Saab has announced that the US Armed Forces have placed a US$81.8 million (SEK 812.7 million) contract for 84 mm CARL-GUSTAF ammunition and AT4 light anti-armour weapons. The contract has been placed in the context of a framework agreement, signed in 2019 between the US Armed Forces and SAAB, with deliveries scheduled for 2024. The weapons and ammunition ordered will be used by the US Army, the US Special Operations Command and the US Marine Corps.
The 84 mm CARL-GUSTAF recoilless rifle has been in service with the US Armed Forces since 1990, with the latest M4 variant of the weapon contracted in 2018. In US service, it is known as the “M3E1 Multi-purpose Anti-armor Anti-personnel Weapon System (MAAWS)”. This latest ammunition order includes anti-armour, anti-structure, anti-personnel and illumination ammunition.
The AT4 is essentially a lightweight, single-use, disposable version of the CARL-GUSTAF, firing the same 84 mm projectile. The version ordered by the US is the AT4CS RS, where ‘CS’refers to ‘confined space’, and ‘RS’ to ‘reduced sensitivity’. ‘Confined space’ means that the significant, and potentially lethal, backblast of the weapon has been reduced, by the use of a dispersible counter-mass, allowing the weapon to be fired from confined spaces, such as from inside buildings. ‘Reduced sensitivity’ means that the weapon has improved Insensitive Munitions (IM-compliant) characteristics, meaning that it is less sensitive to detonation from fire, nearby explosions and bullet or fragment impacts.
