The 3M11 ''Fleyta'' (flute,
NATO reporting name AT-2 ''Swatter'') is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...
radio command
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
. Various improved versions were designated 9M17 ''Falanga''
Development
The missile was developed by the Nudelman OKB-16 design bureau. It was developed at about the same time as the
3M6 Shmel
The 3M6 ''Shmel'' (russian: 3М6 «Шмель»; en, bumblebee) is an MCLOS wire-guided Anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. Its GRAU designation is "3M6" and its NATO reporting name is AT-1 Snapper.
Too large to be manportable, it was typi ...
as a heavy
ATGM
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
for use on both ground launchers and helicopters. It addressed some of the problems of the 3M6; it was much faster, and had slightly longer range. These improvements were achieved by sending commands via a radio link instead of a trailing guidance wire, which allowed the missile to travel faster. However, it did make it vulnerable to jamming. The missile system was shown to Soviet premier
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
in September 1964, and accepted for service shortly afterwards.
History
![AT-2b Swatter line drawing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/AT-2b_Swatter_line_drawing.PNG)
The 3M11 was the first Soviet ATGM to be deployed from helicopters. Small numbers were fitted to the
Mi-4AV. The missile was deployed on the
Mil Mi-8 as well as the
Mi-24 and Mi-25 series of helicopters. It was also deployed on the
BRDM-1
The BRDM-1 (''Bronirovannaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Бронированная Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "armored reconnaissance/patrol vehicle") is a Soviet amphibious armored scout ca ...
and
BRDM-2
The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car used by states that we ...
infantry fighting vehicles.
The 3M11 ''Fleyta'' was problematic; one Russian source describes the missile as "notable for its complexity and low reliability". Also, the missile's range was felt to be inadequate. An improved version of the missile was developed: the 9M17 ''Falanga'' (NATO reporting name AT-2B). Externally, the missiles are very similar, however the 9M17 range is increased to 3.5 km. The standard production version was the 9M17M ''Falanga-M'', which entered service in 1968.
The next development was to integrate
SACLOS
Semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) is a method of missile command guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight. Electronics in the sighting device and/or th ...
guidance, resulting in the 9M17P ''Falanga-P'' (NATO reporting name AT-2 ''Swatter-C''). It entered service in 1969. A product improved version the 9M17MP was developed that had an improved engine and signal lamp.
The missile has been used extensively in the following wars on the Mi-24 platform.
*
Angolan War of Independence
The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...
*
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
* 1980s
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
*
1982 Lebanon War
* 1973s Israel and Egypt War 6 October
It was replaced in Soviet service by the
9K114 Shturm ATGM.
General characteristics (3M11 Fleyta)
![AT-2a Swatter line drawing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/AT-2a_Swatter_line_drawing.PNG)
* Length: 1,160 mm
* Wingspan: 680 mm
* Diameter: 148 mm
* Launch weight: 27.0 kg
* Speed: 150–170 m/s
* Range: 500 m - 2.5 km
* Time to maximum range: 17 seconds
* Guidance: Radio command
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...
* Warhead: 5.4 kg
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
500 mm vs
RHA;maximum 650 mm vs RHA for improved variant.
Models
* 3M11 ''Fleyta''
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...
(NATO reporting name AT-2A ''Swatter A'')
* 9M17 ''Falanga'' (NATO reporting name AT-2B ''Swatter B''): Range increased to 3.5 km.
** 9M17DB Modified system to work with the
Mi-8TB
* 9M17M ''Falanga-M''
MCLOS
Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...
: Launch weight , maximum range 3,500 m. First seen in the 1973 Moscow Parade.
* 9M17P ''Falanga-P'' (NATO reporting name AT-2C ''Swatter C''): First
SACLOS
Semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) is a method of missile command guidance. In SACLOS, the operator has to continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight. Electronics in the sighting device and/or th ...
version.. Launch weight 29 kg.
** 9M17MP Improved engine and guidance lamp. Maximum range 4,000 m.
** 9M17N
Operators
Current operators
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Former operators
* - passed on to successor states.
*
* – Used on Mi-24D, and subsequently passed on to the unified German state, and retired soon after.
* - Out of use since the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
* - only used on Mi-24D, withdrawn from service.
* - Missiles using as targets for training.
*
* - passed on to successor states.
Sources
* Hull, A.W., Markov, D.R., Zaloga, S.J. (1999). ''Soviet/Russian Armor and Artillery Design Practices 1945 to Present''. Darlington Productions. .
References
External links
AT - 2 SWATTER Anti-Tank Guided Missile
{{Russian and Soviet missiles, ATM
Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War
Anti-tank guided missiles of the Soviet Union
Military equipment introduced in the 1960s