10 years after the end of World War II and the abolition of the occupation regime, the Federal Republic of Germany was allowed to have its own armed forces. The decision to create the Bundeswehr received legal status on June 7, 1955. At first, the ground forces in the FRG were relatively small in number, but already in 1958 they began to represent a serious force and joined the NATO military grouping in Europe.
At first, the army of West Germany was equipped with equipment and weapons of American and British production. The same fully applied to anti-tank infantry melee weapons. In the late 50s. The main anti-tank weapon of the German infantry of the platoon and company level was the late modifications of the 88, 9-mm M20 Super Bazooka grenade launcher. However, the Americans also donated a significant amount of the obsolete 60mm M9A1 and M18 RPGs, which were mainly used for training purposes. You can read in detail about the first generation American anti-tank grenade launchers on VO here: American Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons.
Together with the M1 Garand rifles, the American M28 and M31 cumulative rifle grenades were supplied to Germany. After the FRG adopted the Belgian 7, 62-mm semi-automatic rifle FN FAL, which was designated G1 in the Bundeswehr, they were soon replaced by the 73-mm HEAT-RFL-73N grenade. The grenade was put on the muzzle of the barrel and fired back with a blank cartridge.
West German infantryman armed with a G1 rifle with a HEAT-RFL-73N rifle grenade
In the 60s, the German HK G3 rifle chambered for 7, 62 × 51 mm NATO, with which it was also possible to shoot rifle grenades, became the main weapon of infantry units in the FRG. The cumulative grenade, created by the Belgian company Mecar, weighed 720 g and could penetrate 270 mm armor plate. The pomegranates were supplied in paraffin-impregnated cylindrical cardboard packages. Together with each grenade, the kit included one blank cartridge and a disposable folding plastic frame sight with marks for shooting at 25, 50, 75 and 100 m. In theory, cumulative grenades could be issued to each shooter, but in practice, the techniques for handling them in the infantry squad were usually trained one grenade launcher carrying a bag with three grenades on his belt. The West German infantry used rifle grenades until the second half of the 70s, after which they were replaced by more advanced and long-range anti-tank weapons.
During the Second World War, German designers managed to create anti-tank rocket launchers, which were very advanced for that time. Based on this, the Bundeswehr command in the late 50s issued a task to develop its own anti-tank grenade launcher, which was supposed to surpass the American "Super Bazooka". Already in 1960, Dynamit Nobel AG presented the Panzerfaust 44 DM2 Ausführung 1 (Pzf 44) RPG for testing. The number "44" in the title meant the caliber of the launch tube. The diameter of the over-caliber cumulative grenade DM-22 weighing 1.5 kg was 67 mm. The weight of the grenade launcher in the stowed position, depending on the modification, is 7, 3-7, 8 kg. In combat - 9, 8-10, 3 kg. Length with a grenade - 1162 mm.
For its characteristic form with a loaded grenade, the Pzf 44 troops received the nickname "Lanze" - "Spear". The grenade launcher, outwardly similar to the Soviet RPG-2, was a reusable launcher with a smooth barrel. On the launch tube are installed: a fire control handle, a firing mechanism, as well as a bracket for an optical sight. The optical sight in field conditions was carried in a case attached to the shoulder strap. In addition to the optical one, there was the simplest mechanical sight, designed for a range of up to 180 m.
The shot is fired according to a dynamo-reactive scheme, with the help of an expelling charge, in the back of which there is a counter-mass made of fine-grained iron powder. When fired, the expelling charge ejects a grenade at a speed of about 170 m / s, while counter-mass is thrown in the opposite direction. The use of inert non-combustible protivomass allowed to reduce the danger zone behind the grenade launcher. The stabilization of the grenade in flight is carried out by a spring-loaded folding tail, which opened when flying out of the barrel. At a distance of several meters from the muzzle, a jet engine was launched. In this case, the DM-22 grenade additionally accelerated to 210 m / s.
