10 Facts About M72 LAW

In early 1963, the M72 LAW was adopted by the U S Army and U S Marine Corps as their primary individual infantry anti-tank weapon, replacing the M31 HEAT rifle grenade and the M20A1 "super bazooka" in the U S Army.

M72 LAW is a combination of the two World War II weapons.

The early M72 LAW warhead, developed from the M31 HEAT rifle grenade warhead, uses a simple piezoelectric fuze system.

However, some modern variants of the M72 LAW are specifically designed with fire-from-enclosure capability.

M72 LAW rocket has been in Australian service since the Vietnam War.

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M72 LAW is used in the Finnish Army, where it is known under the designations 66 KES 75 and 66 KES 88 .

The M72 LAW is the most common anti-tank weapon in the Finnish Army.

The lower cost and lighter weight of the M72 LAW, combined with a scarcity of modern heavy armored targets and the need for an individual assault weapon versus an individual anti-armor weapon, made it ideal for the type of urban combat seen in Iraq and mountain warfare seen in Afghanistan.

The M72 LAW was useful in Afghanistan as a small and light rocket system for use against short- and medium-range targets by foot patrols in the difficult terrain and high elevations of the country.

In 2018 it was reported that an upgrade for the M72 LAW was being developed that would improve the fire control system as well as largely eliminate the weapon's back blast, allowing the weapon to be used more safely from within a confined space.