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Saab Bofors Dynamics AT4
Not to be confused with the AT-4 Spigot
The Saab Bofors Dynamics AT4 is a Swedish-made single-shot 84mm unguided light anti-tank recoilless launcher system, effectively a single-shot Carl Gustav Recoilless Rifle: in spite of what its own US Army field manual claims (due to copy-pasting large blocks of text from the manual for the M72 LAW), it is not a rocket launcher, as the round does not have an integral motor. It was originally developed by Förenade Fabriksverken (FFV): FFV Ordnance was later merged with Bofors AB as part of the Celsius Group, which was bought up by Saab AB in 1999: while Saab would later sell the heavy weapons division of Bofors to United Defense, Saab retained its missile and rocket division.
It was developed as a replacement for the obsolete 74mm Pansarskott m/68, with the first test firings in 1981, and quickly became involved in the US Army's emergency purchase program aimed at replacing the M72 LAW after the failure of the FGR-17 Viper in 1983. Testing showed the AT4 to be the most effective among the tested weapon systems, with a report in 1983 recommending its adoption: it was confirmed as the winner in 1984 and full-rate production of a variant with some recommended modifications began in 1985. It was adopted by the US Army and US Marine Corps as the Lightweight Multipurpose Weapon M136 AT4: the designation "AT4" is a pun on both the weapon's caliber and its year of adoption. The system first saw combat during the US invasion of Panama in 1989. The M136 variant is used with pop-up iron sights by default, fixed front and adjustable rear with two apertures and a range scale indicator underneath. By using the night sight mounting bracket (NSN 5340-01-391-3004), the launcher can be fitted with an AN/PAQ-4C IR laser or AN/PEQ-2 visible laser module, AN/PAS-13 thermal sight or AN/PVS-4 night vision scope, among others.
The Swedish adopted the weapon in 1986 as the Pansarskott m/86, incorporating the required improvements from the M136 spec while adding a folding foregrip (instead of using the front end of the shoulder strap as a front grip as on the M136). These components are also present on the AT4 variants offered to other customers. Several experimental variants were produced, in particular the AT12, a super-powerful 120mm variant with a tandem-charge anti-tank warhead designed to defeat the latest Soviet reactive armor, which was cancelled in the defense budget cuts following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the bunker-busting AT8 (which used the HEDP warhead from the Mk 153 SMAW) which was entered into the US Army's Bunker Defeat Munition program in the late 90s but lost to McDonnell-Douglas' M141 SMAW-D.
In the early 2000s Saab Bofors Dynamics produced a new variant, the AT4CS (confined space), which uses a saltwater countermass along with a redesigned propelling charge to reduce the weapon's backblast and allow safer firing from enclosed spaces. This variant was selected in the USSOCOM Advanced Demolition Weapon project in 2003 and was ordered by the US Army in 2004: the Army later suspended all orders of the baseline M136 AT4 in favor of issuing AT4CS variants. A version with a dual-purpose warhead, the HEDP 502, was also produced at some point, though this does not appear to be in production anymore.
As of 2019 there are six main variants offered, with exports to over 15 countries: the basic AT4 HEAT system (the modern production version of which has an integrated, factory-boresighted red dot sight, and a folding front grip) and five confined space variants. These are the AT4CS RS (reduced sensitivity, using insensitive explosives in the warhead), AT4CS HP (high penetration, using an anti-tank warhead with a standoff rod), AT4CS ER (extended range, with an improved propellant and integral sight), AT4CS HE (high explosive, with an antipersonnel warhead and integral red dot sight) and AT4CS AST (anti-structure tandem, a wall-breaching variant with an integral red dot sight). All variants have the same control placements to simplify manual of arms: firing requires pulling a pin from the rear of the striker assembly which is retained by a lanyard wrapped around the tube, unfolding the shoulder stop, opening the sight protectors and adjusting the sights, cocking the striker by pushing the small cocking handle forward and down and then releasing it, and then pressing the trigger on the right side of the weapon while holding the safety paddle down. Pictorial instructions are present on the body of the launcher.
