Wirkmittel 90mm with an effective range of 1200 meters
13:22 GMT, March 18, 2009 German weapons manufacturer Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH (DND) recently displayed a revolutionary new shoulder-launched, multi-purpose infantry weapon called the Wirkmittel 90. The new weapon will have an impressive effective range of 1200 meters - doubling the range of the Panzerfaust 3-IT - and will offer three firing modes to users.
Based on a 90mm caliber, the anti-structure weapon comes with a triple-mode warhead with a selective switch and can thus act effectively against fortifications of all kind, including bunkers, brick walls, strong buildings as well as light-armored vehicles. For this purpose, the selection option will allow the user to decide if the warhead will either detonate on impact as soon as it hits a target or, for example, inside a building after having penetrated the structure. The third mode will allow soldiers to let the weapon detonate in an air burst mode above a target. The triple-mode warhead offers soldiers a highly reliable and efficient weapon for all modern warfare scenarios and is especially designed to meet the requirements of asymmetric warfare. Accordingly, the Wirkmittel 90mm can be also fired from inside buildings allowing use of the weapon in Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT).
The weapon will be equipped with an integrated fire control system from either Zeiss Optronic or Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH, both German companies. It is planned for it to enter the market in the next four years.
Thomas A. Meuter, Head of Corporate Media Relations and Communications at DND commented to defpro.com that “the small arms market is expected to be worth over $6 billion. Many nations intend to purchase new shoulder-launched weapons and to replace older models such as the M72 rocket launcher.” However, the weapon is not intended as a full replacement of real tank-breaking weapons such as the Panzerfaust but as an additional product in the company’s portfolio.
Meuter also added that the Wirkmittel 90mm will close the technological gap between effective, but very expensive, anti-tank missiles with a high range and less expensive weapons, such as the Panzerfaust 3, with a lower effective range. “Our new multi-purpose infantry weapons are very interesting for markets within and outside Europe,” Meuter told defpro.com
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