The RAC 112 APILAS (Armor-Piercing Infantry Light Arm System) is a portable one-shot 112 mm

recoilless A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

anti-tank weapon Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...

, designed in France by

GIAT Industries Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire. Group organization The Nexter group is ...

. Over 120,000 of the APILAS launchers have been produced, and they are in service with many countries.

Description

The APILAS is supplied in an

aramid fibre Aramid fibers, short for aromatic polyamide, are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers. They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric and ballistic composites, in marine cordage, mari ...

launcher tube with a retractable sight. The effective range of APILAS is from 25 m (it takes 25 m for the rocket to arm itself) up to 300-500 m depending on the target. The

shaped charge A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...

warhead is electrically fused and will detonate at impact angles up to 80 degrees. Although heavy, the APILAS is able to pierce 700 mm of RHA. Within the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

it is categorized as "traumatic weapon", because of its blast and noise. A French soldier cannot fire it more than three times in his service during peacetime. An off-route mine system was developed using the APILAS rocket mounted on a tripod using a sensor package, or tripwires.

Production

84,000 were ordered in 1984 by the French Army to replace the LRAC F1 until the adoption of the

Eryx Eryx is a French short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) manufactured by MBDA France and by MKEK under licence. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smal ...

short-range missile. The French company Matra Manurhin Défense (now NEXTER - ex GIAT) produced 120,000 APILAS between 1985 and 2006.

Specifications

* Calibre: 112 mm * Length ** Launcher: ***Transportation: 1290 mm ***Fire-ready: 1260 mm ** Projectile: 920 mm * Weight: ** Overall: 9.0 kg ** Projectile: 4.3 kg ** Launcher: 4.7 kg * Range: 25 m to 300 m + (moving target) 500 m + (static target) * Engine:

Solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...

* Muzzle velocity: 293 m/s * Time of flight to 500 m: 1.9 s * Warhead: 1.5 kg shaped charge capable of penetrating 720 mm RHAe or 2 m of concrete * Trigger:

Piezoelectric sensor A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain, or force by converting them to an electrical charge. The prefix ''piezo-'' is Greek for 'press' or 'squeeze'. ...

with 50g black powder

Operators

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

References

Sources