Dear Garry,

To say it is complex is an understatement. And I stand by my statement. To get this complex of a HEAT warhead to work is nothing short of a miracle.

Jack E. Hammond

These weapons also have nose mounted precursor charges and rear mounted main charges, making a standoff probe redundant. In fact the curret 125mm HEAT round used by Russian tanks has three shaped charges that defeat ERA equipped targets and penetrate 950mm+ homogenous armour. One precursor charges and two seperate main charges.

Dear GarryB,

If the Russians have R&D successfully the type of 125mm warhead you have described they have achieved an engineering miricle (reports are that the Hellfire has two full size HEAT warheads). With todays’s antiarmor warheads you have a small HEAT warhead on a probe away from the main much larger HEAT warhead. The first smaller one goes off predetonating any ERA. It is so small as not to interfer with the larger HEAT charge behind it plus the probe places it away from the larger main HEAT warhead. But with what you have described, when the main HEAT warhead goes off it will distort the HEAT warhead behind it making it useless. Weapons designers have worked on trying to develop tandem full size HEAT wareheads for years. The reason is so you can keep the diameter or the ATGW within reason (ie the HOT is about the limit). If you can develop a double HEAT warhead that works, the first one will penetrate the armor so far and the second one will go from that first warheads penetration to increase it. Great in therory. If it works!

Jack E. Hammond

Note he says

Original reports that ATGM Kornet performance is severely degraded by ERA due to its peculiar order of internal components proved true as the ATGM with at least 100mm higher penetrating potential was not superior to a much lighter RPG-29.

This appears to be a variant of Kornet without tandem warhead, as with tandem warhead Kornet wouldnt get affected by ERA!

He also says penetration of Kornet (in 1999) > 750mm

But from latest figures:
http://www.shipunov.com/eng/atgw/kornet.htm
Penetration capability of HEAT warhead, mm 1000-1200

Dear Member,

There maybe some truth about the KORNET “order of its componets”. The KORNET does not have a probe with a precursor HEAT warhead so it could degraded with ERA. Many manufactures of ATGW are relocating the main HEAT warhead to the rear of the missile (with a tunnel through the substainer motor and other componets). I have no idea but if the KORNET’s main HEAT warhead is located in the front part of the missiles body this can cause a problem.

The French with their ERYX located the smaller precursor warhead in the frotn and the main warhead in the rear. (see link below). But either way the US Army should try and find out for sure one way or another. Either the Russians have accomplished some astonishing advances in HEAT warheads (the last great advance was the Swiss development of the trumpet shaped cone) or they have not. We need to know. Remember the US Navy had a disaster at Pearl Harbor because they believed it impossible to air drop torpedoes in shallow waters of that anchorage.

Jack E. Hammond

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/hybenamon/LAND/MISSILES/ERYX%20-%20FRENCH%20AT%20MISSILE/eryx-5.jpg