Carl-Gustaf M4 for the Polish Armed Forces

6 minutes

Published: 05.03.2024
Updated: 05.03.2024

The Polish Armament Agency signed a multi-billion contract with the Swedish company Saab Defense And Security for the delivery of 84mm Carl-Gustaf M4 anti-armor recoilless rifle, with ammunition.

On Monday, March 4th, during the visit to Poland by the Swedish Minister of Defense, Pål Jonson, the Armament Agency – State Treasury, on behalf of the Polish Ministry of National Defense, signed a contract with the Swedish company Saab Defense and Security worth 12.9 billion SEK (4.96 billion PLN, 1.9 billion USD) for the delivery of several thousand 84mm Carl-Gustaf M4 (CGM4) anti-armor recoilless rifles along with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition for them.

Photos: Polish Ministry Of National Defense, Saab Defense and Security

The subject of the agreement, signed in the presence of the Defense Ministers of Poland and Sweden, is the delivery of Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifles, along with new Fire Control Devices (FCD 558) and ammunition: anti-armor, fragmentation, high-explosive, high-explosive anti-tank, multi-purpose, smoke, illuminating, and training and exercise ammunition. The Polish Armed Forces, along with the recoilless rifles, will also receive logistical and training packages as well as technical documentation.

We have signed a very important contract. The Polish Armed Forces will be enriched with excellent, high-quality equipment, with anti-armor grenade launchers of Swedish production. This is one of the most significant contracts for equipment that has already proven itself in combat in Ukraine. There are very good reviews regarding this weapon; it performs very well. From today, our military will be richer in anti-tank grenade launchers, but also in ammunition. It’s not just a matter of several thousand grenade launchers, but also several hundred thousand rounds of ammunition, said Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz during a meeting with the Swedish Minister of Defense.

The subject of the defense ministers’ talks included, among others, matters of Polish-Swedish cooperation in the field of security and defense, contract implementation, assistance to Ukraine, and welcoming Sweden as a member of NATO.

Sweden is our important partner. Especially since today I welcomed the Minister not only to Poland but also to NATO. We are immensely pleased that Sweden is becoming a member of NATO, our security alliance, which provides us with extraordinary guarantees. (…) Today, I could hear that Sweden knows it is joining a pact organized for cooperation, but most importantly, it is joining a pact that will defend every inch of the land of NATO member states. The Minister, on behalf of the Kingdom of Sweden, expressed full commitment to Article 5, said Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz after the meeting with the Swedish Minister of Defense.

I am very pleased with Sweden’s accession to NATO, which emphasizes our solidarity and cooperation. Poland and Sweden will no longer be just partners but also allies within NATO. We are impressed by Poland’s investment in defense infrastructure. Sweden will support Poland not only in the Baltic Sea region but throughout the entire Alliance, said the Swedish Minister of Defense.

On that day, during his visit to Gdynia, Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz also met with the command staff and soldiers of the 3rd Flotilla of Ships, where current tasks and the unit’s development prospects were discussed.

As Saab reports, deliveries will be carried out between 2024 and 2027. The order is to be reserved by Saab before the end of the second quarter of 2024, subject to meeting certain external conditions.

I am proud of our close relationship with the Polish Armed Forces and that Saab can continue to strengthen Poland’s ground combat capability and national defense with our world-leading Carl-Gustaf system, says Saab’s CEO and President Micael Johansson.

t’s worth noting that earlier, as part of the Grot program, several thousand single-shot M72 EC Mk1 light anti-armor grenade launchers in combat version were delivered to the Polish Armed Forces, ordered on July 7, 2022. The launchers were tested during a familiarization training at the Territorial Defense Forces Training Center from December 7th to 9th, 2022. The weapons replace single-shot RPG-7 launchers and fulfill the tasks of withdrawn recoilless SPG-9 guns.

Description

The Carl-Gustaf M4 is the latest developmental version of the Carl-Gustaf family of recoilless rifles. It is designed to combat all types of modern combat vehicles, including heavy armored vehicles such as tanks. It enables the elimination of enemy personnel and fortified objects, as well as illuminating the battlefield and creating smoke screens.

The Carl-Gustaf M4 was unveiled in September 2014 at the Bofors Test Center in Karlskoga, 23 years after the premiere of the previous generation system. Qualification tests were conducted in 2015. The M4, weighing 6.7 kg, is lighter than its predecessor by 3.4 kg, thanks to the titanium-composite construction of the barrel and casing, as well as the redesign of some steel components. The new grenade launcher is also shorter (950 mm in length compared to the 1015 mm of the M3). It is equipped with a Picatinny rail, which allows for the mounting of additional observation and aiming devices.

The CGM4 has been adapted for use with all 11 types of 84mm x 246R ammunition used in the previous generation, including the FFV751 tandem-charge HEAT round, FFV551 rocket-assisted HEAT round, FFV502 HEDP round, FFV441B high-explosive round, FFV469 smoke round, FFV545 illuminating star shell, FFV552 training round with the same characteristics as FFV551, and FFV752 training round with the same characteristics as FFV751. The Carl-Gustaf M4 grenade launcher features an effective range from 300 to 2100 meters depending on the ammunition used.

Currently, work is underway to implement programmable ammunition, which will double the effective range to 1500-2000 m. In the M4 version, a two-stage safety system has also been introduced, allowing the weapon to be carried with ammunition preloaded into the barrel.

The Carl-Gustaf family of recoilless rifles has been acquired by the armed forces of over forty countries, and in the latest M4 version, by fifteen, including Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary, and the USA. Most users are replacing older Carl-Gustaf M2/M3 launchers, which are also in service with the Polish Armed Forces, specifically the Special Forces.