// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Law 80 say to Law 79? You're always one law behind.
| LAW 80 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Unextended LAW 80 | |
| Type | Rocket-propelled grenade (anti-tank, disposable) |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1987–present |
| Used by | See § Users |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Hunting Engineering |
| Produced | 1986–1997[1] |
| No. built | c. 135,000[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass |
|
| Length |
|
| Crew | 1 |
| Calibre | 94 mm (3.7 in) |
| Effective firing range | 20–500 m (66–1,640 ft) |
| Sights | ×1 magnification telescopic sight |
| Warhead | HEAT |
Detonation mechanism | Contact fuze |
| Blast yield | 600–700 rha mm |
| Propellant | HTPB |
Launch platform | Man-portable launcher |
The LAW 80 (Light Anti-armour Weapon 80), officially referred to as the L1A1 94mm HEAT Rocket System in British service,[2] is a man-portable, disposable anti-tank weapon previously used by the British Army and a few other militaries.[3]
Description
[edit]The weapon consists of an extendable launch tube with an integrated 9 mm (0.35 in) spotting rifle and 1× sight. The spotting rifle has five rounds of ammunition, and is ballistically matched to the rocket. The rounds it uses are quite unusual, consisting of a 9 mm tracer bullet loaded in a necked up 7.62mm NATO shell casing, with a .22 Hornet blank mounted in the base of the larger case, providing the propellant charge. Upon firing, the .22 cartridge case pushes out of the back of the 7.62 mm casing, unlocking the breech of the spotting rifle in a form of primer actuation.[4]
To launch the rocket the firer removes the large protective end caps and extends the rear of the launch tube, opens the sight, and moves the arming lever to "armed". The weapon is then in spotting rifle mode. To fire the rocket, the firer moves a charge lever forward with his firing hand thumb. The rocket motor burns out before it leaves the launch tube, the resulting blast being directed rearwards from the launch tube. The rocket then coasts to the target, arming itself after it has passed a certain arming distance. The warhead is a HEAT shaped charge and can penetrate between 650 mm (26 in)[5] and c. 700 mm (28 in)[1] of rolled homogeneous armour.
Operators
[edit] | This section needs more citations. (June 2010) |
Current operators
[edit]
Past operators
[edit]
United Kingdom: Initially adopted in the early 1990s, replacing the L14A1 84 mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon (Rocket 66mm HEAT L1A1), it was withdrawn on safety grounds in favour of the AT-4 CS and eventually the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile and NLAW.[9]
Addermine
[edit]Addermine is an acoustic sensor system which uses the LAW 80 as a kill mechanism to create an anti-armour off-route mine. It can also be command detonated from up to 200 m away, or 2 km via a laser optical link.[10]
Notes
[edit]- 1 2 3 "LAW-80". Forecast International. September 1998. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- ↑ Army Code No. 71435, Rocket System 94mm Heat L1A1 (LAW). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). 1989.
- ↑ The Directory of the World's Weapons, Bookmart Ltd (1996), ISBN 1-85605-348-2, ISBN 978-1-85605-348-8
- ↑ "Cartridge of the Month". cartridgecollectors.org.
- ↑ Army Code No. 71428, Infantry Training Volume III, Pamphlet No 14, Rocket System 94mm HEAT (LAW). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). May 1988.
- ↑ "Google Sites". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ↑ Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (27 January 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ↑ "World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone". 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
- ↑ Owen, William F. (2007). "Light Anti-Armour Weapons: Anti-Everything?" (PDF). Asian Military Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ↑ Heyman, Charles (2008). The British Army: A Pocket Guide 2002-2003. Casemate Publishers. p. 128. ISBN 9781783378968.
See also
[edit]- List of rocket launchers
- ARGES mine – (United Kingdom, France, Germany)
- APILAS – (France)
- Alcotán-100 – (Spain)
References
[edit]- Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005-2006
- Jane's Infantry Weapons 1991-1992
External links
[edit]
- British Army training manual (Army Code No. 71428, Infantry Training Volume III, Pamphlet No 14, Rocket System 94mm HEAT (LAW), May 1988)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20040927085242/http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/pw/pw_law.htm
- www.armedforces.co.uk