Last updated on February 17th, 2019 at 09:48 pm
The AT-14 Spriggan anti-tank guided missile is a third-generation anti-tank missile that was designed by Russia’s KPB Instrument Design Bureau and introduced at a defense exhibition in 1994.
It was designed to replace the AT-5 Spandrel, which had been built in the 1970s.
The AT-14 Spriggan missile system consists of a missile with a launch tube, a thermal imager and a tripod for launching by infantry.
Together, the launch tube and missile weight 63 pounds (29 kg), while the launch tube alone weighs 59 pounds (27kg). The thermal imager weighs 24 pounds (11kg). The tripod weighs 42 pounds (19 kg).
Although the Spriggan can be used by infantry forces, the weight of the missile system predisposes it to being launched from a platform on a vehicle.
The AT-14 uses SACLOS (semi automatic command to line of sight) guidance. The operator locks on to a laser target that has been illuminated by a laser. The missile then travels along the line of sight to home in on the target.
It can engage targets up to a range of 6015 yards (5500m).
The Spriggan can use either a HEAT warhead or an explosive thermobaric warhead. The HEAT warhead can penetrate up to 47 inches (1200mm) of armor and can defeat tanks with explosive reactive armor. It can also pierce reinforced concrete structures up to 11.5 feet (3m) thick. The explosive thermobaric warhead has the explosive power of 22 pounds (10 kg) of TNT.
AT-14 Spriggan is the NATO reporting name for this anti-tank weapon. The original Russian name for the missile system is the 9P133 Kornet, while the missile is known as the 9M133 Kornet.
There are two variants: the 9P133-1/9M133-1 uses a HEAT warhead; the 9P133F-1/9M-133F-1 uses a thermobaric warhead.
The Spriggan has been exported, under the name Kornet-E, to Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Algeria, Greece, India, Turkey and Peru.
It has been claimed that AT-14 Spriggans were used by Iraqis in Iraq in 2003, by Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and by Hamas in Gaza in 2010.