9M120 Ataka

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This page is about the Russian air-to-ground missile 9M120 Ataka. For the other version, see 9M120-1 Ataka.

Description

The 9M120 Ataka missile with fins folded and deployed (scale is approximate)


The 9M120 Ataka is a Russian SACLOS-guided air-to-ground missile. It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".

The Ataka is a development of the earlier 9M114 Shturm missile family with an improved warhead and booster. It looks almost identical as a result, the main difference being the prominent nose probe for the tandem charge. The Ataka largely fixes the flaws of the preceding "Kokon" with much greater lethality and adds an extra kilometer of range as well, resulting in a straightforward all-round missile.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

Missile characteristics
Mass 33 kg
Guidance Semi-Automatic (SACLOS)
Maximum speed 550 m/s
Missile guidance time 25 secs
Firing range 6 km
Explosive mass 4.48 kg TNTeq
Armour penetration 800 mm

Effective damage

The Ataka's 800 mm of flat penetration is quite good, equaling the TOW-2, and enough to punch holes in most contemporary ground targets. However many top-tier MBTs have strong composite armour in their turrets with more than 800 mm of chemical protection, so it's best to target hull armour. The tandem warhead allows it to remain effective against tanks with ERA, but not always - the ERA variants used by contemporary Chinese MBTs such as the ZTZ96A are immune to tandem warheads and the Ataka does not have enough penetration to brute force through. Compared to the 9M114, the Ataka has about half a kilogram of extra TNT equivalent for additional effectiveness against light targets.

Comparison with analogues

  • AGM-114B Hellfire - functionally a very different missile from the Ataka, with semi-active laser guidance and a top attack profile. In terms of firepower, the Hellfire has much greater penetration and TNT equivalent, but it lacks a tandem warhead and takes longer to reach its target.
  • HOT-3 - a fellow high-tier SACLOS holdout, the HOT-3 is much more powerful than the Ataka with a tandem warhead penetrating 1,250 mm of RHA, but it has a 4.30 km max range and a paltry 250 m/s maximum flight speed that makes it very inconvenient to use.
  • AKD-9 - the AKD-9 has the same penetration and range as the Ataka but functions like a slower Hellfire with less TNT equivalent. Generally outperformed by the Ataka outside of edge cases like lock-on-after launch.
  • L-UMTAS - another Hellfire-like missile, the UMTAS has a powerful tandem warhead and good range for its battle rating but suffers from a glacial 180 m/s maximum speed that makes the HOT-3 seem fast and the Ataka seem hypersonic.

Usage in battles

The Ataka is a straightforward, no-nonsense missile at a rank where many helicopter pilots of other nations have to learn the ropes of the Hellfire. With no laser designator to worry about, using it is as simple as locking on with the auto tracker and firing, making any desired adjustments to the auto-tracker aim point as the missile flies within the pilot's field of view. Since the missile directly follows the cursor, it's easier to keep track of a target that's moving between cover or bushes. This simplicity also precludes it from some of the Hellfire's advanced functions like salvo firing (for double taps or multi-target engagement) and lock-on-after launch (for hiding from SAMs). Instead of system management, the Ataka asks for some attention to detail in how to dispatch enemies, since a direct-fire missile with 800 mm of raw penetration isn't always effective against advanced MBTs from the front. Identify targets carefully and aim for weak points such as hull or side armour.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Powerful tandem charge warhead is generally sufficient for frontal attacks against modern MBTs
  • Retains fast flight speed from the Shturm, has longer range too
  • Direct flight path means shorter time to target than Hellfire-like missiles

Cons:

  • Outranged by the Hellfire
  • No salvo firing capability, only one Ataka can be guided at a time
  • No lock-on-after launch, user must be exposed for entire flight duration against SAMs
  • Warhead isn't powerful enough for sturdy composite armour or advanced tandem-warhead-resistant ERA

