Nexter RAC 112 APILAS

History

The appearance of tanks in combat in the First World War (1914-1918) made it urgent for war planners to invest in tank destroying tools. This led to a variety of solutions, including high-powered rifles, mines, "sticky" bombs, and eventually armor-piercing rockets and missiles. In their current form, the rocket and missile solution can be shoulder-launched, launched from a tripod, or launched from a vehicle/aircraft.

For the Cold War era RAC 112 "APILAS" (Armor-piercing Infantry Light Weapon System), the weapon is a complete, recoilless, single-shot, shoulder-fired system.

The RAC 112 is of French origin and was originally manufactured under the Matra Manurhim Defense label, which later became the property of the defense company GIAT. The product can now be seen under the Nexter brand label.

Between 1985 and 2006, approximately 120,000 RAC 112 APILAS units were produced for various global companies.

The system fires a 4.3kg anti-tank rocket with a caliber of 112mm and a length of 920mm, propelled towards the target by a solid-fuel rocket booster embedded in its rear end. It has a range of up to 300 meters against moving targets (such as tanks) and up to 500 meters against static, stationary targets (such as bunkers or similar fortifications). The minimum range is 25 meters. The projectile carries a 1.5kg shaped charge warhead capable of penetrating rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) up to 720mm or solid concrete up to 2m.

The ejected projectile has an estimated muzzle velocity of 295 meters per second, and a spring-loaded tail assembly is used to stabilize the weapon during the flight phase.

The transmitter assembly of the system is between 1,250mm and 1,300mm in length, depending on whether it is being transported or ready. The tube weighs 4.7 kg. Piezoelectric sensors are used to trigger the trigger system.

The transmitter includes a padded tip, a padded front end, and a padded shoulder rest. The sighting device is integrated, as is the trigger unit.

The total weight of the entire system is 9.0 kg.

The French Army took over the stockpile of approximately 84,000 APILAS systems in the mid-to-late 1980s and used these systems as direct successors to the aging LRAC F1 family of weapons with the same effect (these are detailed elsewhere on this website illustrate). Since its launch, the RAC 112 has found a home in the inventories of many global players (outside the French military), including Belgium, Finland, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan.

Specification

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