[1] The 9K112 Kobra (AT-8 Songster) was the first Soviet tube-fired anti-tank missile to enter service; however, it was only deployed in limited numbers to front line units.

Development work began in the late 1970s on a third generation of guided projectiles that would use laser guidance rather than radio command links.

[2] The Bastion was developed firstly as a relatively cheap missile fired from towed MT-12 100 mm smoothbore anti-tank guns.

Similar systems, with larger caliber 9M119 Svir missiles, were developed for the 125 mm guns of the T-72 and T-80 tanks.

After leaving the gun barrel, a small cover falls away from the window on the rear of the missile.

The missile has a small window in the rear with a laser sensor to detect the modulation of the light.