Stugna-P: Ukrainian analogue of Javelin ATGM

Stugna-P is a Ukrainian-made “counterpart” of the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile system. It is designed to destroy modern armored targets with combined, carried, or monolithic armor, including explosive reactive armor (ERA). Stugna-P can attack both stationary and moving targets. Luch Design Bureau designs it.

History

In 2005, the Luch Design Bureau began developing a new anti-tank guided missile system, a successor of their first-generation Stugna anti-tank guided missile system. It was designated as the Stugna-P. The main difference between Stugna and Stugna-P is missile caliber. The Stugna had missile in the caliber of 100mm, while Stugna-P missile is 130 mm.

On April 12, 2011, the Stugna-P anti-tank missile system was adopted by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In February 2015, a mobile version of the system was installed and mounted on the UTV CFmoto Tracker chassis.

On March 20, 2015, Ukroboronprom started mass production of the Stugna-P anti-tank missile system, as RA Romanov, General Director of Ukroboronprom, announced. On October 4, 2015, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard received a light mobile anti-tank complex of domestic design based on the CFmoto Tracker 800 ATV.

At the end of 2015, the R-2C missile completed certification to NATO standards for further use by European companies. The Belgian company CMI Defense (Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie) is Luch’s partner in the European and NATO markets.

In September 2018, it became known that Ukraine has received more than 100 Aselsan Eye-Lr S thermal imagers, which will be installed on Stugna-P installations. In 2018 alone, Luch Design Bureau delivered 2,500 missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Design

The system is recognizable for its simplicity of design. The missile launch tube and fire control system are mounted on a launcher unit stabilized by a small collapsible tripod.

Missile

The Stugna-P system is equipped with 130 mm caliber missiles installed in a transport and launch container. Guided-missile can be equipped with warheads: tandem cumulative, high-explosive or thermobaric. The system missiles are equipped with RK-2S and RK-2OF warheads.

Control panel

The Stugna-P fire control system is equipped with a TV channel guidance unit paired with an SLX-Hawk thermal imaging camera. The addition of a thermal sight is offered on an optional basis for Stugna-P customers. Like its Soviet ATGMs predecessors, this system has a separate control panel. In addition to the regular fire mode, the system can be deployed and commanded as 50 meters away. It means that the operator can take cover and avoid possible detection by enemy forces.

The Stugna-P control panel is PDU-215. It is a laptop paired with a control panel unit. The control panel consists of a small joystick and a flat-screen display to assist the missile’s guidance. Stugna-P operators have the advantage of two firing modes for engaging targets; these are manual guidance when used in concealment and a fire-and-forget option for ambushes. The system can be equipped with two different guidance devices:

Mon-I

• Weight: 15 kg
• Range of detection of the target type “tank” during the day: up to 6,500 m
• Target recognition range: 2,500 m

Aselsan Eye-Lr S

• targets during the day: up to 15,000 m
• Tank at night: up to 5,600 m
• A man at night: up to 2,500 m

Combat use

The first combat use of the Stugna-P system was during the War in Donbas in 2014. Since then, Ukrainian Armed Forces have continuously used this system as part of their anti-tank strategy. During the Ukraine War in 2022, Stugna-P was widely deployed and used by Ukrainian Armed Forces. Alongside FGM-148 Javelin, NLAW, Carl Gustaf, and other Western-produced anti-tank systems, Stugna-P destroyed numerous Russian tanks and armored vehicles and recommended themselves well.

One of the most significant advantages of the Ukrainian Stugna-P system is its relatively low price. According to the sources, it is several times cheaper than FGM-148 Javelin.

Variants

The system has an export version designated as Skif. The only difference between the Skif and the Stugna-P is the use of a sight made by the Belarusian company Peleng. Skif is equipped with a Belarusian guidance device PN-S, while Stugna-P uses a guidance device PN-I developed in Ukraine.

During the exhibition “Weapons and Security 2019”, Luch Bureau Design presented two new systems based on Stugna. First, they showed AMULET ATGM, an anti-tank missile system on the chassis of the SBA Innovator. And in February 2020, they presented AMULET ATGM on the chassis BRDM-2.

Technical details