France will replace MBDA’s Eryx short-range portable anti-tank systems with SAAB’s Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW ) systems by 2025. France is set to significantly shift its military equipment, replacing MBDA’s Eryx short-range portable anti-tank systems with SAAB’s Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW ) systems by 2025. The Chief of the French Army, General Pierre Schill, has announced that the short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile Eryx will be replaced by Swedish NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon) systems by 2025.
This is an interim solution until the French ACCP (Anti-char courte portée) short-range anti-tank system is developed. The French Army received 700 Eryx launchers and 12,000 missiles. It entered French service in 1994. The system weighs 13 kg, achieves a range of 600 meters and incorporates a high-explosive warhead. The NLAW is a Fire-and-Forget anti-tank weapon that can attack the target vertically (Top Attack) from a minimum distance of only 20 meters and a height of 1 meter. The maximum effective range is 800 meters, while its piercing capacity is 500 millimetres of RHA armour.
The NLAW, the new weapon to be introduced in the French Army, is not just a replacement for the Eryx. It brings with it a range of capabilities. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smaller pillboxes. It also has some anti-aircraft warfare ability, to bring down low flying helicopters, due to its wire-guidance system.
Turkish MKE Inc., which was MKEK earlier, produced Eryx under licence but was unsatisfied with the results and brought the case to the court.
