Non-Subscriber Extract
British Army seeks bunker buster
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| 16 January 2001 |
Christopher F Foss JDW Land Forces Editor
London
Additional reporting
Paul Beaver JDW Special Correspondent
London
A
number of contractors in Europe and the USA submitted expressions of interest
to the UK's Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) late last year for the British
Army's unfunded requirement for the development and manufacture of an Infantry
Anti-Structures Weapon (IASW) system.Jane's Defence Weekly understands that one of the possible warhead types under consideration for the IASW is of the thermobaric (fuel-air explosive) type which would be highly effective against bunkers and a variety of other targets. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency has been studying this type of warhead for several years. The use of thermobaric weapons by Russian forces in Chechnya has been widely criticised by human rights groups.
The IASW would be used by dismounted infantry to neutralise a variety of targets that provide cover for threat infantry such as bunkers, buildings and other fortifications.
Key operational requirements of the projected IASW include the ability to be fired from within a confined space; the ability to be deployed and fired by one person; the capability of penetrating the structure and exploding inside; and having an effective range of at least 150m and weighing no more than 10kg. The system will have a blast warhead for maximum target effectiveness.
To save costs, it is probable that this will be an off-the-shelf solution and the UK is looking to acquire a complete system which will include not only the weapon but also a complete training package. It is also possible that a modified existing weapon could be offered for the IASW requirement.
Today, UK infantry units have no specialised weapons to engage bunkers and buildings that are likely to be encountered in increasing numbers. They would have to use the 1,950m-range Euromissile MILAN anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) and the 400m-range Hunting Engineering LAW 80 for this role. Both of these have a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead that are not optimised for this role and neither can be fired from within a building.
There are, however, some concerns from human rights organisations about the possible fielding of thermobaric weapons although they have been offered on the export market by Eastern European countries for some years.
A typical thermobaric warhead utilises an advanced form of the fuel-air explosive concept. The contents of the warhead are scattered in aerosol form on impact and then ignited to create a rapidly -formed, high-pressure blast wave which neutralises the target area.
Following early combat experience in Afghanistan that showed up the shortcomings in using existing anti-tank weapons to combat bunkers and other field fortifications, Russia developed thermobaric warheads for a number of its weapons.
These include the Kornet (maximum range 5,500m) and Metis-M (maximum range 1,500m) ATGM which have been offered on the export market for some years. The user has the option of a missile with a HEAT warhead or a thermobaric warhead, depending on the target to be engaged.
The KBP Instrument Design Bureau has also developed the Shmel 'infantry rocket flame thrower' with the RPO-A version using a thermobaric warhead which is claimed to be as effective as a 122mm or 152mm artillery projectile. Thermobaric warheads are also available for use with the widely deployed Russian developed RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade system.
Russia also built and fielded in small numbers the TOS-1 rocket system mounted on a modified T-72 tank chassis. This has a roof-mounted turret with 30 220mm tubes, each of which can launch a rocket with a thermobaric warhead to a maximum range of 3,500m.
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| The Russian Shmel infantry rocket flame thrower can be supplied with different warheads to engage different types of battlefield target (Source: KBP Instrument Design Bureau) |
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| The destructive effect of the Russian Shmel infantry rocket flame thrower is comparable to that of 122mm and 152mm artillery high-explosive fragmentation rounds (Source: KBP Instrument Design Bureau) |