The maximum flight range of the rocket-propelled grenade exceeded 1000 m, the effective firing range at moving tanks was up to 300 meters. Armor penetration when meeting armor at a right angle - 280 mm. Subsequently, a 90-mm DM-32 grenade with 375 mm armor penetration was adopted for the grenade launcher, but the maximum effective range of a shot at the same time decreased to 200 m. On the example of a 90-mm cumulative grenade, it can be noted that armor penetration compared to a 149-mm disposable grenade grenade Panzerfaust 60M has increased significantly. This was achieved due to the more optimal shape of the shaped charge, the use of powerful explosives and copper cladding.
In general, if you do not take into account the excessive weight, which was due to the use of a sufficiently powerful propellant charge and counter-mass, the grenade launcher turned out to be successful and relatively inexpensive. At the same time, the price of weapons in the mid-70s was $ 1,500, excluding the cost of ammunition. In terms of its characteristics, the Pzf 44 turned out to be very close to the Soviet RPG-7 with the 85-mm PG-7V round. Thus, in the USSR and the FRG, they created anti-tank grenade launchers, similar in their combat data and structurally. However, the German weapons turned out to be heavier. The Pzf 44 grenade launcher was in service in Germany until 1993. According to the staffing table, one RPG was to be available in each infantry platoon.
At the end of the 60s, the Carl Gustaf M2 84-mm rifled grenade launcher developed in Sweden became the anti-tank weapon of the company link. Prior to that, American 75-mm M20 recoilless guns were used in the Bundeswehr, but the frontal armor of the hull and turret of Soviet post-war tanks: T-54, T-55 and IS-3M was too tough for the outdated recoillessness. In the West German army, the licensed version of the Carl Gustaf M2 received the designation Leuchtbüchse 84 mm.
Swedish "Karl Gustav" of the second serial modification entered the world arms market in 1964. It was a rather heavy and bulky weapon: weight - 14.2 kg, length - 1130 mm. However, due to the ability to use a wide range of ammunition, to conduct accurate fire at a distance of up to 700 m, a large margin of safety and high reliability, the grenade launcher was popular. In total, he was officially in service in more than 50 countries around the world.
Used in Germany, the local modification Carl Gustaf M2 can fire cumulative, fragmentation, smoke and lighting shells with a rate of fire of up to 6 rounds / min. The maximum range of a shot at an area target was 2000 m. A three-fold optical sight was used to aim the weapon at the target.
The combat crew of the Leuchtbüchse 84 mm was 2 people. The first number carried a grenade launcher, the second carried four grenades in special closures. In addition, the grenade launchers were armed with assault rifles. At the same time, each combat crew number had to carry a load weighing up to 25 kg, which, of course, was quite burdensome.
In the 60s and 70s, the 84-mm Leuchtbüchse 84 mm grenade launcher was a completely adequate anti-tank weapon, capable of penetrating 400 mm homogeneous armor using the HEAT 551 cumulative shot. However, after the appearance in the second half of the 70s in the Western Group of Forces of the new generation of Soviet tanks with multilayer frontal armor, the role of 84-mm grenade launchers sharply decreased. Although these weapons are still in service with the Bundeswehr, the number of rifled grenade launchers in the troops has declined sharply.
At the moment, the Leuchtbüchse 84 mm is mainly used for fire support of small units, lighting the battlefield at night and setting up smoke screens. However, to combat light armored vehicles, cumulative grenades are retained in the ammunition load. The HEDP 502 multipurpose grenade was put into service especially for firing from confined spaces during military operations in the city. Thanks to the use of anti-mass in the form of plastic balls, the jet stream when fired is significantly reduced. The HEDP 502 universal grenade has a good fragmentation effect and is capable of penetrating 150 mm of homogeneous armor, which makes it possible to use it both against manpower and against light armored vehicles.
As you know, Germany was the first country where work began on guided anti-tank missiles. The Ruhrstahl X-7 ATGM project, also known as Rotkäppchen - "Little Red Riding Hood", has advanced farthest. In the post-war period, on the basis of German developments in France in 1952, the world's first serial ATGM Nord SS.10 was created. In 1960, the FRG adopted an improved version of the SS.11 and established licensed production of ATGMs.
