You might be wondering about the increased attention paid to the Swedish grenade-launcher by Carl Gustaf. There are many reasons why this is happening. The most prominent reason for the popularity of the Swedish grenade launcher on the internet is the news about the hit in Ukraine, destruction of the most powerful Russian tanks, and modern ammunition created by Saab. This is the programmable ammunition this legendary armored target killer can use.
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The Carl Gustaf Grenade Launcher, which has been in production since 1948, belongs to the middle-class of this type. It is expected to cost $ 20,000 and measure 950mm in length. The launcher weighs in at 6.6kg.
Carl Gustaf has the option to use several types of bullets in addition to the 84mm caliber bullets. It can engage targets up to 2,000m using laser-guided missiles, depending on which type it chooses. But, we do know that the GMM (Guided Multipurpose Munitions) missile is being developed with a warhead capable to destroy lightly armored targets and bunkers at ranges up to 2,500 km.
Today is not about that, though, as the Swedish company Saab announced recently that it had created a completely new, programmeable ammunition for this grenade-launcher. I’m referring to HE 488. Its operation was demonstrated recently to representatives of 30 countries. This was just months after Saab received a contract to supply hardware in December 2021 for the new ammunition.
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The demonstration of the HE-488 grenade-launchers was intended to demonstrate the capabilities and versatility of this new programmable rocket. It is unique because it can communicate with the 558 fire control device via a new protocol called Firebolt.
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