Russia takes ATGM and Krasnopol-M2 delivery

Russia’s recently announced deliveries of Kornet ATGMs and Krasnopol-M2 guided artillery rounds reflect the central role played by guided munitions in Ukraine. The question is whether or not they will have a permanent impact on the Russian way of war. 

In the 1980s Soviet forces were struggling to combat the Mujahadeen. Patrolling Afghanistan’s roads they would frequently be ambushed from long ranges by fighters taking cover inside the thick mud walls of Afghan villages. The attack helicopters that they would bring in to engage them would frequently fall prey to Stinger missiles and heavy machine gun fire. Then, during one engagement 1985, fighters associated with a leader called Ahmed Shah Masood engaged a Soviet unit from their stronghold in the Pandjshir valley. A large round weighing 125 kg crashed through the roof of their stronghold, landing exactly where the forward observer wanted it to. It was followed by 11 more, destroying the position entirely. 

Normally, a howitzer or mortar firing dumb ammunition would have needed dozens of rounds and many hours to achieve the same effect. The Soviets had deployed Daredevil, not a superhuman, but a laser guided round for the 240 mm Tyulpan mortar. This appears to have been the first operational deployment of the nature by Soviet forces, and it led to multiple developments and improvements in the technology. 

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Fast forward to today, and the Daredevil’s close relative, the Krasnopol-M2 is used extensively in Ukraine. It is a 152 mm laser guided round. It is designed to be fired from Russian howitzers and is often paired with the towed 2S36 Msta-B, although it can be fired from many of their guns. When the Russians identify a target, they might use a drone like an Orlan-30 to designate it using a laser, which, when paired with a fire coordination centre, enables Krasnopol to be used. The round has an optical sensor on its nose that is designed to pick up the laser illumination reflecting off of the target. Once it has detected that, it manoeuvres in flight until it is in position to land on or near the illuminated area. 

It has proven quite effective, although the initial versions could be disrupted by low lying cloud cover, and building wooden shelters for guns has provided some form of cover. Former colleagues even observed Krasnopol being used to hit moving targets in Syria, which it can supposedly do up to target speeds of 36 km/h. It has become an integral part of Russia’s counter-battery combat in Ukraine. There, vehicles are very dispersed, sometimes with tens of kilometres between them. This is the worst type of target for long-range, unguided artillery fire. Unguided artillery fire produces a beaten zone approximately cigar-shaped. The rounds fired will land on and around the target area, suppressing and destroying equipment. But they are meant to engage targets over a large area, not single vehicles. This dispersion is driving both Russia and Ukraine to rely more extensively on guided munitions. 

Krasnopol and Kornet, delivered

So, we come to the news for this article – Rostec’s High Precision Systems has delivered batches of the Krasnopol-M2 and 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) to the Russian MoD. “Russian military personnel call the Kornet a ‘burner’ of enemy armor. It has successfully destroyed thousands of targets, including Leopard and Challenger tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and other Western-made armored vehicles, as well as enemy strongholds and fortifications,” Bekkhan Ozdoyev, Industrial Director of the Armaments Cluster at Rostec claimed in a November 7th press release. 

For once, Ozdoyev is probably not exaggerating. In terms of the weapon’s efficacy at least. Whilst the Krasnopol-M2 is used for long-range engagements against targets of opportunity, the Kornet ATGM forms the forward element of Russian defences. They were used in well-prepared ambushes during Ukraine’s 2023 counter-offensive, and often grouped to improve their effects. The launchers can be operated remotely, helping to protect the operators and minimising the ability of supporting fires to suppress them. 

When it hits a target, Kornet can be devastating. It has a large diameter (152 mm) shaped charge warhead weighing 4.6 kg. It can penetrate up to 1,200 mm of rolled homogeneous armour depending on variant and is designed to counter explosive reactive armour. Against lightly armoured vehicles and personnel in bunkers, Russian ATGMs had a close to 75% fatality rate, according to a 2023 report in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Like Krasnopol, it has come to play a key role in striking isolated targets, alleviating the burden on Russia’s strained logistics and artillery supply. This latest announcement only indicates that deliveries have taken place, but there have been few others since 2022 for the same weapons. 

Rostec has also reported on efforts to modernise the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer so that it could receive targeting data directly from a drone. This makes little sense without a greater availability of laser-guided rounds. A single howitzer can hit a target with unguided rounds, but is unlikely to do it quickly or effectively. 

Calibre comment: Precision everywhere

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Russia has introduced a significant number of precision weapons into its tactical formations. Alongside the Krasnopol and Kornet – which were already in service in 2022, but presumably in limited numbers, it has deployed thousands of Lancet loitering munitions. The Lancet has also accounted for a significant quantity of Ukrainian vehicles and positions. Together with Krasnopol-M2, it often forms the lead element of Russian counter-battery fire, with Lancets launched to engage a vehicle and Krasnopol used to destroy it. The big question is whether or not these systems are going to continue in use with the Russian armed forces at the same scale. If they do, it would place a significant capability in the hands of Russia’s frontline units. They would be able to hold targets at risk out to 70 km from the Lancet’s launch point, accurately strike individual guns or command posts with Krasnopol up to 40 km, and destroy most armoured vehicles not carrying an active protection system up to 8 km with Kornet. That is to say nothing of the 9M723 Iskander ballistic missile, which would be used to engage critical targets up to 500 km from its launch site. 

Previously, Russia would have expected its rocket and tube artillery to carry much of the lethality throughout these ranges. They planned around expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition in a matter of days, and built weak points into their system – like ammunition stockpiling and railhead dependence – that could be exploited as a result. If, however, they now plan around using dispersed units, concentrating accurate fire onto targets with precision munitions, they could minimise some of those vulnerabilities that NATO forces are hoping they can target, whilst simultaneously improving Russia’s ability to inflict losses. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on November 8th, 2025. The lead image shows Kornet missiles and the Krasnopol guided artillery round on display. Credit: Rostec.