Infantry weapons / Anti-tank missiles / Type 01 LMAT
Type 01 LMAT
General Facts
- TYPE
Anti-tank guided weapon - ORIGIN
Japan - NICKNAMES
XATM-5 (design project name) - DESIGNED
1993 - 1997 - DESIGNER
Kawasaki Heavy Industries - PRODUCTION
2000 - present - PRODUCERS Japan - Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- QUANTITY
Over 1.000 produced in 2010. - UNIT COST
$ 260.000 for CLU in 2001 - CHARACTERISTICS
Powerful tandem HEAT warhead
Good range for lightweight system
Fire and forget system
Can be pedestal mounted on vehicles
Can be operated by a single person
Resuable command launch unit
Very expensive system
Requires extensive training
Much heavier than unguided system
Introduction
The Type 01 LMAT is a modern man portable anti-tank guided weapon of Japanese origin. It was developed in the 1990's to replace the unguided and short range Carl Gustav recoilless rifle with a more potent anti-armour system. The design concept is very similar to the Israeli Spike-SR. The name Type 01 LMAT refers to its year of adoption (2001) and LMAT indicates that it is a lightweight guided anti-tank weapon.
Design
The LMAT looks rather similar to the US FGM-148 Javelin, Israeli Spike and French Eryx. It consists of a reusable command launch unit and disposable cannisters for the missiles. The LMAT is a fire and forget system that uses imaging infrared homing.
Firepower
The LMAT has a tandem HEAT warhead with undisclosed penetration characteristics. The tandem HEAT warhead allows the system to be used against combat vehicles with ERA. This type of warhead is not particularly effective against builings and infantry in the open. The maximum effective range is 2 km.
Mobility
The combination of launch unit and missile weighs only 17.5 kg. This makes the system easy to use by a single person. A small group of soldiers can easily move in the field with the LMAT system and additional missiles. It is also possible to mount the launcher on vehicles such as the LAV 4x4 reconnaissance vehicle.
Users
The LMAT was accepted in Japanese service in 2001 and over 1.000 launchers have been acquired. The LMAT is unlikely to be exported.
Type 01 LMAT
The Type 01 LMAT man portable anti-tank guided weapon has no variants. The system consists of a reusable Command Launch Unit (CLU) attached to the disposable fiberglass transport and launch tube for the missile. The missile is available only with tandem HEAT warhead. The CLU can be fitted with a tripod and a click on night sight. The CLU can also be pintle mounted on a vehicle.
- Specifications:
- Type 01 LMAT
| Type | Anti-tank missile |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 140 mm body |
| Length | 0.97 m |
| Weight | 11.4 kg |
| Guidance | Infrared image homing with CCD camera |
|---|---|
| Warhead | Tandem HEAT warhead |
| Propulsion | Single-stage solid propellant rocket motor |
| Speed | 66 m/s average |
| Range | 2 km maximum |
|---|---|
| Altitude | - |
| Engagement envelope | - |
| Remarks | Command Launch Unit weighs 5.1 kg |
Media
Komatsu LAV
The Type 01 LMAT can be pintle mounted on vehicles. In Japanese service this is mostly done on the LAV reconnaissance vehicle.
