Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1115818
(M4). It's quite much to carry, bearing in mind that the real problem here is the amount of ammunition carried – and while it's not bothersome in the case of defense operations, launching an offensive or acting away from own vehicles lets the gunner and the assistant are able to carry a total of eight rounds in total with them. This means that the CG crew is forced to remain close to own transport units, assume certain prear- ranged positions, or engage other platoon soldiers to carry additional rounds. Another drawback, which stems directly from the nature of re- coilless rifles, is the big backblast and the considerable danger zone of a dilation angle of 90° and stretching from 6 m (certain injury zone) up to 60 m (hazard zone) behind the rifle. The impact of the blast wave on the CG crew is so big that the number of shots fired in peacetime using full-caliber ammunition (including practice ammo) has been limited to six per 24 h (the ammo coming with barrel inserts is not subject to such restrictions, of course). It's also quite difficult to use the weapon to fire from spaces of a capacity smaller than 22 m3. Even now it is actually possible only thanks to special types of ammunition. Also, the anti-tank capabilities of HEAT rounds are currently insufficient to combat modern tanks from the front. Even if they feature a precursor, dealing successful- ly with the front of the turret or the hull of a T-72B/T-80U is possible only in the case of a lucky shot at weaker spots. Considering the above list of drawbacks, one can only wonder how come the Carl Gustaf has made such a great comeback in the last 20 years in over 40 countries, continues to be eagerly used, and – on top of that – its very design keeps on being developed and enriched with new functional- ities. It is so because an account of pros and cons speaks much in favor of the Swedish solution. First of all, it is relatively inexpensive – USD 20,000 for the version with a basic sight is not a large amount to pay. The ammunition is not expensive either: simple HE rounds cost USD 500, and the most ad- vanced ones come with a price tag of USD 3,000. To describe it using simple examples – one Spike missile costs as much as seven Carl Gustaf M3s or 28 to 46 84-mm ammo rounds depending on the level of advance- ment. Practice ammo is cheaper, naturally. Secondly, the Carl Gustaf has "long hands", so to speak – while its range in combating armored targets is rather small (150–200 m in real terms), the range in fighting stationary point targets (crew- served weapon positions, defenses, etc.) can actually reach over 700 m, and even over 1,000 m in the case of more experienced gunners. To understand the said value correctly, it is necessary to add that according to German instructions concerning operations carried out in the Cen- tral-European theater, 3/4 of clashes occurs within a distance up to 850 m. Americans claim that 67% of battles will be fought at a distance of 500–1,000 m at most. The effective range of suspended grenade launch- ers is approx. 150 m. In the case of disposable grenade launchers such as AT4 or C90C it is up to 300 m (approx. 150 when firing at moving tar- gets). Even heavy hybrid grenade launchers like the Panzerfaust 3 offer an effective range of a maximum of 400 m (like the disposable RGW90); only the modern electro-optical sights with range finders – like the Dyna- range – have increased the range of the Panzerfaust -3T/IT600 to a max- imum of 600 m. Meanwhile, the good old Carl Gustaf comes with a two times greater effective firing range. It's an inestimable advantage. Next thing is the broad spectrum of the available ammunition, which simply outmatches disposable grenade launchers. The Carl Gustaf is also very simple to use and resistant to rough handling. Also, the weapon has ad- dressed the post-Cold War battlefield changes perfectly. With the end of LAND FORCES