The 3M11 ''Fleyta'' (flute,

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-2 ''Swatter'') is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

MCLOS Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS or MACLOS) 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 ste ...

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 missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

. 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 (; ) 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 typically deployed from specialised vehicles or helicopt ...

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 General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

in September 1964, and accepted for service shortly afterwards.

History

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 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

as well as the

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

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 c ...

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 designed and developed ...

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 must continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight. Electronics in the sighting device and/or the ...

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. *

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Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

* 1980s

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

* 1973s Israel and Egypt War 6 October It was replaced in Soviet service by the 9K114 Shturm ATGM.

General characteristics (3M11 Fleyta)

* 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

* Warhead: 5.4 kg

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

500 mm vs RHA；maximum 650 mm vs RHA for improved variant.

Models

* 3M11 ''Fleyta''

(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''

: 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

version.. Launch weight 29 kg. ** 9M17MP Improved engine and guidance lamp. Maximum range 4,000 m. ** 9M17N

Operators

Current operators

* - 9M17M Falanga-M. * - 3M11 Falanga. * - 9M17 Skorpion.

Former operators

* - Used on Mi-24A attack helicopters. * * - passed on to successor states. * * – Used on Mi-24D, and subsequently passed on to the unified German state, and retired soon after. * * - Used on Mi-24. Out of use since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. * - Mounted on helicopters. * - Used on Mi-24D helicopters. * - only used on Mi-24D, withdrawn from service. * - Missiles using as targets for training. * * * - passed on to successor states. * - Passed on to the unified Republic of Yemen. * *

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