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Related development

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Missiles
USA 
AAM  AIM-54A Phoenix · AIM-54C Phoenix · ATAS (AIM-92)
Sparrow  AIM-7C · AIM-7D · AIM-7E · AIM-7E-2 · AIM-7F · AIM-7M
Sidewinder  AIM-9B · AIM-9C · AIM-9D · AIM-9E · AIM-9G · AIM-9H · AIM-9J · AIM-9L · AIM-9M · AIM-9P
AGM  AGM-22 · APKWS II (M151) · APKWS II (M282) · BGM-71D TOW-2
Bullpup  AGM-12B Bullpup · AGM-12C Bullpup
Hellfire  AGM-114B Hellfire · AGM-114K Hellfire II
Maverick  AGM-65A · AGM-65B · AGM-65D
ATGM  LOSAT/MGM-166A
TOW  BGM-71 · BGM-71A · BGM-71B · BGM-71C
SAM  FIM-92 Stinger · MIM-72 · MIM146
Naval SAM  RIM-24A
Germany 
AAM  AIM-9B FGW.2 Sidewinder · Flz Lwf 63/80
AGM  9M14M Malyutka · Flz Lwf LB 82 · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · PARS 3 LR
AShM  AS.34 Kormoran
ATGM  HOT-K3S
SAM  Roland
USSR 
AAM  9M39 Igla · R-3R · R-3S · R-13M1 · R-23R · R-23T · R-24R · R-24T · R-27ER(1) · R-27ET(1) · R-27R(1) · R-27T(1) · R-60 · R-60M · R-60MK · R-73(E)
AGM  9K127 Vikhr · 9M17M Falanga · 9M120 Ataka · 9M120-1 Ataka
  Kh-23M · Kh-25 · Kh-25ML · Kh-29L · Kh-29T · Kh-29TE · Kh-29TD · Kh-66 · S-25L
ATGM  3M7 · 9M14 · 9M113 Konkurs · 9M114 Shturm · 9M123 Khrizantema · 9M133 · 9M133FM3 · 9M133M-2
SAM  95Ya6 · 9M311 · 9M311-1M · 9M331 · 9M37M
Naval SAM  Volna-M
Britain 
AAM  Fireflash · Firestreak · Red Top · Skyflash · Skyflash SuperTEMP · SRAAM
AGM  AS.12 · ZT-6 Mokopa
ATGM  BAe Swingfire · MILAN · MILAN 2 · ZT3
SAM  Starstreak
Japan 
AAM  AAM-3
AGM  Ki-148 I-Go Model 1B
ATGM  Type 64 MAT · Type 79 Jyu-MAT
SAM  Type 81 SAM-1C · Type 91
China 
AAM  PL-2 · PL-5B · PL-5C · PL-7 · PL-8 · TY-90
AGM  AKD-9 · AKD-10 · HJ-8A · HJ-8C · HJ-8E · HJ-8H
ATGM  302 · HJ-73 · HJ-73E · HJ-9 · QN201DD · QN502CDD
SAM  HN-6
Italy 
AAM  Aspide-1A
AGM  CIRIT · L-UMTAS · Spike ER
ATGM  Spike-LR2MR
Naval AShM  Nettuno
SAM  Mistral SATCP
France 
AAM  AA-20 Nord · Matra R511 · Matra R530 · Matra R530E · Matra Super 530D · Matra Super 530F · Matra R550 Magic 1 · Matra R550 Magic 2 · Mistral
AGM  9M14-2 Malyutka-2 · AS-20 Nord · AS-30 Nord · AS-30L Nord · HOT-1 · HOT-2 TOW · HOT-3 · Spike ER
ATGM  HOT · SS.11
SAM  Roland · VT1
Sweden 
AAM  RB24 · RB24J · RB71 · RB 74 · RB 74(M)
AGM  Rb05A · RB 53 Bantam · RB 55B Heli TOW · RB 55C Heli TOW · RB 75
ATGM  Rbs 55 · Rbs 56
SAM  Rbs 70
Israel 
AAM  Shafrir · Shafrir 2 · Python 3
ATGM  Spike-MR
  AAM = Air-to-Air Missile   AGM = Air-to-Ground Missile   AShM = Anti-Ship Missile   ATGM = Anti-Tank Guided Missile (Ground mounts)   SAM = Surface-to-Air Missile