Swedish defense company Saab announced on Monday that the U.S. Army has awarded the company with a new contract to produce an additional Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapons System (MAAWS) ammunition.
According to a company news release, the order value is approximately $75 million and deliveries will take place in 2022.
The MAAWS is a reloadable, recoilless rocket system intended to supplement existing shoulder-fired rocket capabilities.
The system consists of the M3A1 Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle, a fire-control system and a backup reflex sight Soldiers or Marines can use if the primary optic malfunctions. It includes munitions that provide obscuration, illumination, anti-personnel, armor penetration, bunker- and hardened-facility penetration, and other destruction capabilities.
The shoulder-fired ammunition order is placed within an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) framework agreement signed in 2019 between Saab and the U.S. Army that allows the customer to place orders for Carl-Gustaf (designated MAAWS in the U.S.) ammunition and the disposable AT4 shoulder-fired weapon systems during a five-year period. This order for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps is comprised of seven different types of ammunition including anti-armor, anti-structure, smoke, and illumination rounds, all underlining the versatility of the multi-purpose Carl-Gustaf system.
“The Carl-Gustaf is a modern, flexible weapon platform designed by Saab to meet the current and future needs of our warfighters across every combat environment. Our Carl-Gustaf ammunition makes our weapon adaptable and delivers guaranteed effects against armored vehicles, soft targets, and urban structures. We take great pride in Saab’s 35-year history of delivering our combat-proven family of weapon systems to the U.S. Armed Forces,” said Erik Smith, President and CEO of Saab in the U.S.
The reloadable multi-purpose system has been in service in the U.S. since 1990, a program of record for the U.S. Army since 2013, and in 2018, the U.S. Army announced it will acquire the latest version of the weapon – the Carl-Gustaf M4 (designated M3E1 in the U.S.).
The order was booked during the second quarter 2021.