Saab received an order from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to purchase NLAW light anti-tank weapon systems.

This was announced in the Saab press release.

The systems will be assembled at the Thales plant in Belfast in Northern Ireland, and delivered to the British Army.

The UK Ministry of Defense claimed that the £229 million deal would involve the production of thousands of NLAWs.

Several thousand light anti-tank weapon systems will be delivered to the armed forces of Great Britain between 2024 and 2026.

These will come in addition to approximately 500 NLAW systems to be delivered in 2023 as part of a separate procurement procedure.

The purchase of the new systems is designed to replenish the stock of Great Britain after the country provided Ukraine with thousands of NLAWs to support the fight against the Russian invasion forces.

Previously, the British media reported that the United Kingdom transferred up to half of the total number of NLAWs in their service to Ukraine.

With a weight of 12.5 kg, the NLAW anti-tank system is a portable weapon that was developed by the Swedish Saab AB group together with the British branch of the Thales group under the assignment and funding of the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence.

The NLAW is a lightweight shoulder-fired disposable ATGM with an effective firing range of up to 800 meters and a weight of 12.5 kilograms. The system does not use an active targeting system. Instead, it uses “predicted line-of-sight” guidance, including magnetic and optical sensors.

Before launch, the gunner uses a sight for three seconds to track the angular velocity of the target. The target is recorded by an inertial missile block, which during flight, makes the necessary adjustments, adapting the direction of motion. The warhead of the missile can destroy a well-protected modern battle tank.

The missile flies approximately a meter above the tank’s turret and then strikes. The system is also extremely effective in situations in which the operator can only see a tiny fraction of the enemy equipment. NLAW can fight not only tanks and other armored vehicles but is also effective against other targets. In direct attack mode, it can be used against light targets such as trucks, buses, and cars.