Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1115818
The NLAW The Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapon weighs 12.5 kg, mea- sures 1,016 mm in length, and has a diameter of 150 mm (actually more because of the launcher guards). The fired missile weighs 6.5 kg. The launch is activated by means of powder charge with a counterweight ejected from the back, which makes it possible to use the NLAW in con- fined spaces. The muzzle velocity is 40 m/s, and after the missile covers a few meters, its rocket engine starts and makes it travel at 275 m/s. The real range when firing at moving targets is from 20 to 400 m, and immo- bile targets can be fired at from a distance of up to 800 m. After the mis- sile travels longer than 5.6 s or covers a distance greater than 1,000 m, its self-destruction mechanism is activated. The missile is not self-guid- ed, but the route is planned taking into account the expected route of the moving target and the weather conditions. PLOS (Predicted Line of Sight) guidance involves the gunner maintaining the target in the middle of the aiming mark of the reticle of a simple optical sight for the whole time, keeping a button "forcing" the missile to calculate an appropriate prediction pressed at the same time. The procedure of target tracking and flight path calculation shall be at least 3 seconds long. There is, of course, a risk of the operator making a mistake, but the guidance mecha- nism is completely passive (hence undetectable) and inexpensive. There are two attack modes to select from – OVA (overfly top attack) and DA (direct attack). In the first case, the missile remains about 3-5 m above the targeting line and the measurement of the distance to the target is not very significant because the missile will fly approx. 3 m above its top, maintaining a fixed flight altitude until a range of about 300 m. In the case of DA, there needs to be an adjustment for the distance to the target taken into account; the gunner needs to take an appropriate reticle into consideration. The OVA mode uses a dual-sensor fuse: one sensor is a magnetometer, and the other – a laser or even a LADAR(LIDAR) sensor used to confirm the outline and the shape of the target. In the case of DA, a simple impact fuse is used because this mode is not intended for combating armored weapons. The wind-up time before firing is about 5 s. The sequence of activities required to operate the launcher during com- bating an armored target is the following: once the gunner is in position and assumes a firing position, they may extend the telescopic rest fitted under the front section of the launcher – it can be propped against the ground or one's own body. The combat position involves using a simple optical sight, which adjoins the top of the transport case when the weap- on is carried. The weapon is operated (except for adjusting the ambient temperature level) using right hand, which rests on a convenient grip-ma- nipulator fitted on the right side of the launcher, right behind its transport guard. The upper part of the manipulator, at the body of the launcher, there is a thumb safety mechanism whose lever should be moved down. Next, it is necessary to use the thumb and move the sliding safety cov- ering the trigger to the left. This action makes it possible to set the lever (fixed in the front of the manipulator) in one of the two positions (on the axis of the same movement) using the index finger. The first position activates the NLAW's power supply system; the second position initiates www.fragoutmag.com