The recoilless RAC 112 APILAS (Armor-Piercing Infantry Light Arm System) has been delivered to Ukraine.
Social media photos from Ukrainian accounts are being shared and used to spread the word about the shipment. Their images were released today, April 12th.
APILAS RAC 112 is a French production. It was created in the mid-1980s. It was present during the Gulf War and the Syrian Civil War. This French system gains military experience with its arrival in Ukraine.
The RAC 112 APILAS is a one-shot anti-tank gun with recoilless action. The system’s caliber is 112 mm, and its combat characteristics indicate that it can penetrate 700 mm armor. According to Ukrainian social media the systems were sent from Finland. This is clearly visible, they claim, in the JVA 2021 inscription used to identify this grenade launcher.
About RAC 112 APILAS
The weight of the RAC 112 APILAS is 9 kg (19.84 lb). It measures 1,300 mm (51.2 in) in length and 180 mm (7.1 in) in barrel length. The anti-tank missile exits the system at a speed of 293 m/s. The effective range’s lower and upper limits range from 25 meters to 350 meters. The maximum range, however, is 500 meters.
A solid-fuel rocket powers the anti-tank missile. The rocket travels from 0 to 500 meters in 1.9 seconds. A 1.5 kg shaped charge capable of penetrating 720 mm RHAe or 2 m of concrete is used as the anti-tank rocket warhead. A piezoelectric sensor with 50g of black powder serves as the trigger.
Giat Industries (now Nexter Systems) ceased production of the RAC 112 APILAS in 2006. By 2006, 120,000 of these anti-tank systems had been manufactured. In the French army alone, nearly 84,000 of them were accepted into service.
It’s worth noting that the RAC 112 APILAS is referred to as a “traumatic weapon.” This description is actually a French army categorization of the weapon. It is classified as such due to its blast and noise. A curious fact is that during peacetime, a French soldier is only allowed to fire this anti-tank system three times in his entire military career.
