Armbrust
Recoilless anti-tank gun
title: "Armbrust" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["weapons-of-germany", "weapons-of-singapore", "cold-war-anti-tank-rockets-of-germany", "military-equipment-introduced-in-the-1970s"] description: "Recoilless anti-tank gun" topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armbrust" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Recoilless anti-tank gun ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox weapon"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Armbrust |
| image | Armbrust rocket launcher photo Iraq OIG.jpg |
| image_size | 300 |
| caption | An Armbrust launcher |
| origin | West Germany |
| type | Recoilless gun |
| is_ranged | yes |
| is_explosive | yes |
| used_by | See Operators |
| wars | {{plainlist |
| *2013 Lahad Datu standoff{{citation needed | date |
| designer | Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) |
| manufacturer | Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) |
| Pouderies Réunies de Belgique (PRB) | |
| ST Kinetics (STK) | |
| variants | Armbrust AT, Armbrust AP, Armbrust Ub, Armbrust SC |
| weight | 6.3 kg |
| length | 850 mm |
| width | 126 mm |
| height | 140 mm |
| caliber | 67 mm |
| action | Recoilless weapon |
| velocity | 210 m/s |
| range | 300 m |
| max_range | 1500 m |
| <!-- | penetration |
| feed | Single shot |
| sights | Reticle, externally illuminated for night |
| :: |
|name= Armbrust |image= Armbrust rocket launcher photo Iraq OIG.jpg |image_size = 300 |caption=An Armbrust launcher |origin= West Germany |type=Recoilless gun |is_ranged=yes |is_bladed= |is_explosive=yes |is_artillery= |is_vehicle= |is_UK= |service= |used_by=See Operators |wars={{plainlist|
- Cambodian–Vietnamese War
- Yugoslav Wars
- Cambodian–Thai border stand-off
- 2013 Lahad Datu standoff}} |designer=Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) |design_date= |manufacturer=Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) Pouderies Réunies de Belgique (PRB) ST Kinetics (STK) |production_date= |number= |variants=Armbrust AT, Armbrust AP, Armbrust Ub, Armbrust SC |weight=6.3 kg |length=850 mm |part_length= |width=126 mm |height=140 mm |crew= |cartridge= |caliber=67 mm |action=Recoilless weapon |rate= |velocity=210 m/s |range=300 m |max_range=1500 m |feed=Single shot |sights=Reticle, externally illuminated for night
Armbrust (German: Crossbow) is a lightweight unguided anti-tank weapon designed and developed by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm of Germany, who later sold its manufacturing rights to Chartered Industries of Singapore (the predecessor of ST Kinetics).
Overview
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/ARMBRUST-MATADOR_Comparison.JPG" caption="Comparing the Armbrust (top) and MATADOR (bottom)"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Armbrust_projectile_Iraq_OIG.jpg" caption="An Armbrust 67 mm projectile (via Iraq OIG)"] ::
The Armbrust is a recoilless weapon, and is one of the few weapons of this kind that may safely be fired in an enclosed space. The propellant charge is placed between two pistons with the projectile in front of one and a mass of shredded plastic in the rear. Unlike most recoilless weapons, it is a true counter-shot weapon, as the mass of the projectile is equal to the mass of the counterweight and they are ejected from the barrel at the same initial velocity. When the weapon is fired, the propellant expands, pushing the two pistons out. The projectile is forced out of the front and the plastic out of the back. The plastic disperses on leaving the back of the barrel, and is quickly stopped by air resistance. The pistons jam at either end of the barrel, locking the hot gases inside. Its warhead can penetrate up to 300 mm of steel armor.
Since 2004, Armbrusts have gradually been replaced by the Israeli-German-Singapore co-developed MATADOR.
Combat use
During the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Armbrust was supplied to the Cambodian Khmer Rouge. It was used in their fight against the Cambodian government, as well as against Vietnamese Army. Cuban troops in Angola captured several Armbrust launchers from UNITA during the late 1980s.
In the early 1990s, Slovenian and Croatian militias obtained a number of Armbrusts and used them against the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) armoured vehicles during the Yugoslav Wars in 1991. While the Armbrust couldn't defeat the frontal armour of the M-84 tank, it could penetrate the thinner sides and rear. It was also used to destroy armoured personnel carriers of the JNA, such as the M-60 and BOV. In 1998, the Kosovo Liberation Army smuggled a small number of rockets from the border with Albania, using them against Serbian tanks and armoured fighting vehicles.
Operators
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Armbrust_operators.png" caption="Map with Armbrust operators in blue"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Armbrust_rocket_launcher_line_drawing_Iraq_OIG.jpg" caption="Line drawing of the Armbrust (via Iraq OIG)"] ::
|topic=Armbrust 1980s brochure photos |float=right |image1=Soldier firing Armbrust |image2=Details of Armbrust and cut-away drawing |image3=Details of firing of Armbrust low launch signature |image4=Details of Armbrust anti-armour and anti-personnel projectiles
Current
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- Chile
- Indonesia – Komando Pasukan Katak (Kopaska) tactical diver group and Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) special forces group.
- Philippines – Philippine Army, Philippine Marine Corps, Presidential Security Group
- Singapore
- Slovenia − First used during the Ten-Day War
- Thailand
Former
- – Used during the Croatian War of Independence
- Flag of the Kosovo Liberation Army.svg Kosovo Liberation Army − Used during the Kosovo War
References
References
- Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995-96, page 318, edited by T. Gander and I. Hogg, {{ISBN. 0-7106-1241-9
- (15 June 2005). "Factsheet - MATADOR: Unguided Short Range Anti-Armour Weapon (SRAAW)". [[Ministry of Defence (Singapore).
- [[New Straits Times]]: ''Khmer Rouge using Missiles made in West'', March, 12. 1994
- [[Die Zeit]], Michael Sontheimer: ''Die Mörder kehren zurück'', January, 12. 1990 (German)
- (Feb 1, 1990). "US anti-tank missile developments.". Armada International.
- (2013). "T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974–93". Osprey.
- (2002). "Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995". [[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Russian and European Analysis.
- (11 July 1998). "With Better Arms, Kosovo Separatists Turn Tide in War". [[The New York Times]].
- (22 July 1998). "Kosovo Rebels Stumble as Gambit Backfires". [[The Washington Post]].
- Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). {{ISBN. 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- "Kopassus & Kopaska - Specijalne Postrojbe Republike Indonezije". Hrvatski Vojnik Magazine.
- "Armbrust in the AFP".
- (1992). "The Balkans at War: Yugoslavia Divided 1991". Concord Publications.
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