Industry
New Polish Army's Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher in Use [Photos]
A new generation of single-use anti-tank grenade launchers will soon make its way to the inventory of the Polish soldiers. A process has been launched, aimed at commissioning a modern, disposable anti-tank grenade launcher in the Polish military.
On 8th December this year, a training event was organized at the shooting range of the Toruń Artillery and Armament Training Centre, concerning the use of the M72 EC Mk 1 disposable anti-tank weapons. The training used the training variant of the system and involved the Territorial Defence component.=
The Polish Ministry of Defence concluded a procurement contract on several thousand M72 EC Mk 1 weapons. It is a disposable 66 mm single-use grenade launcher that has been developed by the Norwegian Nammo company and is a modernized derivative of the US-made M72 LAW.
The body of the weapon has been made out of carbon fibre. M72 EC Mk 1 also features a new anti-tank shaped-charge warhead, capable of penetrating ca. 450 mm of RHA. The warhead has been fitted with a new fuse, featuring a dual safety measure, and a self-destruction unit. The launcher itself features Picatinny rails for external optics or other accessories. M72 EC Mk 1 offers an effective range of up to 350 meters and weighs 3.5 kilograms.
The M72 weapon can be used against a broad spectrum of targets, ranging from light vehicles, light wheeled armoured vehicles, including APCs, infantry fighting vehicles, and, in favourable conditions, main battle tanks, if the least protected areas take the hits, including the rear portion of the hull, or the engine cover, top of the turrets, turret and hull sides - if these are not protected by composite armour, ERA, or slat armour.
The training used the trainer variant of the launcher - it is a multiple-use system, thanks to the use of special-purpose training rounds of a smaller calibre. 140 training rounds were fired throughout the aforesaid training event.