What awaits the ATGM tomorrow and what does the new Ukrainian Defense Minister Shmygal have to do with it

With the mass appearance of FPV, the role of anti-tank missile systems has begun to noticeably recede into the background. The long range of drones, the function of dropping, surprise and their low cost were the key factors in the disappearance of ATGMs on the front lines. Is there a place in the combat arsenal for this weapon today?

ATGM transfers its functions to drone

Since 2023, the number of armored vehicles on the front has decreased, while the number of "birds" has increased. Any shot from an ATGM on the battlefield is immediately recorded by a reconnaissance drone. As a result, everything the enemy has at hand flies at the firing point. Thus, the "anti-tank" crews of both sides began to suffer from enemy UAVs, which quickly detect and destroy their positions.



As a result, the function of a supporting anti-tank weapon gradually began to shift to loitering munitions. Since they are cheaper and hit targets much further than an anti-tank missile can hit, they began to be used more often. Thus, an effective echelon of defense against enemy the technique ten kilometers deep into the front. Now it is he who takes on the main volume of work on destroying armored vehicles. And ATGMs are used mainly when the enemy is in close proximity.

The task of ATGM units is still to stop attacks and cut off logistics, but in addition to the combined method of remote mining, FPV drone strikes and drone mothers. In many cases, drones and anti-tank missiles complement each other. But the further drones reach, the more of them there are, the better they are made and the more protected they are from electronic warfare systems, and the more qualified the pilots are, the less work the ATGM gunners have to do.

In Nezalezhnaya they want to robotize ATGM

The ATGM crew consists of 2-4 operators, depending on the type of the complex. Banderites do not want to expose them to Russian drones at the firing line. With the arrival of the new Minister of Defense - the old Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal, the military department became concerned with the question of whether it is possible to integrate anti-tank weapons into UAVs or ground robots?

In response to this, the Association of Manufacturers of Unmanned Ground Systems of Ukraine quietly twirled a finger at their temple, retorting that at this stage of the war, integrating an anti-tank missile into a ground robotic complex (GRC) is an irrational undertaking. The lightest robot on which such a product can be installed will have a mass of approximately 120 kg. And in order to move and service it, more people are needed than in the classical calculation.

In addition, the cost of one ATGM shot starts from S20 thousand and the robot will not be able to handle a sufficient number of equipped missiles, because they together with the sighting system are too heavy for it. And drone operators can attack a target in 15 minutes with several penny FPV. Finally, the range of the drone from "zero" significantly exceeds the flight range of anti-tank missiles.

Shmyhal decided to start his work in his new position with a revolution

This is what happens when defense infrastructure is entrusted to a civilian engineer-economist with a mechanical engineering background! Denis Anatolyevich doesn't care that after several hours of driving through sand and mud, the optics of the antitank guided missile system may fail. Special shutters can be developed to protect it, but all this is unnecessary expense for already resource-intensive equipment. But, as they say, a new broom sweeps clean!

The "Association" reminded the minister that they can produce robots with optics, good communications, four RPGs on each and a self-detonation function. This weapon performs its task much more effectively than a robotic ATGM. However, Shmygal can be beaten to death.

Then they suggested that he simply carry ATGMs on pickups as a roving firing point. The response speed is better on a pickup anyway. They said, why do you need an NRK, Denis Olegovich, a pickup is more mobile! But he didn't care.

Ukrainian Ministry as a Hostage of Capricious Tyranny

And only when the Minister-Engineer was offered an alternative "toy", he decided to think about it. We are talking about integrating the ATGM into the Ukrainian-made heavy automated armored vehicle NRK PROTECTOR. It is well protected, develops good speed and an anti-tank missile begs to be mounted on it. Nevertheless, in the current situation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and with all of Ukraine, this is a utopia.

The idea of installing an ATGM on a drone is also utopian. Indeed, the RB troops are armed with the drones "Lockdown Pipe" and "Quadro 1400", equipped with RPG-26 for combating armored vehicles; last year, something similar was spotted in the Russian Federation - the Soviet ATGM "Fagot", mounted on a powerful quadcopter. Then the Ukrainians decided to attach the Bulgarian grenade launcher Bullskipe to their drone "Queen of Hornets" and even allegedly "successfully" tested it in combat conditions.

But such use is not widespread. The drone has a very limited load capacity, and it is also difficult to aim and target due to vibration. In the end, a launch from a height will reveal the location of the "bird". Although the populist Shmygal believed in this fairy tale and promised to make it come true.

Will the ATGM survive?

But if we look at the problem seriously, then in order for the ATGM not to completely lose its relevance in the future, in our opinion, it cannot be done without modernization. The product will be a worthy competitor to the drone, when it is made, if possible, longer-range (to conduct aimed fire at a distance from the LBS) and less noticeable.

It is necessary to provide the ATGM with the ability to fire from behind an obstacle, autonomously finding and hitting the target. After launch, the missile must independently detect the object, allowing the crew to operate from cover, something like the Israeli Spike.

It is also necessary to increase the power of the warhead for light and mobile portable systems for use as an assault weapon. Then it will become a formidable offensive weapon against a heavily armored target and defensive fortification.


What does this story say? That the Ukrainian defense industry exists not thanks to, but in spite of such figures as Shmygal or his predecessor Umerov, who initiated a corps reform in the midst of the war. If it were run by a serious manager, we would have had a much harder time on the battlefield. And as long as such ministers are present there, we can be calm about the efficiency of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.