After launch, the missile was manually guided to the target using the "three-point" method (optical sight - missile - target). After launch, the operator followed the rocket along the tracer in the tail section. The guidance commands were transmitted by wire. The maximum flight speed of the rocket is 190 m / s. The launch range is from 500 to 3000 m.
ATGM with a length of 1190 mm and a mass of 30 kg carried a cumulative 6, 8 kg charge with armor penetration of 500 mm. However, from the very beginning, the French SS.11 ATGMs were considered as a temporary measure until the appearance of more advanced anti-tank missiles.
The SS.11 ATGM, due to the excessively large mass and dimensions, was very difficult to use from ground launchers and they were not popular with the infantry. In order to move a launcher with a missile installed on it over a short distance, two military personnel were required. For this reason, in 1956, the joint Swiss-German development of a more compact and lighter guided anti-tank missile began. The participants in the joint project were: Swiss companies Oerlikon, Contraves and West German Bölkow GmbH. The anti-tank complex, adopted in 1960, received the designation Bölkow BO 810 COBRA (from German COBRA - Contraves, Oerlikon, Bölkow und RAkete)
According to its characteristics, "Cobra" was very close to the Soviet ATGM "Baby", but had a shorter launch range. The first version could hit targets at ranges up to 1600 m, in 1968 a modification of the COBRA-2000 rocket with a launch range of 200-2000 m appeared.
The 950 mm rocket weighed 10.3 kg and had an average flight speed of about 100 m / s. Its interesting feature was the ability to launch from the ground, without a special launcher. Up to eight rockets can be connected to the switching unit, located 50 m from the control panel. During firing, the operator has the ability to select from the remote control the missile that is in a more favorable position relative to the target. After starting the starting engine, the ATGM almost vertically gains an altitude of 10-12 m, after which the main engine is launched, and the rocket goes into horizontal flight.
The missiles were equipped with two types of warheads: cumulative-fragmentation-incendiary and cumulative. The warhead of the first type had a mass of 2.5 kg and was loaded with pressed RDX with the addition of aluminum powder. The front end of the explosive charge had a conical recess, where a cumulative funnel made of red copper was located. On the lateral surface of the warhead, four segments were placed with ready-made lethal and incendiary elements in the form of 4, 5-mm steel balls and thermite cylinders. The armor penetration of such a warhead was relatively low, and did not exceed 300 mm, but at the same time it was effective against manpower, unarmored vehicles and light fortifications. The cumulative warhead of the second type weighed 2.3 kg, and could penetrate 470 mm steel armor plate along the normal. Warheads of both types had piezoelectric fuses, which consisted of two units: a head piezo generator and a bottom detonator.
Soviet specialists who were able to familiarize themselves with the COBRA ATGM in the mid-70s noted that German missiles, made mainly of inexpensive plastic and stamping aluminum alloy, were very cheap to manufacture. Although the effective use of ATGMs required high training of the operator, and the launch range was relatively small, the German first-generation anti-tank missiles enjoyed some success in the world arms market. Licensed production of "Cobra" was carried out in Brazil, Italy, Pakistan and Turkey. Also, the ATGM was in service in Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Israel and Spain. In total, up to 1974 more than 170 thousand missiles were produced.
In 1973, the Bölkow GmbH company announced the start of production of the next modification - the Mamba ATGM, which differed in a semi-automatic guidance system, but had almost the same weight and dimensions, armor penetration and launch range. But by that time, the missiles of the Cobra family were already outdated and were replaced by more advanced ATGMs supplied in sealed transport and launch containers and having better service and operational characteristics.
Although the COBRA ATGMs had a low cost and in the 60s were capable of hitting all serial tanks existing at that time, the Bundeswehr command, a few years after the Cobra ATGM was adopted, began to look for a replacement for it. In 1962, within the framework of the joint Franco-German program, the design of the MILAN anti-tank missile system (French Missile d'infanterie léger antichar - Light infantry anti-tank complex) began, which was supposed to replace not only the first-generation hand-guided ATGMs, but also 106-mm American-made M40 recoilless guns. The MILAN ATGM was adopted in 1972, becoming the first infantry anti-tank missile system with a semi-automatic guidance system in the Bundeswehr.
