The US Army envisions the XM919 IAM as an all-purpose, disposable rocket launcher which must deliver not just anti-armour effects but the destruction of structures as well. The requirement for the IAM as released by the Army calls for a single-use individual weapon that must weight no more than 20 pounds and not exceed 40 inches in length.
It must be able to be fired from enclosed, confined spaces and reach a range of 1,640 feet (500 meters), while delivering effects against armour, earth and timber bunkers, double-reinforced concrete, adobe and triple brick walls. The contract award notice reveals that the US Army received 3 entries that competed for this award.
It has been reported that the other 2 companies that put forward an entry were General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) in cooperation with Germany’s Dynamit Nobel, and the Norwegian company Nammo. Saab undoubtedly had an advantage in this race since it has been supplying its disposable AT4 rocket launchers to the US Army since 1985, with more than 700,000 systems delivered. Saab also produces the re-usable Carl Gustaf. The IAM, in practice, is meant to deliver, in a single package, the effects currently ensured by the M136 AT4 (anti-armour, primarily), M72 66 mm disposable rockets (lighter but more multi-role) and M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM).
Saab is answering the requirement with the latest AT4 CS TW, where CS means “Confined Spaces”, as in the ability to be fired safely from enclosure, and TW stands for Tandem Warhead. There are obvious advantages in having a single munition able to satisfactorily cover the entire range of targets and effects, and there should be significant training and logistic advantages in continuing to relay on the very familiar and widely used AT4 system.
The contract was awarded on August 28, and now provides a framework within which actual production orders will be placed. The value of each lot will be communicated as the production orders are placed.
The US Army also intends to procure a reduced-range training variant, the XM922.
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