Armbrust

The Armbrust, whose name is the German word for crossbow, is a lightweight unguided anti-tank weapon designed and developed in West Germany by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. The company later sold its manufacturing rights to Chartered Industries of Singapore, the predecessor of ST Kinetics. It is a recoilless weapon and is one of the few of its kind that can be fired safely in an enclosed space. The propellant charge sits between two pistons, with the projectile in front of one and a mass of shredded plastic behind the other, so the projectile and the counterweight leave the barrel at the same speed, which makes it a true counter-shot weapon. The pistons then jam at the ends of the barrel and trap the hot gases inside. The warhead can penetrate up to 300 millimetres of steel armour. Armbrusts were used by Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia, by Slovenian and Croatian forces against Yugoslav People's Army vehicles in 1991 and by the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998, and since 2004 they have gradually been replaced by the MATADOR.