Back in 1963, the British Army adopted the M2 Carl Gustaf 84mm recoilless rifle. It served with various units right through into the 1990s when it was replaced by lighter, single-use munitions. The British Army replaced the M2 with the LAW 80 which has since been surpassed by the NLAW. Yesterday, it was announced that the British Army would once again be procuring the Carl Gustaf, this time the much improved M4 variant.

Carl Gustaf @ TFB:

• US Department of Defense Orders AT4s and Carl Gustaf Ammunition
• US Army Buys Aimpoint FCS13-RE Sights for Carl Gustaf M3E1 MAAWS Recoilless Rifles
• USMC Buys In to Swedish Carl Gustaf Tank-Busting Recoilless Rifle
• US Army Approves Lightweight 84mm M3E1 Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle for Procurement
• Norway Orders SAAB Carl-Gustaf M4 Recoilless Rifles
• Latvia and Estonia Place Orders for Carl-Gustaf M4 Anti-Tank Weapon System

The news came as part of a larger statement which outlined the UK and Sweden’s continued defense relationship with a contract for the procurement of 14 Archer 155mm self-propelled gun systems from BAE Systems signed. More on that over at our sister site OvertDefense.com. The UK government press release included a small section on the Carl Gustaf purchase, saying: “the UK today also announced a contract of nearly £5 million [$6.1 million] to replenish munitions granted to Ukraine with Saab-produced Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifles.”

The British Army’s Director of Futures, Major General James Bowder commented on the announcement, saying: “the procurement of Carl-Gustaf M4 will provide a versatile, potent, and proven capability to our close combat forces; it will defeat a range of threats on the modern battlefield, further enhancing our lethality.”

60 years ago in 1963 the British military adopted the M2 Carl Gustaf 84mm recoilless rifle. It was withdrawn in the 90s, replaced by a variety of single-use munitions. Today, it has been announced that the latest iteration, the M4, will be procured.#SmallArmsLightWeapons pic.twitter.com/yjkFiQW4So

— Historical Firearms | Matthew Moss (@historicfirearm) March 29, 2023

Introduced in 2014, the M4 is a much lighter and more modular improvement on the classic recoilless rifle. Weighing 6.6kg or 15lbs, it is capable of firing a range of munitions. These include anti-armor and anti-structure rounds as well as high explosive munitions which can be air burst over enemy troops in cover. Saab have also developed programmable ammunition and advanced fire control devices for the M4.

The M2 Carl Gustaf saw active service with the British Army around the world, most notably during operations to recapture the Falkland Islands in 1982, where it was used to clear Argentine fighting positions. A more recent conflict has provided a catalyst for the procurement of the Carl Gustaf as the UK has provided a significant, but unconfirmed, number of RGW-90 anti-structure weapons to Ukraine over the past 12 months. The single-use, shoulder-fired RGW-90 entered service in 2007 as the L2A1. This anti-structure role is one which the M4 and its improved munitions could fulfil.

Carl Guastaf M4 (Saab)

It seems likely that the M4 Carl Gustaf will fulfil a number of tasks including anti-structure and anti-light vehicle roles. Several years ago, in 2018, the British Army outlined a Reusable Multi-Role Medium Range Shoulder Launcher requirement. The program, however, stalled and didn’t see a weapon selected. Additionally, the British Army is still in need of a replacement system for the 60mm mortars which were removed from service in 2018. A ‘Platoon Organic Fire Support’ project looked to fill this gap and expand the infantry platoon’s firepower out to 1000+ meters. This is another niche the Carl Gustaf could fill.

In a statement Dean Rosenfield, Group Managing Director, Saab UK said:

Our strong relationship with the British Army is built upon delivering proven capabilities that help them to meet the threats they face and the Carl-Gustaf M4, like NLAW, is in prime position to do this. This weapon system will undoubtedly play a key role in infantry operations for the British customer, as it does for many countries around the world.

In terms of the exact role the Carl Gustaf M4 will fill within British infantry units, we gained some insight from a report on a new experimental platoon structure which is being developed. The new Phalanx Platoons, which are geared towards urban fighting, feature sections/squads with 2+4 soldier fireteams and a support element armed with anti-tank and anti-structure vehicles. The report explains how the Carl Gustaf will arm the support element:

Each Phalanx Platoon has a shoulder-launched rocket team, armed with a Carl-Gustaf weapon system. This enables a rapid, multi-shot capability that can utilise different warheads dependent on the mission and does not require a specialist user to operate in the same way that Javelin does. By having this capability independent of the sections, it allows a more effective employment of these capabilities while reducing the load on the sections in both weight and cognitive burden.

Further information was offered by Saab and the UK’s new Carl Gustafs will use the 557B 3x optic, not the new 558 fire control system introduced in 2022. According to Jane’s Amael Kotlarski ammunition will include anti-armor HEAT 551C RS rounds, TP 552 training rounds, HE 441D anti-personnel rounds and various smoke and illumination munitions. The £5 million contract cost suggests a small initial order of perhaps 100-150 recoilless rifles and ammunition.