The Carl Gustaf Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) is a remarkable weapon system for light infantry forces. But this weapon is also one of the least understood systems across the Infantry.The 84mm Recoilless Rifle goes by many nicknames: Carl G, the Gustaf, the Goose, MAAWS, the M3. Whatever you call it, it looks like a beast, and one glance tells you that it packs a punch. Yet the uninitiated mistake the Carl G as little more than a reloadable AT4 so it still gets driven like an old station wagon when it has the performance, versatility, and power of a race car.
The new M3A1 MAAWS with the integrated fire control system (FCS) is so capable, it’s almost cheating… but only if our gunners — and our leaders — understand all that it is capable of and how to employ it. The Carl G deserves to be more than a show pony that sits in the arms room, neglected.The M3A1 Carl Gustaf is the most powerful weapon system in a rifle platoon. As the Army searches for ways to increase the lethality of the infantry brigade combat team (IBCT), one of the solutions is already sitting quietly in our arms rooms, waiting to get the attention it deserves.
There are two compounding reasons why the Carl G gets overlooked and has yet to truly infuse itself into the light infantry ethos. The first is a general lack of familiarity or exposure to the weapon among maneuver leaders. Few saw the original M3 in action in Iraq or Afghanistan due to its limited fielding (mostly across special operations forces [SOF]), and even less have seen the new M3A1 perform with the integrated digital optic, which completely changes the consistency and accuracy of the weapon by an exponential factor.
The second is a gross lack of available training ammunition (sub-caliber 7.62mm training rounds or full caliber training practice [TP] rounds) to build the needed appreciation for the weapon. What can we expect in terms of proficiency or confidence in our weapons when we give our gunners the minimum required rounds yearly to train with? The answer: a day familiarization that, at best, helps teams hit a static target at 300 meters during the day, which is what we can expect from an AT4. The M3A1, however, can hit targets beyond 1,000 meters day or night.
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