U.S. Army Is Building A New 18.6-Mile-Range Tank-Killing Weapon

U.S. Army Soldiers from Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), fire the TOW missile system during a live fire at Fort Campbell, Ky. Oct. 24, 2018 - file photo. (U.S. Army Photo by Capt. Justin Wright)

FOX News/Warrior Maven: Army builds new 18.6-mile-range tank-killing weapon

What if a Russian armored vehicle column were approaching for attack, maneuvering between mountains about 15km (9.32 miles) away as they came forward? At the same time, the U.S. Army sees the approaching force with surveillance drones but has no armed air support.

Large rockets like the Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, a GPS guided weapon able to hit targets out to 70km (43.5 miles), might cause too large of an explosion given that the enemy force is moving through populated urban areas. A smaller, long-range armor-penetrating weapon might be needed — a tank killer with more range than a TOW (Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire Guided) or Javelin missile.

With this kind of scenario in mind, the U.S. Army and Raytheon are working on a newly configured tank-killing “Shaped Charge” 155m precision-guided artillery round as part of a large-scale strategic attempt to outrange enemies and destroy approaching enemy armored columns at safer standoff ranges.

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WNU Editor: This is definitely a huge leap in anti-tank/anti-armoured vehicle weaponry

The U.S. Marines Are Gettings A New And Improved M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW)

The latest M-72 rocket launcher on display at the Urban ANTX-18 exercise held March 22 aboard Camp Pendleton, California. (Shawn Snow/Staff)

Task & Purpose: This Iconic Vietnam-Era Rocket Launcher Just Got A Major Upgrade, And Marines Say It’s A ‘Game Changer’

First adopted by the Army and Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War, the M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW) has remained a staple of infantry arsenals and action movies for over a half-century. Lightweight and reliable, the 66mm rocket system has a reputation for fantastic results. When Dirty Harry and Rambo are in the mood to make an explosive entrance, they lay down the LAW.

Now, Marines may get their chance to test a new and improved version of the tried-and-true M72 round. Defense News reports that arms maker NAMMO is working on an upgrade that wouldn’t just offer a suite of adjustments to fire control but purportedly all-but eliminate backblast, the heat and overpressure created by each round that can limit the use of anti-tank weapons like the M72 in combat.

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Update #1: US Marines Might Soon Get New Versions of The Vietnam-Era M72 Rocket Launcher (The Warzone/The Drive)
Update #2: Vietnam-era rocket launcher may get a new lease on life as Corps ponders a deadlier M-72 (Marine Times)

WNU Editor: One cannot help but be impressed on how a weapon that has been used ofr years can be (and is) improved upon.

This New Weapon Will Destroy Russia's New Tanks

The Basic ETC Gun Concept

Charlie Gao, National Interest: NATO Is Building a 'Silver Bullet' to Destroy Russia's New Tanks

The technology sounds like a lethal Rube Goldberg machine: an electrical circuit generates high voltage pulses, that ignites a plasma cartridge that then triggers explosives to propel projectiles at extreme velocity. But this technology, referred to as an Electro-Thermal Chemical (ETC) gun, might be NATO’s silver bullet when it comes to penetrating the next generation of advanced Russian tanks. ETC guns could also be employed in a naval role to allow more accurate and longer ranged naval fires than possible with conventional munitions, at far lower costs than the railgun. The roots of ETC guns are based in Cold War studies for methods to counter the ever-increasing levels of protection that were expected to be found on future Soviet tanks. According to threat reports at the time, the protection levels of Soviet tanks that were expected to be fielded in the mid 1990s would outclass all fielded anti-tank projectiles.

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WNU Editor: This tech has been around for a long time .... and from what I am reading, it has the potential to be very effective. It will also be more mobile than a rail-gun.

This Is How The U.S. Will 'Kill' Russian Tanks

Wikimedia

Sebastien Roblin, National Interest: How America's Military Would Kill Russia's Tanks in a War

The Javelin is one the U.S. military’s most effective, man-portable weapon systems. They’re available to frontline infantry squads in the Marines and Army, and typically a few are stowed inside vehicles in mechanized units.

The United States has sold Javelins both to many NATO countries, including France and the United Kingdom, allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and to Asian-Pacific countries including Australia, Indonesia and Taiwan.


Because of the Javelin’s capabilities, the sale of Javelins is loaded with both political considerations as well as military significance.

For example, the United States has provided 120 Javelin launch units to Estonia and 260 to Lithuania. If the Baltic states were invaded by Russian armor—not truly a likely event, but one much worried about because the small NATO countries would be hard to defend—light infantry wielding Javelins would basically serve as the Baltics’ first line of defense on the ground until NATO mobilized.

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WNU Editor: These missiles are not cheap .... Pentagon Buying 260 Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles From Lockheed-Raytheon JV (Motley Fool).

Russian Anti-Tank Missile Obliterates An Abrams M1 Tank (Video)

RT: ISIS takes out Iraqi Abrams with anti-tank missile (DRAMATIC VIDEO)

A Russian-made anti-tank missile reportedly obliterated a US-made Abrams tank involved in the offensive on the terrorist-held city of Mosul, Iraq. Footage of the alleged incident was released by Islamic State’s (IS, formerly ISIS) propaganda channel.

The Abrams M1 main battle tank was hit from behind with a 9M133 Kornet anti-tank missile at the Qurayyah crossroads south of Mosul, said the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

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Update: Caught On Tape: ISIS Destroys Abrams Tank With Anti-Tank Missile (Zero Hedge)

WNU Editor: That is something that you do not see everyday.