APILAS (Armor Piercing Light Arm System)
Notes:
This is an unusual antitank rocket used by France, Finland, Italy, and
Jordan. The missile is equipped
with a telescopic sight, and the launcher can be easily changed to accommodate
left- and right-handed firers. The
sight includes an antiflash face shield due to the high launch velocity.
(An unfortunate side-effect is the APILASs massive backblast.)
The APILAS is heavy but effective due to its 108mm warhead.
The ABB is
variant of the APILAS antitank rocket launcher (see below) used as a bunker
buster. The launcher uses the Davis
Countershot principle, ejecting a mass of plastic beads from the rear of the
launcher to reduce firing signature and eliminate recoil.
It may be fired from as little as 1 meter in front of a wall with no ill
effects to the firer from backblast.
The warhead may be adjusted before firing to provide an impact burst or a
delayed burst, penetrating light obstacles before exploding.
The ABB is capable of blasting a 250mm wide hole in reinforced concrete
200mm thick. The ABB is disposable.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
APILAS |
108mm |
9 kg
(Complete) |
1.26
meters |
$400 |
ABB |
92mm |
7.3
kg (Complete) |
1.26
meters |
$350 |
Weapon |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
APILAS |
0 |
125 |
Nil |
HEAT |
C13 B35 |
101C |
ABB |
0 |
90 |
Nil |
HEDP |
C15 B40 |
46C |
Notes:
This is a French-built heavy rocket launcher.
The DARD comes in two sections: a launcher section, with a pistol
grip/trigger which can be rotated for left- and right-hand firers, shoulder
rest, and sight unit, along with the launch tube; and the ammunition container,
which is snapped into the tube of the launcher.
The price of the launcher includes an optical sight with a magnification
of 3.5x; this can be replaced by any number of other optical or night-vision
sights.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
DARD-120 |
120mm |
4.5
kg |
2.3
meters |
$1500 |
Ammunition |
Caliber |
Weight |
Price |
HE |
120mm |
8.9
kg |
$152 |
HEAT |
120mm |
8.9
kg |
$224 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
DARD-120 |
1 |
4 |
180 |
Nil |
HE |
C25 B50 |
11C |
|
1 |
4 |
180 |
Nil |
HEAT |
C17 B40 |
113C |
LRAC-89
Notes: This has
been used extensively by French forces and others; however, in the late 1990s,
France herself discarded it in favor of one-shot, lighter rockets such as the
AT-4. It is a medium rocket
launcher made largely of glass fiber and plastic to save weight.
The rockets and launcher come in two tubes; the rocket section is loaded
into the rear of the launching tube, and then discarded after firing.
The launcher has an adjustable shoulder piece that can be moved back and
forth to suit the firer. The
launcher is equipped with a bipod to steady the launcher; unusually, the bipod
is part of the shoulder piece, behind the pistol grip, and it is at the balance
point of the weapon when a rocket module in attached.
It is equipped with a telescopic sight and a folding foregrip.
Note that the pistol grip is shaped somewhat like a clamp; the two halves
must be squeezed together, then the trigger pulled, for the LRAC-89 to fire, and
therefore the LRAC-89 essentially has a grip safety.
The ACIP-300 is
a version of the LRAC-89 that France was experimenting with in the mid-1980s,
but what happened to it after that I do not know.
