LAW 80
The LAW 80 (Light Anti-armour Weapon 80), sometimes erroneously referred to as LAW 94, is a man-portable, disposable anti-tank weapon currently in use by the British Army and a few other militaries.
| LAW 80 | |
|---|---|
 LAW 80 Test By US Army 1983 | |
| Type | Rocket-propelled grenade (Anti-tank, disposable) |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1987 – present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Gulf War War on Terror |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Hunting Engineering |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 10 kg (22 lbs) |
| Length | 1500 mm (59 in) firing 1000 mm (39 in) carrying |
| Calibre | 94 mm |
| Maximum firing range | 500 m |
| Sights | optical 1× |
Description
The weapon consists of an extendable launch tube with an integrated 9 mm (0.35 in) spotting rifle and 1× sight. The spotting rifle has five rounds of ammunition, and is ballistically matched to the rocket. The rounds it uses are quite unusual, consisting of a 9 mm tracer bullet loaded in a necked up 7.62mm NATO shell casing, with a .22 Hornet blank mounted in the base of the larger case, providing the propellant charge. Upon firing, the .22 cartridge case pushes out of the back of the 7.62 mm casing, unlocking the breech of the spotting rifle in a form of primer actuation.[1]
To launch the rocket the firer removes the large protective end caps and extends the rear of the launch tube, opens the sight, and moves the arming lever to "armed". The weapon is then in spotting rifle mode. To fire the rocket, the firer moves a charge lever forward with his firing hand thumb. The rocket motor burns out before it leaves the launch tube, the resulting blast being directed rearwards from the launch tube. The rocket then coasts to the target, arming itself after it has passed a certain arming distance. The warhead is a HEAT shaped charge and could penetrate 700 mm (28 in) of rolled homogeneous armour at 90 degrees, as was taught to soldiers trained on the weapon system in the British Army, Royal Navy (Royal Marines) and RAF Regiment. It was also taught that sloped, composite and reactive armour, would reduce the penetration and would be an important factor when selecting the aiming point.
Specifications
| LAW 80 Brochure 1985 | |
 | |
| |
| |
|
- Contractor: Hunting Engineering
- Calibre: 94 mm
- Launcher length:
- Firing mode: 1.5 m
- Carrying mode: 1 m
- Weight:
- Carrying weight: 10 kg
- Shoulder weight: 9 kg
- Projectile weight: 4.6 kg
- Dispersion: approx 1 mil
- Warhead arming range: 10 to 20 m
- Effective range: 20 to 500 m
- Fuze:
- Type: Piezo-electric impact fuze, scrub and foliage proof
- Graze angle: <= 10°
- Temperature range: -46 °C to +65 °C
- Rear danger area: < 20 m
- Shelf life: 10 years
Operators
Past operators
Addermine
Addermine is an acoustic sensor system which uses the LAW 80 as a kill mechanism to create an anti-armour off-route mine. It can also be command detonated from up to 200 m away, or 2 km via a laser optical link.[6]
Notes
- "Cartridge of the Month". cartridgecollectors.org.
- "Google Sites". sites.google.com.
- Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- "World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone". 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
- Owen, William F. (2007). "Light Anti-Armour Weapons: Anti-Everything?" (PDF). Asian Military Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- Heyman, Charles (2008). The British Army: A Pocket Guide 2002-2003. Casemate Publishers. p. 128. ISBN 9781783378968.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
See also
References
- Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005-2006
- Jane's Infantry Weapons 1991-1992