{"id":24673,"date":"2018-10-09T16:52:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T16:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/09\/the-carl-gustaf-is-getting-a-game-changing-laser-guided-munition\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:07:51","slug":"the-carl-gustaf-is-getting-a-game-changing-laser-guided-munition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa-digital-show-dailies\/2018\/10\/09\/the-carl-gustaf-is-getting-a-game-changing-laser-guided-munition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Carl Gustaf is getting a \u2018game changing\u2019 laser-guided munition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 84mm recoilless rifle known as the Carl Gustaf<\/a> boasts a number of munitions for a variety of missions, but with one noticeable gap: a precision guided munition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raytheon has been working the past couple of years with Saab, the makers of the anti-tank, shoulder-fired Gustaf<\/a>, to develop a laser-guided munition, according to Townsend Blanchard, a senior manager with Raytheon\u2019s land warfare systems and Green Beret with the Army National Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Gustaf laser-guided projectile features a multi-target warhead capable of defeating bunkers, concrete, light skinned vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and has a range of nearly 2,000 meters, Blanchard explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a game-changer because it brings precision down to that platoon for the Army and the squad for the Marine Corps,\u201d Blanchard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Raytheon’s laser guided Carl Gustaf munition packs a 2,000 meter range. (Shawn Snow\/staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Army and the Corps are both amid plans to push the Gustaf to its infantry units as the two services seek to modernize and boost lethality in preparation for a near-peer fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Army is fielding the Gustaf at the platoon level, the Corps wants to field the recoilless rifle in every rifle squad across the Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new precision round can also be fired from inside an enclosed room. Meaning, a soldier or Marine operating the system can fire from the safety of a room, window, or behind cover without the fear of backblast causing injury or harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\t