It was designed with penetrating the glacis plate of a T-72 of the time
period in mind. The unfortunate
byproduct of the increased warhead size is the short range.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
LRAC-89 |
88.9mm |
5.5
kg |
1.168m |
$860 |
ACIP-300 |
105mm |
3 kg |
(Open) 1.71m, (Closed) 940mm |
$520 |
Ammunition |
Caliber |
Weight |
Price |
89mm AP/AV |
88.9mm |
3.8
kg |
$93 |
89mm HEAT |
88.9mm |
2.2
kg |
$111 |
89mm ILLUM |
88.9mm |
3.3
kg |
$75 |
89mm Smoke |
88.9mm |
3.95
kg |
$75 |
105mm HE-FRAG |
105mm |
3.4
kg |
$123 |
105mm HEAT |
105mm |
3.4
kg |
$183 |
105mm ILLUM |
105mm |
3.4
kg |
$123 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
LRAC-89 |
1 |
1 |
94 |
Nil |
AP/AV |
C12 B32 |
32C |
|
1 |
1 |
94 |
Nil |
HEAT |
C9 B30 |
82C |
|
1 |
1 |
94 |
Nil |
ILLUM |
(B970) |
Nil |
|
1 |
1 |
94 |
Nil |
Smoke |
C2 (B10) |
Nil |
ACIP-300 |
1 |
2 |
74 |
Nil |
HE-FRAG |
C14 B56 |
9C |
|
1 |
2 |
74 |
Nil |
HEAT |
C13 B35 |
99C |
|
1 |
2 |
74 |
Nil |
ILLUM |
(B1350) |
Nil |
Notes:
Another French antiarmor launcher, Sabracan was developed to be a
lighter, cheaper counterpart to the APILAS ATGM.
Sabracan eliminates most of the backblast by using a booster motor to
clear the tube before igniting the sustaining motor, and can be used from
confined spaces. Sabracan was
unfortunately a casualty of 1980s budget cuts and never procured by any country.
Twilight 2000
Notes: The French Foreign Legion deployed the Sabracan in huge numbers,
generally employing it in favor of the DARD-120.
The British Royal Marines were also known to use it, as well as US Army
Rangers operating in the Persian Gulf.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
Sabracan |
130mm |
13
kg |
2
meters |
$700 |
Ammunition |
Caliber |
Weight |
Price |
HEAT |
130mm |
9.64
kg |
$261 |
HEAT-T |
130mm |
10.01 kg |
$391 |
HE |
130mm |
9.64
kg |
$175 |
FAE |
130mm |
11.81 kg |
$522 |
WP |
130mm |
9.64
kg |
$346 |
Smoke |
130mm |
9.64
kg |
$175 |
Weapon |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
Sabracan |
4 |
105 |
800 |
HEAT |
C20 B45 |
140C |
|
4 |
105 |
800 |
HEAT-T |
C20 B45 |
110C/138C |
|
4 |
105 |
800 |
HE |
C30 B55 |
13C |
|
4 |
105 |
800 |
FAE |
C60 B40 |
62C |
|
4 |
105 |
800 |
WP |
C3 B40 |
Nil |
|
4 |
105 |
800 |
Smoke |
C3 B20 |
Nil |
SARPAC
Notes:
This was a light rocket launcher the French were experimenting with in
the early to mid-1980s. It is a
“semi-disposable” rocket launcher; it is not meant to be used for years, but
instead wears out after about 20 launches.
The sights are very simple, similar to the various LAW-type weapons
around the world.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
SARPAC |
68mm |
1.9
kg |
(Open) 1.017m, (Closed) 765mm |
$336 |
Ammunition |
Caliber |
Weight |
Price |
ROCHAP HEDP |
68mm |
1.8
kg |
$80 |
ROCHAR HEAT |
68mm |
1.07
kg |
$96 |
ROCLAIR ILLUM |
68mm |
1.3
kg |
$64 |
Weapon |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
SARPAC |
1 |
52 |
396 |
HEDP |
C7 B28 |
32C |
|
1 |
52 |
396 |
HEAT |
C5 B25 |
61C |
|
1 |
52 |
396 |
ILLUM |
(B565) |
Nil |
Notes:
This weapon was designed for the direct attack of light armored vehicles
at short range. Its backblast is
small, since it uses the Davis Countershot principle.
The Wasp is used by France and Italy, and over 400,000 had been produced
by 1996. The weapon is ready use
almost instantly, without lengthy preparation.
Weapon |
Caliber |
Weight |
Length |
Price |
Wasp |
70mm |
3 kg
(Complete) |
800mm |
$260 |
Weapon |
Reload |
Range |
IFR |
Round |
Damage |
Pen |
Wasp |
0 |
100 |
Nil |
HEAT |
C6 B25 |
63C |