Following a joint development project between Sweden and the United Kingdom, FMV has placed an order for the NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti Armour Weapon) to be known as RB 57.

On assignment from the Swedish Armed Forces, FMV has been working on the procurement of a new anti-armour weapon system with delivery to commence in 2006. The new system will be known in Sweden as Robot 57, (RB 57) and will be supplied in the first place to army units requiring an anti-armour capability. RB 57 will complement existing systems by providing the individual soldier with a weapon, intended primarily for use at relatively short ranges, which is capable of defeating most types of vehicle including tanks.

According to the Swedish Army’s requirements, RB 57 must be capable to defeating tanks and other armoured vehicles, have a low acoustic pressure signature when launched, be capable of engaging targets at ranges down to 20 m, have minimal environmental impact with international operations in mind and weigh less than 12.5 kg.

RB 57, known internationally as NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapon), is the result of a collaborative project lasting several years between Sweden and the United Kingdom. This collaboration with the United Kingdom began at an early stage with an exchange of information and the harmonisation of requirements. This led to the merging of the Swedish and British procurement programmes in 2002 when a joint development contract was placed.

The joint project and this contract were led by the DPA (Defence Procurement Agency), FMV’s equivalent in Britain, which FMV has found to be a very satisfactory collaborative partner. RB 57 will be produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in collaboration with mainly British subcontractors. This order is worth approximately SEK 500 million.

FMV
27.12.2005