As with many single-shot launchers, an expended launch tube has the same legal status as an empty cartridge case in many jurisdictions, and so movie AT4s that are not complete prop fabrications are more or less certain to be expended tubes. A sure sign of this is any irregularities in the rear seal or muzzle cover, both of which are blown out during firing, or the safety pin and / or its lanyard being missing.
Specifications
(1984 - present (baseline M136 AT4 no longer procured as of ~2010))
- Type: Recoilless Gun
- Caliber: 84mm
- Weight: 14.8 lbs (6.7 kg) (M136 AT4, AT4CS AST), ~15.4 lbs (7 kg) (AT4 HEAT, current production), ~17.6 lbs (8 kg) (AT4CS HP, AT4CS RS), ~19.8 lbs (9 kg) (AT4CS ER, AT4CS HE)
- Length: 40.2 in (102 cm) (M136 AT4), "less than 39.4 in (100 cm)" (all modern variants)
The Saab Bofors Dynamics AT4 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RoboCop 2 | Thomas Rosales Jr. | Chet | 1990 | |
| Beyond the Law | 1992 | |||
| The Democratic Terrorist | terrorists | Pansarskott m/86 | 1992 | |
| The Democratic Terrorist | Stellan Skarsgård | Carl Hamilton | Pansarskott m/86 | 1992 |
| In the Army Now | Pauly Shore | Private/PFC Bones Conway | 1994 | |
| Escape from L.A. | George Corraface | Cuervo Jones | 1996 | |
| Money Talks | Michael Wright | Aaron | Incorrectly shown as reloadable | 1997 |
| Dead or Alive (Hanzaisha) | Shô Aikawa | Detective Jojima | 1999 | |
| K-911 | Scotch Ellis Loring | Phil Cage | 1999 | |
| Python | Soldiers | 2000 | ||
| Rules of Engagement | U.S. Marines | slung on shoulder | 2000 | |
| Delta Farce | Larry the Cable Guy | Corporal Larry McCoy | 2007 | |
| Delta Farce | D.J. Qualls | Spec. Everett Shackleford | 2007 | |
| Jarhead | U.S. Marines | 2005 | ||
| Home of the Brave | U.S. Army Soldier | 2006 | ||
| Cloverfield | U.S. Army Soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Terminator Salvation | Christian Bale | John Connor | 2009 | |
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Special Forces soldier | 2009 | ||
| The Hurt Locker | US Army soldier | 2009 | ||
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | NEST soldiers | With Hollywood embellishments and AN/PVS-4 night-vision scopes | 2009 | |
| Legion | Paul Bettany | Michael | 2010 | |
| From Paris with Love | John Travolta | Charlie Wax | 2010 | |
| The Losers | Zoe Saldana | Aisha al-Fadhil | 2010 | |
| Battle: Los Angeles | Michelle Rodriguez | TSgt Elena Santos | Incorrectly shown as a guided weapon | 2011 |
| Memorial Day | US Army soldiers | 2011 | ||
| Super | Rainn Wilson | Frank | handed over | 2011 |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Lester Speight | Eddie | With Hollywood embellishments and AN/PVS-4 night-vision scopes | 2011 |
| Black & White Episode 1: The Dawn of Assault | Major | 2012 | ||
| I Declare War | Alex Cardillo | Frost | 2012 | |
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Gary Oldman | Dreyfus | 2014 | |
| Jack Reacher: Never Go Back | Tom Cruise | Jack Reacher | 2016 | |
| Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | U.S. Army soldier | 2016 | ||
| Mission: Impossible - Fallout | White Widow's operatives | 2018 | ||
| Tenet | various operatives | 2020 | ||
| The Outpost | Jack Kesy | SGT Josh Kirk | 2020 | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | G.U.N operative | 2022 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | . | "Operation Blackout", Mounted on robot | 1993 - 1997 | |
| RoboCop: The Series | Various Characters | Visually Modified | 1994 - 1995 | |
| The X-Files - Season 4 | FBI tactical agent | Carried out of militia compound / "Unrequited" (S4E16) | 1997 | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Buffy Summers | "Innocence" | 1997 - 2003 |
| Stargate: SG1 | . | . | Inaccurately shown as anti-aircraft weapon | 1997 - 2007 |
