9К115-2 Metis-M
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 9K115-2 Metis-M (
NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...
AT-13 Saxhorn-2) is a Russian portable
anti-tank guided 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 shoulde ...
system. "9K115-2" is the
GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...
designation of the missile system. The Metis-M1 is the latest upgraded variant of Metis-M. The system is designed to augment the combat power of company-level
motorized units Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which c ...
.


Overview

The Metis-M / Metis-M1 system adds to the usual positive qualities of a man-portable anti-tank guided missile with significant improvements in range, accuracy and lethality. Owing to the small dimensions and light weight of its components, this manportable system can be carried by its crew in compact packs over any distance and over a wide variety of terrain types, including stream crossing. The three-man crew carries personal weapons and an ammunition load of five missiles. One crew member carries a pack with a missile-loaded launcher, which considerably reduces the time of fire preparation and allows the crew to engage targets whilst moving. In the event of sudden appearance of a target, the operator can fire from the shoulder with the launcher rested against a local object. The two other crew members each carry a pack with two missiles.


Guidance

The Metis-M / Metis-M1 ATGM system has a semi-automatic
missile guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...
, with commands transmitted over a wire link. The guidance system is constructed so that the most sophisticated and costly components, such as a gyroscopic coordinator, electronic units and an onboard battery, are excluded from the missile.


Features

* changes from the traveling to the firing position—and vice versa—in 15 – 20 seconds; * firing rate of 3 - 4 rounds per minute; * fired from organized and deployed sites in the prone and standing foxhole positions, as well as from combat vehicles; * can be shipped by any type of transport and can be air-dropped. The Metis-M system comprises: * combat assets; * maintenance facilities; * training aids. The combat assets of the Metis-M system include: * 9M131 (9M131F)
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 ...
; * 9P151 launcher; * 1PBN86-VI thermal sight.


Metis-M1

Metis-M1 is the upgraded variant of Metis-M. The new version has greater range of , more armor penetration of , and reduced weight. It is designed to destroy main battle tanks with
Active Protection System An active protection system (APS) is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle. Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are ...
s and
Explosive Reactive Armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...
(ERA), light armored vehicles, fortifications, and other targets in day or night and in any weather condition. In 2013,
Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...
received large amount of Metis-M1 anti-tank missile systems along with 1200 missiles. In November 2015, Russia revealed it was formalizing the introduction of the Metis-M1 and entered service with Russia on March 2, 2016.


Operational history


Lebanon

According to accounts by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
concerning weapons seized from Hezbollah and from journalists' accounts from Lebanon, the Metis-M was used successfully by
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
fighters during the
2006 Lebanon war The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
against
Merkava The Merkava (, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the Armored Corps (Israel), IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations of this tank are considered broadly equivalent t ...
tanks. Israel has sent a team of officials to Moscow to show the Russians the evidence of what they say can only be Syrian weapons transfers. To date, Russia has not commented on the weapon proliferation, although it has moved to tighten control over the use of Russian-made weapons by the importing states.


South Korea

South Korea purchased a total of 220 Metis-M in two orders—70 in 1995 (Project Brown Bear I) and 150 in 2005 (Project Brown Bear II)—and acquired 9,000 missiles as of 2006. According to the tests, Metis-M was capable of penetrating 850 mm of RHA, providing great firepower for a weapon operated by 2 soldiers. However, between 2009 and 2011, South Korean Army fired 17 missiles for testing, and 10 missiles either missed the target or didn't ignite the warhead upon impact (60% failure). After temporarily removing Metis-M from active service, the Army, the
Agency for Defense Development The Agency for Defense Development (ADD, ) is the South Korean government agency for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It was established in August 1970 under the ban ...
, and the
Defense Acquisition Program Administration The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA, ) is a central administrative agency of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. It was founded on 1 January 2006 as part of a comprehensive reform of defense acquisition, including the ...
test fired 43 missiles and achieved 41 hits (7% failure). The joint inspection team hypothesized faulty electronics on the guiding system or failing to maintain in good custody. However, they were not able to identify the cause of the issue, and Metis-M was put back into active service.


Syria

On 7 March 2012, Free Syrian Army fighters used a 9K115-2 Metis-M anti-tank guided missile to hit a derelict Syrian Air Force MiG-23MS. Later during the Syrian Civil War, its use became widespread. Insurgents used it with great success, together with other ATGMs, against different targets, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, trucks and firing posts with many videos uploaded on to the internet. Initially, Metis missiles originated from looted
Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...
depots, while later external suppliers could have been involved. It was confirmed that Bulgaria has sold 6 sets of 9K115-2 Metis via the United States to Syrian rebels.


Operators


Current operators

* *: Metis-M1 systems along with 1200 missiles supplied to
Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...
in 2013. * * * *: 100 in inventory. * *: Used by ground and airborne units. *: Received Metis-M as debt payment from Russia. *


Non-State Actors

* *
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
*
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
*
Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...
* *
People's Defense Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostly consists of K ...
(YPG) *
Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...
: Metis-M systems used. *
FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC, is a royalist political party in Cambodia. Founded in 1981 by Norodom Sihanouk, it began as a resistance movement again ...
: during the 1997 Cambodian coup.


See also

* * * * * * * *
List of Russian weaponry The following is a list of modern Russian small arms and light weapons which were in service in 2024: Handguns Revolvers Pistols Special purpose Submachine guns Special purpose Shotguns Rifles Bolt-action Semi-a ...


Notes


References

* ''Russia's Arms Catalog 2004''


External links


Description of system with photos


{{Russian and Soviet missiles, ATM Anti-tank guided missiles of Russia KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Modern thermobaric weapons of Russia Military equipment introduced in the 1990s