On March 4, 2024, during a meeting between Polish Minister of National Defense Vladislav Kosinyak-Kamysh and Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson in Gdynia, Poland, a contract was signed with the Swedish Saab AB group to supply the Polish Army with a large number of 84-mm Carl-Gustaf M4 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers. According to a statement from Saab AB, the value of the contract is 12.9 billion Swedish kronor (1.25 billion dollars, or about 5 billion zlotys).
Saab Carl-Gustaf M4 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher (c) Saab AB
Officially, the number of purchased Carl-Gustaf M4 RPGs has not been disclosed, however, according to Polish media, it is 6,000 units. "Several hundred thousand" shots of the widest range are purchased for them. The delivery package will also include new Saab FCD558 electron-optical sights, which allow the use of programmable high-explosive rounds of NE448. Deliveries are scheduled for 2024-2027.
Poland uses a small number of RPGs of the previous Carl-Gustaf M3 modification in special operations units and airmobile units. The purchased Carl-Gustaf M4 RPGs should completely replace the RPG-7 currently used in the Polish armed forces.
The Carl-Gustaf M4 RPG has been developed and mass-produced since 2017 by the Saab Dynamics division of the Saab Group, to which in 1999 part of the production of the former Bofors company was transferred, including the production and rights to the Carl-Gustaf RPG series, produced since 1948. The main difference between the M4 version was a significant reduction in the weight of the unloaded RPG - up to 6.6 kg, against 9.7 kg for the M3 modification, and 14.2 kg for the M2, which is still widespread. This was achieved mainly through the use of a titanium barrel with a carbon nozzle in the M4, instead of a steel barrel per M3. The length of the barrel was reduced from 1065 to less than 950 mm. It is stated that the barrel's resource has remained the same - 1000 shots, and a shot counter has been added. A double fuse has also been introduced, which allows you to carry an RPG in a charged form (this was prohibited in previous versions). As standard, the M4 uses the same optical sight as the M3, but also has a Picatinny rail, which allows you to mount a wide range of sighting equipment.
Saab Carl-Gustaf M4 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher with Saab FCD558 electro-optical sight (c) Saab AB
