Posted On Saturday, 12 February 2022 11:15
According to information published by the "Soldat & Technik" website on February 11, 2022, the Enforcer shoulder launched guided missile weapon system designed and manufactured by the company MBDA will enter into service with the German army in 2024.
MBDA Enforcer launcher tube with the sight system mounted on the left side. (Picture source Army Recognition)
The missile manufacturer company MBDA will continue to conduct tests and field trials in collaboration with the German army. Enforcer has been under contract for Germany since December 2019. The contract will fulfill the German requirement for a lightweight, day/night, precision-guided weapon system with an effective range of more than 1,800 m. Resulting from a multinational MBDA development effort, Enforcer will complement the ‘Wirkmittel 90’ shoulder-launched unguided munitions capability in the German Army.
The development of the Enforcer started in 2014, and in January 2020, MBDA has announced a contract with the German army for the acquisition of Enforcer, a new man-portable guided missile weapon that can be used to destroy lightly armored static and moving targets, targets behind cover, and against targets at a long-range also in urban environments.
In December 2016, MBDA has announced successful tests with Enforcer. The firings with the Enforcer development prototype were conducted at ranges of between 1,000m to 2,000 m and confirmed expectations with regard to the weapon’s homing head, which guided the missile directly to the center of each of the intended targets.
The MBDA Enforcer is a man-portable guided missile weapon system fully designed and developed by the company MBDA. The weapon system consists of a single-use carbon-fiber launch tube weighing less than 9 kg, a missile that has a weight of less than 7 kg, and a sight system mounted on the left side of the launcher tube. It can be carried and operated by one soldier.
The launcher tube has a length of 1 m and a width of 110 mm, thanks to this size it can easily be transported by one man. The sight system of the Enforcer offers combat capabilities during day and night conditions.
The Enforcer missile has fire-and-forget capability which means that the missile does not require further guidance after launches such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the target. The missile is also equipped with a lock-on before launch (LOBL), which is a capability of missile systems to lock-on to its target after being launched.
The Enforcer shoulder launched weapon system can engage targets within the range between 1,000 m and 2,000 m. It can be also used in enclosed spaces.
