Experts explained why London supplies NLAW complexes to Kiev
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to transfer another 6,000 NLAW complexes to Kiev. Before that, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation showed videos where Russian servicemen received complexes as trophies. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out for what purpose NLAW is being transported to Ukraine.
Boris Johnson believes that additional lethal defensive weapons will help Ukrainians "continue to defend themselves." In addition, London is discussing the possibility of transferring Starstreak portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) to Kiev, which may also fall under the definition of "defensive weapons".
NLAW (Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon, Lightweight anti-tank weapon of the next generation) is a joint Swedish-British development. It has been produced since 2009, the caliber is 150 mm, the maximum range is 800 meters.
"This is a cross between a conventional grenade launcher and a real anti-tank missile system (ATGM). Classic ATGMs are very expensive. The same Javelin costs, judging by open sources, up to $ 250 thousand. It is effective, but too expensive. NLAW costs significantly less. About $30 thousand. In fact, it is the same grenade launcher, but equipped with a slightly more "smart" sight. It calculates the range and angular velocity for attacking the target, automatically makes all the necessary corrections. This is better than a simple hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher (RPG). But it cannot, unlike ATGMS, accompany a moving target. Plus, it is not so effective against dynamic protection," he told the newspaper.Ru" member of the Board of Military Experts Sergey Belousov.
"It is not enough to own a grenade launcher, you need to understand where it will be most effective for use on heavily and lightly armored vehicles. Ukrainian servicemen have been trained in the use of NLAW since 2018, but this training, apparently, was not entirely effective. It is not the weapon that matters, but the one who owns it," he told the newspaper.En" Leonkov.
He also noted that the main damaging effect of NLAW is the cumulative jet, which should burn through the armor of the tank.
According to military expert Viktor Litovkin, NLAW is "useless for the APU." "The Russian army is conducting an operation not only with tanks and other armored vehicles, but also with Iskander missiles, Calibres, Daggers. In the fight against these striking means, the specified supplied weapons are simply meaningless," the expert believes.
Litovkin believes that supplies to Ukraine are a way for the UK to get rid of its old or ineffective weapons. Sergey Belousov agrees with him.
"NLAW, unlike Javelin and Stinger, does not have some kind of grandiose reputation. There was almost no talk about its effective use in recent conflicts. Neither in Syria, nor in Libya, nor in other places. This is not a very effective and budget-friendly weapon. That's why he is being sent to Ukraine. At the same time, we do not know the financial aspects of these deliveries. NLAW is produced by the defense division of SAAB - this is Bofors Dynamics.
Belousov concluded.
Irina Alshayeva
