Khrizantema

9M123 Khrizantema
The 9M123 missile
Type	Anti-tank missile
Place of origin	Russia
Service history
In service	2005-present
Used by	Russia
Wars	Libyan Civil War
Production history
Designer	KBM (Kolomna)
Designed	1996
Manufacturer	KBM
Produced	2005-present
Variants	9M123, 9M123-2, 9M123F, 9M123F-2
Specifications (9M123)
Weight	46 kg (54 kg with launch tube)
Length	2057 mm
Diameter	150 mm
Warhead	Tandem HEAT (9M123), Thermobaric (9M123F)
Warhead weight	8 kg (9M123), 6 kg (9M123F)
Detonation mechanism	Impact fuze
Wingspan	310 mm
Propellant	Solid-fuel rocket
Operational range	400-6000m
Speed	400 m/s
Guidance system	ACLOS radar beam riding , SACLOS laser beam riding
Steering system	Two control surfaces
Accuracy	<5 m
Launch platform	9P157-2 tank destroyer, Mi-28 Attack helicopter

The Khrizantema (Russian: "Хризантема"; English: Chrysanthemum) is a Russian anti-tank missile. Khrizantema was designed to deal with current and future generations of main battle tanks and can also be used to engage slow and low flying aerial targets like helicopters. The missile carries the GRAU designation 9M123 and the NATO reporting name AT-15 Springer. The 9M123 missile together with its associated guidance system forms the 9K123 missile system.

The Khrizantema anti-tank missile was unveiled in July 1996 by the Konstruktorskoye Byuro Mashynostroyenia (KBM) Engineering Design Bureau. The missile had started development in the 1980s and was designed as an all weather, multi-purpose missile system that could defeat current and future armoured units equipped with advanced armour protection like explosive reactive armour (ERA). Khrizantema was envisaged as a replacement for a variety of different types of anti-tank missiles that remained in service with the Russian military, such as the 9K114 Shturm and the 9M120 Ataka-V. The system entered service with the Russian armed forces in 2005.

The 9M123 missile is supersonic, flying at an average speed of 400 m/s or Mach 1.2 and has a range of between 400 and 6,000 meters. Propulsion is by way of a single solid fuel rocket motor with two exhausts on either side of the missile. The off-set exhausts cause the missile to spin during flight. Guidance control is provided by two pop-out control surfaces at the rear of the missile (four additional surfaces help stabilise the missile during flight). The Khrizantema is unique among Russian anti-tank guided missiles as, depending on the variant the missile, it can either be guided by laser or radar. The radar unit uses the millimeter wave band and the system automatically tracks the target and guides the missile in the radar beam. This form of guidance is LOSBR (Line-Of-Sight Beam Riding) that is ACLOS. When guided using a laser, a continuous laser beam is generated towards the target and a sensor in the rear section enables the missile to ride the laser beam to the target. This form of guidance is LOSBR (Line-Of-Sight Beam Riding) that is SACLOS. This dual guidance system allows two missiles to be fired at two separate targets at once, with one missile guided by laser and the other by radar. Each missile carries a tandem HEAT warhead with a reported penetration of 1100–1250 mm RHA behind explosive reactive armour (ERA), alternatively a thermobaric warhead can be carried to engage soft-skinned targets, fortifications and manpower.