M72 LIGHT ANTI-TANK WEAPON

The M72 is a short-range anti-tank weapon used by many armies, including the Canadian Armed Forces, since the late 1960s. The weapon, with a hollow charge, is said to be disposable: once the ammunition is fired, it is no more or less than a harmless launcher. The M72, which has a 66 mm warhead, can engage armoured vehicles with up to 450 mm of armour, as well as support points.

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The M72 LAW (for Light Anti-Tank Weapon) replaced the famous bazooka seen during World War II in the early 1960s. But unlike its rather bulky predecessor, the M72 is designed to be easily portable, lightweight (especially for faster movement) and direct fire on target. It weighs only 3.45 kg, for a length that does not exceed 80 cm.

The rocket is made up of a specific engine, capable of transporting various types of warheads to the target at high speed (about 200 metres/second), thanks to its solid propellant propulsion (which is based on the same principle as the propulsion of the space shuttle). Trained soldiers can engage targets up to 300 metres away.

Designed in the early 1960s, this weapon was intended for use against light tanks, which were in vogue at that time (such as the Soviet

ASU-85). Since then, the M72 has undergone many improved sub-variants, both in terms of the engine and the ammunition itself. The final variant, called the M72E10, includes a high-speed launcher and a high-quality HEAT (shaped charge) warhead. It can hit a target up to 350 metres, although the optimal range is about 220 metres.

Versatile and not requiring extensive training, the M72 will be used indiscriminately against all forms of targets, such as buildings, light vehicles and even troops. Despite its arrival nearly 60 years ago, the M72 is still present in many forces, due to several weapons programs that were supposed to replace it that were abandoned or did not keep their promises.

Although the US Army now uses the Swedish AT4/M136, the M72 has not disappeared: it was even used in combat a few years ago in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US Navy, the Canadian Army and the American Army still own thousands of units.

Reliable and inexpensive to purchase (each one costs about 2500 Canadian dollars), the M72 has had an important international career. Canada, of course, but also Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Norway, Spain, Thailand and Taiwan, to name but a few of the main users!