Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bantam ATGM and MBT LAW Made Swedish

Bantam ATGM

The Bantam ATGM is an old, first-generation ATGM that was one of the first successful ATGM ever produced. It is a small and lightweight missile that, when first designed, was used primarily by Swedish and Swiss forces, with some limited use by British, Norwegian, Danish, and US forces. As the Bantam initially got little combat use, but was produced in large numbers, they became popular "hand-me-down" weapons for client states of US and NATO countries.


By 2000, the Bantam is found mostly in the Third World, and mostly in the poorer Third World countries at that. Bantam is fired from a box launcher, connected by wire to a control unit. The control unit may be directly connected to three launch boxes, and a distribution box may be added to allow the gunner to control up to 18 launch boxes. (Only one missile may be guided at a time, however.) The gunner may position himself up to 120 meters from the missiles. The Bantam has a maximum range of 2000 meters; at this point, the missile runs out of wire, and it automatically self-destructs by detonating the warhead.

MBT LAW
This is a light ATGM fielded by the Swedish in early 1998, and is now being used in growing numbers by the British, Dutch, and Norwegians. The MBT LAW combines features from the M-136 antitank rocket and the Bill-2 ATGM. The system uses a soft launch feature that kicks the missile clear of the launch tube before igniting the rocket motor.



This allows the MBT LAW to be fired from confined spaces as well as minimizing launch signature. It may be employed as both an antiarmor weapon and as a bunker buster; for bunker busting, the weapon is fired without its top-attack capability, and penetrates the target before detonating the main warhead. The weapon is disposable, and can use a night sight if desired.

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