As recent global conflicts have made anti-tank weapons more crucial than ever,
two systems appear to be in everyone's mouths: the US Javelin and the British-Swedish NLAW.
Like the Javelin, the NLAW is a robust and reliable anti-tank solution. Still,
contrary to popular belief, it is not a competitor to the American system, as it serves a specific
purpose of its own, has a different medium-range guidance system, and costs a mere fraction of it.
As an operator targets an enemy tank using the NLAW, the moving target is
tracked for a couple of seconds, and the NLAW's software then inputs the operators' movements.
Once the missile is fired, the system uses the manual tracking data to project where the
target will be positioning the warhead right on top of the armored vehicle.
Then, once in position, a proximity fuse detonates the warhead, which is arranged as a shaped charge
directing the full might of the blast towards the weakest part of the armored vehicle…
Affordable Reliability
As armored vehicles have significantly evolved, they have become increasingly
resilient to conventional anti-tank weapons. Most modern tanks, for instance,
have 500-millimeter frontal armor, making them immune to most shoulder-fired missiles.
To successfully disable these fortified behemoths, the projectile should strike
the top of the tank where the armor is the lightest, but this is easier said
than done when using an unguided system that is not able to correct its course mid-flight.
Conventional unguided shoulder-fired missiles work best when the target is stationary and
relatively close to the weapon's operator. However, this also exposes the operator to
an attack while aiming and firing the system. If the tank is moving, it is highly unlikely
that the operator will strike the target, let alone hit it on its weakest armor section.
And that’s where the Javelin comes in.
With such technology, the operator can lock in the target from a long distance, fire,
and take cover while the smart missile does the rest. The projectile then automatically
corrects its course according to the target’s infrared signals and adjusts its trajectory
to strike it from the top, delivering the most significant amount of damage possible.
The downside of a state-of-the-art anti-tank system like the Javelin is
that a single unit can cost up to a quarter of a million dollars, which,
compared to the 4,000 dollars of an unguided system, is an astronomical difference.
Nevertheless, the NLAW seeks to narrow that gap by
providing a guided solution at a fraction of the price.
Joining Forces
The development of a modern Swedish light anti-tank guided
missile started in the 1990s and was headed by the Swedish Armed Forces,
whose mechanized infantry was severely deficient in both tanks and anti-tank weapons.
The plan initially called for a simple and cost-effective system. However,
after some strategic feedback, the project's objective evolved into
producing a man-portable anti-tank weapon with formidable efficacy at short to mid-range.
In October of 1999, the British military awarded Saab Bofors Dynamics with a product definition
order to develop an anti-tank weapon prototype in what was deemed the British NLAW program.
The prototype needed to achieve several particular goals,
including hitting a moving target at 1,300 feet and a stationary target at over 2,000 feet.
The project grew at breakneck speed after being chosen by the British and Swedish
defense authorities in 2003, as it was believed to meet the requirements of both nations.
As such, the launcher and projectile were built by
the Saab Bofors Dynamics Corporation in Eskilstuna and Karlskoga, Sweden,
using technology developed from earlier Bofors systems such as the RBS 56B BILL 2 and AT4 CS.
The United Kingdom and Sweden shared the development costs, and mass production soon began,
with deployment projected by 2006. But despite the quick progress, the production was delayed until
2008 after some prototypes were found lacking in specific British and Swedish requirements.
Operation
The NLAW was designed to use a single shaped-charge warhead,
in contrast to similar missiles with a tandem warhead configuration. And despite drastically
growing in complexity and capabilities, it was deployed as an affordable guided missile system.
Like other guided fire and forget anti-tank systems, the NLAW is able to remove much of
the inaccuracy and danger of other anti-tank systems. But in contrast
to conventional shoulder-mounted missiles, the NLAW's projectile is independently propelled,
which means it has a much longer range and it doesn't lose speed as it reaches its target.
The missile’s independent propulsion also allows the projectile to travel in curved trajectories
and reach targets behind terrain obstacles and cover. However, it does not have an active
guidance system like the Javelin that corrects its course midflight by detecting the target’s
infrared signatures. Instead, it calculates the approximate future location of a moving tank
and travels to that position and not to where the tank is when the missile leaves its tube.
Moreover, NLAW is designed so that the operators can select the distance at which the weapon arms
itself. As Lars-Örjan Hovbrandt, Saab’s Technical Sales Support Manager for Ground Combat, puts it:
(QUOTE) “Say you are in complex terrain where a number of vehicles have been hit and you
have a burning vehicle 50 metres in front of you and the true target is 150 metres away.
You just switch over the arm distance to 100 metres. The missile will fly blind
over the first target and then start looking for the target.”
Attack!
The NLAW’s guidance system might seem rudimentary when compared to other methods.
Still, it is highly effective as a medium-range attack.
As the operators use the visor to target a vehicle, they then manually track
the vehicle's movement by moving the system and keeping it in their sights.
Meanwhile, the onboard computer records the tracking information from the operator and
uses it to calculate the possible speed and direction of the enemy vehicle.
When the missile is fired and its independent propulsion system deploys,
the projectile moves towards the position where the data indicates
the vehicle will be if it keeps its current speed and direction.
Moreover, the missile is programmed to fly approximately one meter above the target,
and as it reaches the vehicle, its proximity fuse and magnetic sensors are triggered,
detonating the warhead and channeling the blast towards the top section of the tank.
Although the entire guidance system can be fooled if the armored vehicle decides to suddenly change
directions or completely halts, the speed and fire-and-forget nature of the weapon
deems this scenario highly unlikely, as the tank crew would have shear seconds to react.
That is one of the reasons why the NLAW is most effective at close and medium ranges,
because it is much more difficult to predict the movement of a vehicle at long distances,
and the tank’s crew also has much more time to react to an incoming attack.
Ideal Use
With a cost of approximately 25,000 dollars, the NLAW is ten times cheaper
than the American Javelin. For this reason alone, the NLAW makes a formidable option,
especially in urban warfare scenarios where close and mid-range engagements are most common.
Recently, the United States, Britain, and their allies have learned to use the systems
in a complementary fashion, making use of both solutions according to their specific needs.
Moreover, as the conflict in Eastern Europe continues to escalate and resources dwindle
on the battlefront, the NLAW will become a crucial component of the mighty Javelin as
a defensive anti-tank system, and the cheap but highly effective NLAW anti-tank system might be
the weapon that can make the difference in the long run when other solutions begin to deplete.
Only time will tell if the British and Swedish
shoulder-mounted tank destroyers will be able to keep the enemy tanks at bay…
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