Carl-Gustaf to become US Army Program of Record

Saab’s Carl-Gustaf man-portable weapon system is to become standard-issue to the US Army’s Light Infantry units following its selection as a Program of Record by the US Department of the Army.

The Carl-Gustaf has been in service with the US Special Operations Forces for more than 20 years, where it is designated the M3 Multi-role Anti-armour Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS). It will now fill a capability gap for units using disposable shoulder fired munitions.

Jonas Hjelm, president, Saab North America, said: ‘The fact that the US Army has now elected to designate Carl-Gustaf as a Program of Record, thereby enabling it to be broadly fielded to its light Infantry units speaks for itself. The Carl-Gustaf has repeatedly proven itself in the world’s most demanding environments as a versatile, powerful tool for the infantry soldier.’

Saab works to continuously modernise the system to meet future operational needs, and according to the company a lighter weight version of the Carl-Gustaf is currently under development.

Improvements are also being made to the Carl-Gustaf ammunition family with the recent release of the new 655 CS (Confined Space) high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round. This is the first in a new generation of munitions for the Carl-Gustaf designed to reduce back blast, and allow soldiers to safely employ the weapon in confined spaces, minimising the hazardous effects of traditional shoulder fired munitions.

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Carl-Gustaf M3