To aim the missile at the target, the operator was only required to keep the enemy tank in sight. After launch, the guidance station, having received infrared radiation from the tracer in the rear of the rocket, determines the angular misalignment between the line of sight and the direction to the ATGM tracer. The hardware unit analyzes information about the position of the missile relative to the line of sight, which is tracked by the guidance device. The position of the gas-jet rudder in flight is controlled by the rocket gyroscope. As a result, the hardware unit automatically generates commands and transmits them via wires to the rocket controls.
The first modification of the MILAN ATGM had a length of 918 mm and a mass of 6, 8 kg (9 kg in a transport and launch container). Its cumulative 3 kg warhead was capable of penetrating 400 mm of armor. The launch range was in the range from 200 to 2000 m. The average flight speed of the rocket was 200 m / s. The mass of the ready-to-use anti-tank complex slightly exceeded 20 kg, which made it possible to carry it over a short distance by one serviceman.
A further increase in the combat capabilities of the complex followed the path of increasing armor penetration and launch range, as well as installing all-day sights. In 1984, deliveries to the troops of the MILAN 2 ATGM began, in which the caliber of the missile warhead was increased from 103 to 115 mm. The most noticeable external difference of the rocket of this modification from the earlier version is the rod in the bow, on which a piezoelectric target sensor is installed. Thanks to this rod, when the missile meets the tank's armor, the cumulative warhead is detonated at the optimal focal length.
The brochures say that the modernized ATGM is capable of hitting a target covered with 800 mm armor. The MILAN 2T modification (1993) with a tandem warhead is capable of overcoming dynamic protection and multilayer frontal armor of modern main tanks.
Currently, the modernized MILAN 2 anti-tank systems equipped with combined MIRA or Milis thermal imaging sights and firing missiles with increased armor penetration have completely replaced the ATGMs produced in the 70s. However, even these rather sophisticated complexes do not fully suit the German military, and their removal from service is a matter of the next few years. In this regard, the command of the Bundeswehr is actively getting rid of the second generation anti-tank systems, transferring them to the allies.
In the second half of the 70s, after the start of mass production in the USSR of the main battle tanks of a new generation, in the NATO countries there was a lag in the field of anti-tank weapons. For confident penetration of multilayer armor covered with dynamic protection units, tandem cumulative ammunition of increased power was required. For this reason, in the United States and a number of Western European countries in the late 70s - early 80s, active work was carried out on the creation of anti-tank rocket launchers and ATGMs of a new generation and the modernization of existing grenade launchers and ATGMs.
West Germany was no exception. In 1978, Dynamit-Nobel AG began developing a disposable grenade launcher, tentatively designated Panzerfaust 60/110. The numbers in the name meant the caliber of the launch tube and the cumulative grenade. However, the development of a new anti-tank weapon was delayed, it was adopted by the Bundeswehr only in 1987, and its massive deliveries to the troops under the name Panzerfaust 3 (Pzf 3) started in 1990. The delay was due to the insufficient penetration of the first grenade launcher shots. Subsequently, the development company created the DM21 grenade with a tandem warhead, capable of hitting tanks equipped with dynamic armor.
The Pzf 3 grenade launcher has a modular design and consists of a removable control and launcher with a fire control unit and a sight, as well as a disposable 60-mm barrel, factory equipped with a 110-mm over-caliber rocket-propelled grenade and an expelling charge. Before firing, the fire control unit is attached to the grenade shot, after the grenade is fired, the empty barrel is undocked from the control unit and discarded. The control unit is reusable and can be reused with another equipped barrel. The fire control units are unified and can be used with any Pzf 3 rounds. In the original version, the removable fire control unit included an optical sight with a rangefinder reticle, a trigger and safety mechanisms, folding handles and a shoulder rest.
