Indian Army upgrades Konkurs-M ATGW with thermal imagers

The Indian Army is upgrading its 9K111-1M Konkurs-M ATGW systems – pictured above in operation with the Russian Army – with thermal imagers for use in low-light or night operations. (KBP Instrument Design Bureau)

The Indian Army has upgraded its 9K111‐1M Konkurs‐M anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) systems with Bangalore-based Tonbo Imaging's cooled, longwave Infrared (LWIR) thermal imagers known as Sarisa, a source at Tonbo told Janes.

According to Tonbo, Sarisa is a thermal imaging camera used for detection, recognition, and identification of threats at long ranges during day and night and in adverse weather conditions. It can lock onto a stationary or moving target before launching the missile.

Sarisa is equipped with mounting brackets that allow it to be installed in the front of the optics channel of the Konkurs-M ATGW launcher.

It is deployed in clip-on configuration with inbuilt collimated optics “enabling the user to engage with the targets using the same sight channel of direct-view optics of the Konkurs launcher”, according to Tonbo.

The thermal imager is designed in accordance with MIL-STD-810G and MIL-STD-461F standards.

According to Janes Weapons: Infantry , the 9K111‐1M Konkurs‐M is an improved model of the 9K111‐1 Konkurs ATGW system. The 9K111‐1M Konkurs‐M was developed to counter explosive reactive armour (ERA)‐protected targets. The system includes the 9P135M‐1 ground launch system (GLS) and the 9M113M missile. The Konkurs-M system was developed by then TsKB‐14 (now KBP Instrument Design Bureau) situated in Tula, Russia.

In 2008 the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the procurement of 15,000 Konkurs‐M missiles for INR13.8 billion (USD167 million). In 2012 the MoD approved the procurement of an additional 10,000 Konkurs‐M missiles.