The 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle/rocket launcher has a legendary record in combat with world militaries like the British Army which used them to blast the Argentines out of the Falklands in the 1982 war. An U.S. Army NCO writes:

"We need the Carl Gustav Recoilless Rifle to be issued to regular U.S. Army infantry units. Currently, only the Rangers have them and they are a highly effective weapon for close support. This is an area that we currently have no solution for, and this needs to be remedied.

It is inexcusable for U.S. Infantry to go into combat with no close support weapon of this caliber. The AT-4 (one-shot, only one type of warhead) and M203 and MK-19 grenade launchers (small explosive effect in palm-sized round) are effective for limited close-range support, but do not provide the necessary firepower to deal with bunkers, fortifications, sturdy buildings, lay smoke screens etc. In an urban fight, which is very likely in any future conflict, this is an absolute must. The Carl Gustav has an entire family of rounds to meet the demands of infantry in an urban fight and ranges out to 700 meters. Why are the Rangers afforded such a luxury and we are not? Because they are high profile and have the budget, that's why. However, the rest of the Army will fight the majority of the battles in any decent sized conflict and Ranger narcissists will only be assigned 'special' missions.

I, and many of my colleagues, would love to have this system, if only the Army would see fit to issue it to us. It already is in the system, so the costs would only be for acquisition and procurement of ammo and weapons. Granted, there are budget restraints, but this should be a serious priority."

Thank you, SSG XXXXX XXXXX
101^st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

The Carl Gustav can be seen in action on The Discovery Channel's American Commandos show (1-800 765-0066 $19.95). This weapon was used by British troops in the Falklands war to destroy Argentine bunkers and almost sank a frigate when it ventured too close!

Links for Carl Gustav, the M3 Ranger Anti-armor/Assault Weapon System (RAAWS).

www.army-technology.com/contractors/missiles/bofors/bof1.html

Rounds available:

HEAT 751, with the combined effect of explosively formed penetrator and hollow charge, penetrates ERA tiles without initiating them then its main charge blasts through the armour protection leaving massive internal damage.

HEAT 551 round knocks out approximately 90% of all armour vehicles at ranges up to 700 m. It is also highly effective against other hard targets, such as concrete bunkers, landing craft and aircraft.

TP 552 is for target practice. The 84 mm TP 552 round is ballistically matched to the 84 mm HEAT 551 round but has an inert warhead.

HEDP 502 round is a dual-purpose HE and HEAT round optimised for combat in urban areas. It is effective against light armoured vehicles, concrete and brick walls, field fortifications and ground forces.

HE 441 B round can be set to either impact detonation or air burst, to combat troops in the open or behind cover, soft-skinned vehicles and similar types of targets.

Illum 545 round rapidly illuminates target areas.

SMOKE 469 B round develops a smoke screen instantaneously on impact

Bofors AB
S-691 80 Karlskoga
Sweden
Tel: +46 586 810 00
Fax: +46 586 857 00
URL: http://www.bofors.se

Imagine a Light Tracked AFV/Javelin ATGM/Carl Gustav combination moving to key blocking positions in a mountainous Korean fight. M113 Gavin Tracked all-terrain mobility in ROK is a serious consideration- getting rounds on target to suppress/fix/bypass/etc the bad guys who will hide like "ewoks" in the forest with bad missiles for Bradleys and other nasty stuff for the road-bound Stryker/Humvee trucks.

Its actually very simple. The Platoon's Anti-Tank (AT) specialists become Assault/Anti-Tank (AAT) Specialists who can fire the Carl Gustav or the Javelin ATGM depending on if its a fight versus armored vehicles or lots of enemies in buildings/bunkers.

What do you think???

AIRBORNE!

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