Currently, the Bundeswehr is supplied with Dynarange computerized control units, which include: a ballistic processor coupled with a laser rangefinder and an optical sight. The memory of the control unit contains information about all types of shots that are pleasant for the Pzf 3, on the basis of which corrections are introduced during aiming.
Detachable grenade launcher control and launcher with Dynarange control unit (handles and shoulder rest folded)
Thanks to the introduction of a computerized sighting system, it was possible to significantly increase the effectiveness of firing at tanks. At the same time, not only the probability of hitting, but the effective range of fire increased from 400 to 600 meters, which is reflected by the numbers "600" in the designations of the new modifications of the Pzf 3 grenade launchers. For conducting hostilities in the dark, the Simrad KN250 night sight can be installed.
The grenade launcher of the Pzf 3-T600 modification in the firing position has a length of 1200 mm and weighs 13.3 kg. The DM21 rocket-propelled grenade with a warhead weighing 3, 9 kg is capable of penetrating 950 mm of homogeneous armor and 700 mm after overcoming dynamic protection. The muzzle velocity of the grenade is 152 m / s. After starting the jet engine, it accelerates to 220 m / s. The maximum range of a shot is 920 m. If the contact fuse fails, the grenade self-destructs after 6 seconds.
Also, grenade launcher shots are fired with adaptive cumulative grenades with a retractable initiating charge. When firing at heavy armored vehicles, the initiating charge, designed to destroy the active protection, moves forward before firing. In the case of use against lightly armored targets or various kinds of shelters, the retractable charge remains recessed into the body of the warhead and is detonated simultaneously with it, increasing the high-explosive effect. The Bunkerfaust 3 (Bkf 3) shot with a multipurpose penetrating high-explosive fragmentation warhead is intended for combat operations in urban conditions, the destruction of field fortifications and the fight against lightly armored combat vehicles.
The warhead of Bkf 3 is undermined with a slight slowdown after breaking through a “hard” barrier or at the moment of deepest penetration into a “soft” barrier, ensuring the defeat of enemy manpower behind cover and maximum high-explosive action when destroying embankments and shelters from sandbags. The thickness of the penetrated homogeneous armor is 110 mm, of concrete 360 mm and 1300 mm of dense soil.
Currently, potential buyers are offered a Pzf-3-LR shot with a laser-guided grenade. At the same time, it was possible to increase the effective fire range to 800 m. The Panzerfaust 3 ammunition range also includes lighting and smoke grenades. According to foreign experts, the Panzerfaust 3 grenade launcher, consisting of modern rounds and a computerized sighting system, is one of the best in the world. It was not possible to find data on the number of control and launch devices and grenade launchers produced, but in addition to Germany, licensed production is carried out in Switzerland and South Korea. Officially, the Pzf-3 is in service with the armies of 11 states. The grenade launcher was used during the hostilities in Afghanistan, on the territory of Iraq and Syria.
Talking about the anti-tank grenade launchers created in Germany, it is impossible not to mention the disposable RPG Armbrust (German: Crossbow). This original weapon was created by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm on a proactive basis in the second half of the 70s.
Initially, the grenade launcher was created for use in urban areas and was considered as a replacement for the American 66-mm M72 LAW. With similar values, weight, dimensions, firing range and armor penetration, the German grenade launcher has a low-noise and smokeless shot. This allows you to secretly use a grenade launcher, including from small confined spaces. For a safe shot, it is necessary that there is 80 cm of free space behind the rear cut.
The low noise and flamelessness of the shot was achieved due to the fact that the propellant charge in a plastic launch tube is placed between two pistons. A cumulative 67-mm grenade is located in front of the front piston, behind the rear one is a "counterweight" in the form of small plastic balls. During the shot, the powder gases affect the pistons - the front one throws out a feathered grenade from the barrel, the rear one pushes the "counterweight", which ensures the balance of the grenade launcher when firing. After the pistons reach the ends of the pipe, they are fixed with special protrusions, which prevents the escape of hot powder gases. Thus, it is possible to minimize the unmasking factors of shooting: smoke, flash and rumble. After firing, the launch tube cannot be re-equipped and is thrown away.
