mm) and a weight of 24.9 pounds (11.3kg), the Sagger can be operated by ground forces, using a launcher that resembles a suitcase. This anti-tank weapon can also be platform mounted on a single rail launcher or on a retractable multiple launcher system to fire from an AFV. Up to four Sagger missiles can be mounted on a helicopter.
When the AT-3 Sagger is fired, a boost motor behind the warhead accelerates the warhead. A solid fuel motor then propels it to a maximum range of 3280yards (3000m).
The operator uses a tracking flare to guide the missile to its target.
Sights are not used when the AT-3 is aimed at targets up to a range of 1093yards (1000m). When targets are further away, the operator uses a periscopic site with 10x magnification to guide the missile.
The Sagger is roll-stabilized and requires no further aerodynamic controls.
Unlike many similar missiles, the AT-3 Sagger does not come with a pre-prepared round when it is used by infantry. The piezo-electrically fused HEAT warhead has to be clipped to the main missile body before the missile can be launched.
The average velocity of the AT-3 Sagger missile is 394ft/s (120m/s). The weapon can penetrate 15.75inches (400mm) of armor at its maximum range.
The AT-3 Sagger anti-tank guided missile was used by the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War, by the Egyptian Army during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the Iraqi Army during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991.
AT-3 Sagger is the NATO reporting name for this anti-tank weapon. The original name of the missile system was 9K11 Malyutka; the missile itself was known as 9M14 Malyutka.