Meet the Next Generation light anti-tank weapon NLAW, The ultimate Tank Killer. The Saab Bofors Dynamics NLAW is a fire-and-forget lightweight, shoulder-fired, disposable line-of-sight missile system designed for infantry use.
NLAW destroys even the most sophisticated tanks. It is the Best in Class for dismounted light forces operating in all terrain types, including urban areas.
The anti-tank weapon of the twenty-first-century NLAW was developed as part of a British–Swedish collaboration that began in 2002 to replace Cold War–era weaponry meant to give infantry squads a deployable close–range defense against tanks.
Built from BAE Systems, Saab Thales, and Raytheon components, each single shot unit was priced at twenty thousand pounds in 2008, And it has a shelf life of 20 years.
Besides being procured by Sweden and the United Kingdom, NLAW has been exported to Finland, Luxembourg, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, which has used NLAW in combat in Yemen.
The one-meter This disposable weapon only weighs 27.5 pounds and can fire a single 150-millimeter-diameter missile ranging from 20 to 600 meters or up to 400 meters for moving targets.
Newer NLAW reportedly has Guidance Software increasing the accurate range to 800 meters. The NLAW is effective because it uses a predicted line of sight system where the user tracks a target’s movement for a few seconds as they fire.
The missile then uses that movement to predict where the target will be when the Warhead arrives. Furthermore, when the weapon is fired, a small motor sends the missile a few feet out of the tube before the main charge ignites.
This helps disguise the location of the person firing it and means the weapon can be fired through Windows without the rocket damaging the room.
In addition to standard direct fire mode, the Nlaw can also use a full attack mode in which it flies one meter above the targets and discharges a downward-facing shape charge over a Target vehicle.
As top armor is usually only a few centimeters thick, this could let a Nlaw destroy tanks with frontal protection stronger than the missile’s reported penetrating power, which is equal to 50 centimeters of rolled uniform armor.
This can also enable the targeting of vehicles mostly concealed behind the cover. Most decoys don’t affect the Nlaw’s guidance system, and soft kill countermeasures through a Target vehicle might make it stop or change course to avoid getting hit.
The NLAW may be vulnerable to some kinetic kill Active Protection Systems used on later tanks because of its low approach trajectory.
What is the KPS system?
The Active Protection System (APS) program aims to make it easier for ground combat vehicles to survive threats like anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and recoilless rifles. It does this using a “hard kill” mechanism to intercept and stop the incoming threat.
Nlaw versus Javelin
The Javelin and Nlaw are fire-and-forget weapons in which the missile has its onboard guidance system Rather than relying on the operator to guide them all the way and expose themselves to hostile fire.
The Javelin employs an infrared homing system, while the Nlaw system forecasts how the target will move and guides the missile to that location.
These missiles are top assault weapons that can climb after being launched and then drop down on a tank’s vulnerable top armor to destroy it.
Although the Javelin is figured more prominently in the past few months, its 176 thousand dollar cost limits production compared to the Nlaw thirty thousand to forty thousand dollar price tag.
It’s currently the most numerous high-tech infantry weapon in Ukraine and reportedly responsible for 30 to 40 percent of Russian tank losses making it, according to at least one senior officer, the weapon of choice for the Ukrainian Infantry.
Nlaw is excellent at close ranges from 20 to 600 meters, so it’s indispensable when combat takes place in urban areas, cities, and Villages.
Whereas Javelin is best at a range of one to two and a half kilometers in the open field, said Anatoly, an ATGM operator from the 128th independent Mountain assault Transcarpathia Brigade.
Both anti-tank-guided missiles are very effective. They’ll hit the target 100 percent and destroy it if properly aimed.
There’s no such thing as a missile not piercing armor or anything. All these lattices welded on Russian tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, or armored personnel carriers are completely useless against them.
5 facts about Saab’s Nlaw anti-tank system
With the development of more potent weaponry and countermeasures, main battle tanks have become an even more formidable force in war.
They are now an indispensable asset in difficult terrain, destroying entire structures and clearing the way for advancing troops to wipe out the enemy.
What’s needed is a weapon that can counter the main battle tanks’ tactical advantages and put the odds back in favor of the defenders.
Here are five reasons why Saab’s New Generation light anti-tank weapon is that weapon.
1. Nlaw stops tanks.
All you need to destroy a solid armored modern battle tank with a single shot is a Nlaw shoulder launch system and an operator. This new weapon’s combination of mobility, adaptability, and destructive power is unprecedented.
You don’t need a platoon of people with Nlaw to attack tanks. You can teach an average Soldier how to use the system in an hour, and you can have nlaw-equipped soldiers all over the battlefield waiting for a tank to move.
Tank operators and advancing forces might find anti-tank platoons to neutralize the opposition by finding Nlaw-equipped Soldiers behind rocks and bushes. They now face a harder-to-find and deadlier menace.
2. hitting the target.
Hitting the target despite countermeasures and impediments like other vehicles, heat sources, and power lines is a significant issue for anti-tank weapons in complex situations.
Nlaw enables pilots to set a custom range at which the missile rapidly arms itself.
Suppose you’re in complex terrain where several vehicles have been hit; you have a burning vehicle 50 meters in front of you, and the actual Target is 150 meters away, you switch over the arm distance to 100 meters, and the missile will fly blind over the first Target and then start looking for the Target.
3. Tanks can not Hide.
Nlaw’s overflies attack capability is effective at a range of just 20 meters, making it effective at short range and even in scenarios where a tank is Undercover, unlike many anti-tank missiles that need to First gather height before performing a top striker.
The missile flies about a meter over the top of the tank and launches a devastating attack on the roof. The system works very well even when the operator can only see a small part of the tank.
If the tank is hidden behind the cover, but the hatch or antenna is visible, the nlaw operator aims at the part of the tank that can be seen. The missile then goes one meter above the line of sight before hitting the tank from above.
4. Nlaw is a hunter.
Tanks have always allowed their operators to hunt down the enemy while staying safe. But Nlaw turned the situation around because it is manned, portable, and flexible. This means that tanks can be attacked from almost anywhere, like from a building’s roof, behind a tree, or in a ditch.
As a bonus, it could be fired from inside a room with little risk of being seen by other soldiers.
You can avoid the line of sight of most tanks by hiding inside a building, in a basement, or on the second level and firing down 45 degrees. You can use the system with confidence at any time of day or night.
5. Nlaw can Destroy different targets
Besides being able to halt a tank, Nlaw is also effective against a wide variety of other foes. in the midst of an aggressive assault. Tow vehicles, public vehicles, automobiles, and even helicopters are all fair game for this weapon.
Another great thing about it is how quickly it can be used. A trained Gunner can go from holding it in his left hand to putting it on his shoulder, getting out the sights, choosing firing support, and aiming at the target in five or six seconds.
The missile can move 400 meters in less than two seconds, so it can be up to 600 meters away from being seen and still hit in less than 10 seconds. That’s pretty quick.
