The is a Japanese wire-guided

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 ...

developed during the late 1950s. The missile is a broadly similar to the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

/German Cobra and the

9M14 Malyutka The 9M14 Malyutka (russian: Малютка, links=no; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the f ...

. Within the JGSDF, it is also known as 64MAT and KAM-3.

History

Development of the missile began in 1957, and was adopted as standard equipment for the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces with the official designation Type 64 ATM in 1964.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It ...

had been responsible for manufacturing the Type 64. Though the Type 64 MAT had been largely phased out and replaced by the Type 79 Jyu-MAT and Type 87 Chu-MAT as front-line

s in the 1970s to the 1990s, a small number are being held as reserve missiles.

Description

The missile is cruciform in cross-section with four large wings. It is powered by a dual thrust rocket motor, which accelerates the missile to its cruising speed in 0.8 seconds.

Operational use

The missile is launched from an open framed launcher at an angle of 15 degrees. The operator steers the missile using a control box, which sends commands down a wire that is trailed from the missile. A gyroscope in the missile compensates for pitch and yaw. The Type 64 is typically operated by a three-man crew. It can also be deployed from a Mitsubishi Type 73 Jeep, which can carry four missiles and a

Type 60 Armoured Personnel Carrier The is an armored personnel carrier that entered service with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in 1960. Development Work began in 1956 on development of a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) to equip the Japan Ground Self-Defense Fo ...

Similar missile systems

* Cobra

References

* ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991,

Biography