Type 79 Jyu-MAT

The Type 79 Jyu-MAT is a Japanese heavy anti-tank guided missile system fielded by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force from 1984. It was developed to counter the improving armor of Cold War tanks and succeeded the earlier Type 64 system, which Kawasaki Heavy Industries had also built. Design is credited to the Defense Agency Technical Research and Development Institute. The Type 79 is a complete system of tripod or vehicle mount, reusable launcher, optics and guidance kit, and a single-shot missile of 153 mm diameter. The operator steers the missile to the target by wire using semi-automatic command to line of sight guidance. Rocket-motor propulsion carries it from the launch tube, and spring-loaded fins stabilize its flight. It carries a shaped-charge warhead against tanks or an armor-piercing fragmentation warhead against lightly protected targets such as ships, and the launcher can be fired remotely for ambush use. It is also known as the KAM-9, and the later Type 87 Chu-MAT is a smaller, more portable successor.