Posted on 10/31/2017 5:37:35 PM PDT by Simon Green
The U.S. Army is rushing 1,000 new M3E1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon Systems, or MAAWS, to Afghanistan, according to Scout Warrior.
The M3E1 is the latest version of the 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle that special operations forces have been using since the early 1990s. It’s lighter, shorter and more ergonomically designed.
The Army is fast-tracking acquisition of more than 1,000 upgraded, lightweight shoulder-fired weapons able to destroy enemy targets hidden behind rocks, trees and buildings, service officials told Scout Warrior.
As KitUp previously reported, the Army has approved a requirement for 1,111 M3E1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon Systems, or MAAWS.
The M3E1 is part of the Product Manager Crew Served Weapons portfolio, which is processing a contract to procure 1,111 M3E1s and an Urgent Material Release to field them as soon as possible.
The service announced in May of 2016 that it planned to permanently assign the devastating anti-armor weapon to infantry platoons.
Army light infantry units began using the M3 in Afghanistan in 2011 when the AT4 proved ineffective. The breech-loading weapon, made by Saab North America, can reach out and hit enemy targets up to 1,000 meters away. The M3 offers the units various types of ammunition, ranging from armor penetration and anti-personnel, to ammunition for built-up areas, as well as special features like smoke and illumination.
Yep, that is Elvis, from his time in the army.
I can imagine it was a pain.
I thought the ONTOS was a war-ender. 6 RR rifles must have wrought destruction on both ends.
2/69 - 12/71 (90 days Early Out)
RVN (MACV Team 14) 70 - 71.
Good, kill them all.
Thanks.
I was in Nam 71-72 I Corps
That was a 106mm RR. Rifle implies rifling.
Right.
Great improvement over what we had in the past.
When I was a new 2LT Mech Infantry Platoon Leader in 1975, the serial number on one of our 90mm RR was 000007
I am sure the Taliban will like them.
Go for the 6-pack version!
“THE ENEMY IN AFGHANISTAN has ARMOUR vehicles?”
Good question..... Almost as good as whether the US Military needs such weapons in order to protect the heroin trade from the ‘evil’ Taliban which would burn the fields given half a chance...
This not what I envision when the term recoilless rifle is used!!!
By January we will give them to our Afghan “allies.”
By February the Taliban will use them to fire on an American convoy.
The job of reloading that thing wasn’t any fun at all.
L
It’s past time for a modern version of the M-29 Davy Crockett Weapon System tactical nuclear recoilless gun.
The do have rock walls and houses. RR aren’t made just for armor.
The enemy in Afghanistan has Toyota HiLux pickups with pintle mounted RPK machine guns. The M3A1 is more than enough to kill them.
CC
Lol
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.