LAW 80

LAW 80
Unextended LAW 80
TypeRocket-propelled grenade (anti-tank, disposable)
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1987–present
Used bySee § Users
Wars
Production history
ManufacturerHunting Engineering
Produced1986–1997
No. builtc. 135,000
Specifications
Mass
  • 9 kg (20 lb) loaded
  • 4.6 kg (10 lb) projectile
Length
  • 1.5 m (59 in) firing
  • 1 m (39 in) carrying
Crew1
Calibre94 mm (3.7 in)
Effective firing range20–500 m (66–1,640 ft)
Sights×1 magnification telescopic sight
WarheadHEAT
Detonation
mechanism
Contact fuze
Blast yield600–700 RHA
PropellantHTPB
Launch
platform
Man-portable launcher

The LAW 80 (Light Anti-armour Weapon 80), officially referred to as the L1A1 94mm HEAT Rocket System in British service, is a man-portable, disposable anti-tank weapon previously used by the British Army and a few other militaries.

Description

The weapon consists of an extendable launch tube with an integrated 9 mm (0.35 in) spotting rifle and 1× sight. The spotting rifle has five rounds of ammunition, and is ballistically matched to the rocket. The rounds it uses are quite unusual, consisting of a 9 mm tracer bullet loaded in a necked up 7.62mm NATO shell casing, with a .22 Hornet blank mounted in the base of the larger case, providing the propellant charge. Upon firing, the .22 cartridge case pushes out of the back of the 7.62 mm casing, unlocking the breech of the spotting rifle in a form of primer actuation.

To launch the rocket the firer removes the large protective end caps and extends the rear of the launch tube, opens the sight, and moves the arming lever to "armed". The weapon is then in spotting rifle mode. To fire the rocket, the firer moves a charge lever forward with his firing hand thumb. The rocket motor burns out before it leaves the launch tube, the resulting blast being directed rearwards from the launch tube. The rocket then coasts to the target, arming itself after it has passed a certain arming distance. The warhead is a HEAT shaped charge and can penetrate between 650 mm (26 in) and c. 700 mm (28 in) of rolled homogeneous armour.

Operators

Operators
  Current
  Former

Current operators

Past operators

Addermine

Addermine is an acoustic sensor system which uses the LAW 80 as a kill mechanism to create an anti-armour off-route mine. It can also be command detonated from up to 200 m away, or 2 km via a laser optical link.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "LAW-80". Forecast International. September 1998. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Army Code No. 71435, Rocket System 94mm Heat L1A1 (LAW). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). 1989.
  3. ↑ The Directory of the World's Weapons, Bookmart Ltd (1996), ISBN 1-85605-348-2, ISBN 978-1-85605-348-8
  4. ↑ "Cartridge of the Month". cartridgecollectors.org.
  5. ↑ Army Code No. 71428, Infantry Training Volume III, Pamphlet No 14, Rocket System 94mm HEAT (LAW). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). May 1988.
  6. ↑ "Google Sites". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (27 January 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  8. ↑ "World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone". 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Owen, William F. (2007). "Light Anti-Armour Weapons: Anti-Everything?" (PDF). Asian Military Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Heyman, Charles (2008). The British Army: A Pocket Guide 2002-2003. Casemate Publishers. p. 128. ISBN 9781783378968.

See also

References