While the Stugna-P anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system is much more recognizable, Ukraine’s portable ATGM, the RK-3 Korsaw, is proving a valuable asset for Ukrainian troops as fighting intensifies in the country’s east. This ATGM, the smallest ever developed in Ukraine, was caught on camera recently. The footage proved that portable missile systems can be just as destructive as larger ones.
In the footage, three Russian armored vehicles are seen driving on narrow roads. They are struck by three missiles.
The video shows a Ukrainian soldier operating the small missile launcher. The RK-3 is mounted onto a tripod. The soldier looks through a sight and launches the missiles.
Each missile appears to land directly on the vehicles, creating large plumes of black and gray smoke. One vehicle is engulfed in flames, while others are immediately immobilized as surrounding vehicles attempted to flee the scene.
What Is the RK-3?
The small RK-3 Korsar is best compared to the Soviet-era 9K115 Metis.
It is designed to destroy both moving and stationary armored targets, as well as other objects. The missile it fires is capable of destroying combined, carried, or monolithic armor, and it makes easy work of explosive reactive armor – a form of armor designed to react to explosives in a way that reduces damage.
The blast from the RK-3 is so strong that it can destroy ERA-equipped vehicles, which normally can absorb multiple strikes before the vehicle is immobilized and the crew killed.
How It Works
The RK-3 consists of a launching container with a guided missile, missile launcher, and a guidance unit.
Each RK-3 guided missile is 910 mm in length and 11.5 kg in weight. The missile has four wings to stabilize itself during flight, as well as two tail control surfaces. Its warhead is 3.7 kg in weight, bringing the weight of the entire unit, including the container, to 26 kg.
#Ukraine: Everyone is used to Stugna-P, but let’s not forget about another Ukrainian ATGM – RK-3 Korsar. Here a soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine destroying three Russian vehicle with this system somewhere in the East. pic.twitter.com/4TLa496crm
— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 6, 2022
Infantrymen can launch the missile from over the shoulder by either kneeling or standing. They can also use a tripod to fire the missile from the ground.
The RK-3 is guided using a laser beam, making it immune to jamming. Operators direct the beam toward a target, and the missile simply follows it.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
