Breaking news
German anti-tank Panzerfaust 3 and Stinger missiles now in Ukrainian hands.
According to a tweet from Felix Woessner, the weapon delivery from Germany via The Netherlands has arrived in Ukraine. 1000 anti-tank 'Panzerfaust 3' and 500 FIM-92 Stinger air defense missiles are now in Ukrainian hands.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
German soldier with a Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapon (Picture source: Bundeswehr)
According to information released by the website "Politico" on February 26, 2022, Germany had authorized the Netherlands to supply 400 Panzerfaust 3 rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Ukraine. The Netherlands were also to also supply 200 Stinger man-portable air defense missile weapons to Ukraine.
Panzerfaust 3
The Panzerfaust 3 is a man-portable anti-tank weapon, which was developed between 1978 and 1985 and first entered service with the German in 1987. The anti-tank weapon was designed and developed by the German company Dynamit Nobel.
The Panzerfaust 3 is operated by at least 11 countries and has first used in combat conditions during the conflict in Afghanistan. The Panzerfaust is in service with the Dutch army. According to international regulations, the Netherlands could not transfer weapons purchased abroad without the agreement of the producing country.
The Panzerfaust 3 series of launchers is a compact, lightweight, shoulder-fired, unguided antitank weapon series. It consists of a disposable canister with a 110-mm warhead and a reusable firing and sighting device. The weapon is able to fire DM12, DM12A1, and DM22 rockets.
The DM12 and DM12A1 projectile consists of a shaped charge warhead and is filled with Octol 7030, while the tandem DM22 warheads are made of PBX octogene (ca. 95% β-HMX) including the propulsion unit. The baseline DM12A1 rocket has a multi-purpose High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead. It is used against tanks, armored vehicles, and structures. It penetrates 800 mm of steel armor.
The effective combat range of Panzerfaust 3 is from 15 to 300 meters against moving targets and from 400 to 600 meters against static targets. An optical sight with a line pattern fixed to the reusable firing mechanism enables it to engage moving or static targets. To ensure night combat capability, a night-vision device or residual light amplifier can be set up in front of the optical sight.
FIM-92 Stinger
The FIM-92 Stinger is a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles and helicopters (Air to Air Stinger). Developed in the United States, it entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States and 29 other countries. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems and is produced under license by Airbus Defence in Germany and by Roketsan in Turkey, with more than 70,000 missiles already produced.
An FIM-92 Stinger missile is fired by a Stinger team from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1 Cavalry Division (Picture source: U.S. Army/Sgt Christopher Case)