it clearly show like point the laser beam above the target for collimation at the very last moments of the engagement is a capability that even the export version, Kornet-E, possess from day one.
First of all let me say I don't speak or read Russian.
Second point to keep in mind the portion of the video you are highlighting is an animation rather than an actual missile launch.
Of the many launches shown none seem to me to have the missile fly any great distance above the line of sight.
Now as I have already said the Vikhr ATGM is known to do this with the same guidance method, so I am not saying it can't or it doesn't do this.
What I am saying is that it might be an option for launches but it doesn't do this all the time.
The critical initial information it would need to do this would be the range to the target. Once it knows this information then it will know how long it will take the missile to get to this range and also therefore when to drop the laser beam the missile is riding down to the line of sight.
i truly wouldn't never be an FGM-148 or Spike-MR operator forced ,in a full scale war, in any tactical situation except an ambush on an urban combat,to confront a proficient enemy equiped even only with export versions of those weapons...it would be the most stupid and useless way to die in a war.
I disagree.
A weapon is only as good as the tactics employed.
If the Javelin is useless because its range is only 2.5km then Metis-M1 is also useless because its range is 2km. The RPG... whether it is 7 or 29 or a disposable 27 or 28 is not useless either.
Very simply unless the battlefield is a flat open and empty desert there will always be opportunities to attack enemy forces in conventional and unconventional situations.
Many people look at Javelin as some sort of super weapon simply because it is fire and forget.
In reality it is a gold plated replacement for Dragon.
In those terms it is a huge step up... partially because Dragon was rubbish.
But even a state of the art high tech military force will not be able to control the ground in a 1,000m radius of all its forces let alone 2.5 times that.
Once the attacker has opened fire and revealed its position then it comes under attack, but in the case of Spike and Javelin they can leave as soon as they fire their weapons which minimises the risk they take.
Ambush 101 is to find a position with a good view of the enemy, but with covered escape routes.
Personally I am not really interested in comparing Russian systems with American systems in conventional war contexts simply because if Russian forces ever have to deal with American forces with Javelin then the odd tank being lost or the odd Javelin team being taken out is not really relevant as the final decision will be at the strategic nuke level... and everyone loses.
It is far more likely to look at these systems in terms of what a guerilla could do with them in an insurgency, or what US forces use them for in an insurgency.
Currently British forces using Javelin have been using them for their precision to hit point targets at long range. Return fire in such cases is non existent so they could just as easily be using Milan or indeed Metis-M1 because operationally the expensive fire and forget capability doesn't matter when you are firing at enemy sniper positions or machine gun nests, or a Toyota.
They could probably save a fortune by buying the HE warhead equipped METIS-M1 systems.
Considering most of the targets they use Javelin on at the moment are not armoured vehicles they will likely be firing the Javelins in manual mode anyway.
Of course politics will prohibit them from making a sensible economic choice.
I think stinger and Mistral are capable to lock on small targets as Javelin or Spike, while Starstreak is SACLOS missile.
In my personal opinion the best defense against ATGMs like Spike and Javelin and also low flying Kornets are AA guns with modern radar and EO FCS. They could not only shot down ATGM, but immediately after that they could fire on ATGM crew and inside 2 km range rain of 30 mm gun rounds could be very deadly and this is one of the rules for BMPT. Even in urban battlefield Javelin need visual contact with target to lock missile on it and in that case rapid fire from AA guns could be still deadly for ATGM team.
The problem with these systems... and the Igla for that matter is that they need preparation before they can be fired... the seekers need to be cooled which takes a few seconds.
You are not going to get much warning of an ATGM attack so I think shooting them down with anything other than fully automatic systems like APS will always be problematic.
I also think using APS is a more efficient way of dealing with such threats.
It would probably be better to focus on IR camouflage plus of course IR and optical jamming for Javelin and Spike, as well as smoke and active countermeasures like ARENA too.
BTW
With modern thermal sights and fire control systems the Kliver turret suddenly seems very interesting with 4 ready to launch Kornet missiles and a 2A72 30mm cannon it could be used against air and ground targets, yet it is small and light enough to be mounted in all sorts of armoured vehicles.
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but for targets from 400-2000m the Metis-M1 is accurate and powerful and relatively cheap. The RPG-32 will likely get a guided munition which might supplement the unguided rockets out to 600m or so without costing too much, but I think the Metis-M1 will continue to do a good job. At longer ranges the Kornet is more of a vehicle based system, which is actually good because the better optics and systems means it would be better able to engage targets at extended ranges and to carry sufficient reloads to be useful.