In the lower part of the launch tube, a trigger mechanism is attached in a plastic casing. There are also handles for holding during the shot and carrying, a shoulder rest and a strap. In the stowed position, the pistol grip is folded and locks the piezoelectric trigger. On the left on the launch tube is a folding collimator sight, designed for a range of 150 to 500 m. The sighting scale is illuminated at night.
The 67-mm cumulative grenade leaves the barrel at a speed of 210 m / s, which makes it possible to fight against armor targets at a distance of up to 300 m. The maximum flight range of the grenade is 1500 m. According to advertising data, a disposable grenade launcher with a length of 850 mm and a mass of 6, 3 kg is capable of pierce 300 mm homogeneous armor at right angles. In prices of the early 80s, the cost of one grenade launcher was $ 750, which was about three times higher than the cost of the American M72 LAW.
The high cost and inability to effectively deal with the new generation of main battle tanks were the reasons why Armbrust was not widely adopted. Although the developer company conducted a rather aggressive advertising campaign, and the grenade launcher was tested at test sites in many NATO countries, the purchase of large quantities and official acceptance by ground forces in the armies of the states opposing the Warsaw Pact did not follow. The Armbrust grenade launcher in the early 80s was considered one of the favorites of the competition announced by the American army after the abandonment of the one-time 70-mm RPG Viper. The US Army considered the German grenade launcher not only as an anti-tank, but also as a means for street fighting, which was especially important for units stationed in Western Europe. However, guided by the interests of national manufacturers, the leadership of the US Defense Ministry made a choice in favor of an improved version of the M72 LAW, which, moreover, was significantly cheaper and well mastered by the troops.
The German military was categorically not satisfied with the relatively small effective firing range, and most importantly, the low armor penetration and the inability to fight tanks equipped with dynamic protection. In the mid-80s, the Panzerfaust 3 RPG was on its way with much more promising characteristics, albeit not capable of firing a "noise and dust free" shot. As a result, a small amount of Armbrust was purchased for sabotage and reconnaissance units. After it became clear that this grenade launcher would not be supplied in large volumes to the armed forces of the NATO countries, the rights to manufacture it were transferred to the Belgian company Poudreries Réunies de Belgique, which in turn ceded them to the Singaporean Chartered Industries of Singapore.
Armbrust was officially adopted in Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Chile. However, this weapon turned out to be very popular on the "black market" of weapons and through illegal channels fell into a number of "hot spots". In the 80s, during the confrontation with the Vietnamese military contingent, the "Khmer Rouge" burned several T-55 medium tanks in the jungle of Cambodia with shots from silent Belgian-made "Crossbows". During ethnic conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, the Armbrust RPGs were used by armed groups in Croatia, Slovenia and Kosovo.
Taking into account that Panzerfaust 3 had mainly anti-tank orientation and turned out to be quite expensive to equip units participating in “anti-terrorist” missions, in 2011 the Bundeswehr purchased 1,000 MATADOR-AS 90-mm grenade launchers (English Man-portable Anti-Tank, Anti-DOoR - Anti-tank and anti-bunker weapons carried by one person).
This weapon, which received the designation RGW 90-AS in Germany, is a joint development of the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Singapore's DSTA and Germany's Dynamit Nobel Defense. It uses technical solutions previously implemented in the RPG Armbrust. At the same time, the technology of using a counterweight from plastic balls is completely borrowed. The grenade is also ejected from the barrel with a powder charge placed between two pistons, which allows safe firing from an enclosed space.
The RGW 90-AS grenade launcher weighs 8, 9 kg and has a length of 1000 mm. It is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 m. The tube has a standard mount for placement of an optical, night or optoelectronic sight combined with a laser rangefinder. A grenade with a tandem warhead leaves the plastic barrel at a speed of 250 m / s. The adaptive fuse independently determines the moment of detonation, depending on the properties of the obstacle, which makes it possible to use it to combat lightly armored combat vehicles and destroy manpower hiding in bunkers and behind the walls of buildings.
