The ZT-3 anti-tank guided missile was developed in the 1980s under the conditions of the international arms embargo by the South African company Kentron, which belongs to the state concern DENEL, primarily as armament for the ROOIVALK helicopter. The rocket is a modern concept, the tandem warhead had a non-contact optical igniter in a retractable probe with a front cumulative warhead and laser beam guidance. Although the first pieces proved their capabilities in 1987 by destroying about 90 Angolan T-55s, the Rooivalk helicopter was later converted to a more powerful ZT-6 Mokopa and the use of the ZT-3 was aimed at ground use - for example on a RATEL vehicle.
During the modernization carried out after 2000 by the successor company Denel Dynamics, there were visible changes in the optical sensor of the lighter, which was moved to the rocket body, and invisible but significant changes in the software. The rocket received a new designation ZT-35 INGWE. The laser beam guidance system is complemented by the function of a correlation "tracker" in a stabilized TV/thermal sight, where the operator only needs to capture the target and start automatic tracking. The company itself refers to this system as ACLOS, because the sight allegedly records the detected parameters of the target's movement into the rocket's autopilot before the rocket is launched.
TTD from various sources are somewhat contradictory, so I present only officially reported data for ZT-35 INGWE, and data about the performance of warheads, where there is agreement.
Caliber - 127 mm (5 ") Length - 1750 mm Weight - 28.5 kg Distances - minimum - 250 m, maximum - over 5000 m Armor penetration - 1000 mm (650 mm for ZT-3)
Sources: Trade fair prospectus of the company. Kentron of 1995 Denel Dynamics website - http://www.deneldynamics.co.za/ own archive
URL : https://www.valka.cz/ZAF-ZT-3-SWIFT-ZT-35-INGWE-t105646#377652
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