| The X-Files - Season 5 | U.S. soldier | Shown in archived media footage / "Redux" (S5E01) | 1997 | |
| Stargate: Atlantis | Kavan Smith | Major Lorne | Inaccurately shown as anti-aircraft weapon | 2004 - 2009 |
| Guns | . | . | Part of a weapons shipment | 2008 |
| My Name is Earl | sumo guy | 2007 | ||
| Ultimate Weapons | soldiers | AT4 and AT4 CS (Confined Space) | 2010 | |
| Revolution | Billy Burke | Miles Matheson | 2013 | |
| Revolution | Graham Rogers | Danny Matheson | 2013 | |
| Falling Skies | Sarah Carter | Maggie | "At All Costs" (S3E04) | 2013 |
| Duty After School | Republic of Korea Armed Forces soldiers | "Question the Spheres" (E01) | 2023 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.W.A.T. 3: Close Quarters Battle | Mounted on a tripod with a computer system and timer | Incorrectly shown as anti-aircraft weapon | 1999 | |
| Delta Force: Land Warrior | 2000 | |||
| Ghost Recon | M136 | Incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2001 | |
| Delta Force: Task Force Dagger | 2002 | |||
| America's Army | 2002 | |||
| Delta Force: Black Hawk Down | 2003 | |||
| Postal 2 | Rocket Launcher | 2003 | ||
| Half-Life 2 | "RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade)" | heavily modified | Incorrectly shown as reloadable and firing guided missiles | 2004 |
| Söldner: Secret Wars | 2004 | |||
| Resident Evil: Outbreak: File 2 | Rocket Launcher | 2004 | ||
| Project Reality | 2005 | |||
| Shadow the Hedgehog | 2005 | |||
| Time Crisis IV | Pansarskott m/86, incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2006 | ||
| Eternal Damnation | Model from Postal 2; unusable | 2006 | ||
| World in Conflict | Cutscenes only | 2007 | ||
| ArmA: Armed Assault | 2007 | |||
| Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Only accessible through cheats | 2007 | ||
| Cross Fire | "AT4" | 2007 | ||
| Battlefield: Bad Company | 2008 | |||
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | AT4-HS | Heat-Seeking Anti-Aircraft capability, incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2009 | |
| Prototype | Rocket Launcher | Pansarskott m/86, incorrectly scaled and shown as a guided missile launcher | 2009 | |
| Counter-Strike Online | AT Lance | With AN/PVS-4 night-vision scope, 1x | 2010 | |
| Just Cause 2 | Rocket Launcher | Pansarskott m/86 | 2010 | |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | With laser guidance system | 2010 | ||
| Delta Force: Xtreme 2 | AT4 | 2010 | ||
| Medal of Honor | AT4 | multiplayer only | 2010 | |
| Battlefield 3 | Pansarskott m/86 | 2011 | ||
| Battle: Los Angeles | Pansarskott m/86, incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2011 | ||
| Battlefield Play4Free | Promotional material only, unusable | 2011 | ||
| War Inc. Battlezone | w/ various attachments | 2011 | ||
| Arctic Combat | 2012 | |||
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 | 2013 | |||
| Battlefield 4 | M136 CS | 2013 | ||
| Insurgency | AT4 | 2014 | ||
| Time Crisis 5 | Pansarskott m/86, incorrectly shown as reloadable | 2014 | ||
| Insurgency: Sandstorm | AT4 | 2018 | ||
| Call to Arms | 2018 |
Anime
| Film/Television Title | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violence Jack: Harem Bomber | Slum King's bodyguard | 1986 | |
| Those Who Hunt Elves | Ritsuko Inoue | "Those Who Fight for the Spotlight" (S2E10) | 1996 |
| Kochikame | Kankichi Ryotsu | Early model with pistol grip | 1998 |
| Kochikame | Volvo Saigo | 1998 | |
| Devil Lady | SAT | 1998-1999 | |
| Blood+ | U.S. soldier | 2005 | |
| Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid | Melissa Mao | 2005 | |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica | Homura Akemi | 2011 | |
| Angel Beats! | Matsushita | 2010 | |
| Bayonetta: Bloody Fate | Bayonetta | customised | 2013 |