As designed, the missile consists of a tubular body housing all applicable systems including the rocket motor, fuel supply, guidance kit and warhead. The nose of the weapon is conical with a small, cylindrical protrusion added. The missile is stabilized along its flight path by four large fins at the rear of the body. The exhaust port for the rocket motor is at the rear of the body. The separate operator's control box used for guidance includes and optics set as well as a joystick-like control-stick for precision maneuvering of the missile as it heads towards its target.
The original model of 1963 was the 9M14 (AT-3A "Sagger-A") and this was followed by the improved 9M14M (AT-3B Sagger-B) in 1973 which introduced a new propulsion system increasing engagement range out to 3 kilometers. Then followed the 9M14P (AT-3C Sagger-C) which included subvariants sporting better warheads with higher penetration values. The AT-3D Sagger-D arrived in the 1990s and the missile was given improved flight performance. Several subvariants marked this entry that included further improvements to penetration as well as an anti-infantry warhead model (9M14-2F).
Several Soviet allies of the period took to local production / development of the AT-3 Sagger series. In China, the missile became the HJ-73 "Red Arrow" and this product entered service in 1979 with variants following. In Iran the series became known as "RAAD" and North Korea adopted a local version under the "Susong-Po" name. Romania joined in with the "Maliutka M2T" and Slovenia used the "POLK" based on the AT-3C production model. For the island nation of Taiwan, the local Sagger development was the "Kun Wu 1".
Operators of the Sagger family were numerous and ultimately ranged from Afghanistan and Algeria to Vietnam and Zimbabwe. While some have moved on to more modern anti-tank / anti-armor means, the AT-3 missile family retains a strong presence in the world today (2017), such has been its imprint on modern warfare.
Notable conflicts where the AT-3 series has been fielded include the Vietnam War (1955-175), Yom Kippur War (1973), the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Gulf War (1991), both Chechen Wars (1994-1996; 1999-2000) and, more recently, the Libyan (2011-Present), Syrian (2011-Present) and Iraqi (2014-Present) civil wars. Its availability and relative effectiveness against new armor and sheer availability means that the AT-3 Sagger should enjoy a few more decades of service.
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