In the late 90s, the Bundeswehr Ground Forces command considered the existing MILAN 2 ATGMs obsolete. Although this anti-tank complex was equipped with an ATGM with a tandem warhead, which was most likely to overcome the multilayer armor and dynamic protection of Russian tanks, the weak point of the German ATGM is the semi-automatic guidance system. Back in 1989, to protect armored vehicles from ATGM, the USSR adopted the Shtora-1 optical-electronic countermeasures system. The complex, in addition to other equipment, includes infrared searchlights that suppress the optoelectronic coordinators of the second generation ATGM guidance systems: MILAN, HOT and TOW. As a result of the impact of modulated infrared radiation on the second generation ATGM guidance system, the missile after launch falls to the ground, or misses the target.
According to the requirements put forward, the promising ATGM, intended to replace the MILAN 2 anti-tank systems in the battalion level, was supposed to function in the “shot and forget” mode, and also be suitable for installation on various chassis and carrying over short distances in the field by the crew. Since the German industry could not offer anything within a reasonable time, the eyes of the military turned to the products of foreign manufacturers. By and large, only the American FGM-148 Javelin from Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and the Israeli Spike-ER from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems could compete in this segment. As a result, the Germans chose the less expensive Spike, whose rocket cost about $ 200,000 on the world arms market, versus $ 240,000 for the Javelin.
In 1998, the German companies Diehl Defense and Rheinmetall, as well as the Israeli Rafael, founded the consortium Euro Spike GmbH, which was supposed to produce ATGMs of the Spike family for the needs of NATO countries. According to a contract worth € 35 million, concluded between the German military department and Euro Spike GmbH, the delivery of 311 launchers with a set of guidance equipment is envisaged. An option for 1,150 missiles has also been signed. In Germany, the Spike-ER entered service under the designation MELLS (German Mehrrollenfähiges Leichtes Lenk fl ugkörpersystem - Multifunctional Lightweight Adjustable System).
The first version of the MELLS ATGM can hit targets at a range of 200-4000 m, since 2017, customers have been offered a Spike-LR II rocket with a launch range of 5500 m, compatible with previously delivered launchers. At the same time, the Spike-LR developers never miss the opportunity to remind that their complex is seriously superior to the American Javelin in launch range and is capable of hitting not only armored vehicles in command mode.
According to advertising information presented at international arms exhibitions, the Spike-LR ATGM weighing 13, 5 kg carries a warhead with armor penetration up to 700 mm of homogeneous armor, covered with DZ blocks. The armor penetration of the Spike-LR II modification rocket is 900 mm after overcoming the DZ. The maximum flight speed of the rocket is 180 m / s. The flight time to the maximum range is about 25 s. To destroy fortifications and capital structures, the missile can be equipped with a penetrating high-explosive warhead of the PBF type (Penetration, Blast and Fragmentation).
ATGM Spike-LR is equipped with a combined control system. It includes: a television homing head or a two-channel seeker, in which the television matrix is supplemented with an uncooled thermal imaging type, as well as an inertial system and data transmission channel equipment. The combined control system allows a wide range of combat use modes: "fire and forget", capture and retargeting after launch, command guidance, defeat an invisible target from a closed position, identification and defeat of a target in the most vulnerable part. The exchange of information and the transmission of guidance commands can be implemented over a radio channel or using a fiber-optic communication line.
In addition to the rocket in the transport and launch container, the Spike-LR ATGM includes a launcher with a command unit, a lithium battery, a thermal imaging sight, and a folding tripod. The weight of the complex in the firing position is 26 kg. The time of transfer of the ATGM to the combat position is 30 s. Combat rate of fire - 2 rds / min. In the version intended for use by small infantry units, the launcher and two missiles are carried in two backpacks by a two-man crew.
To date, the Spike-LR ATGM and the MELLS version produced in Germany are considered one of the best in their class. However, a number of German politicians in the past have expressed concern about the too high cost of new anti-tank systems, which, in turn, does not allow replacing the decommissioned MILAN 2 in a 1: 1 ratio, if necessary.
