The Indian Army has begun fielding the Carl-Gustaf M4 recoilless rifle. The deployment follows Saab FFVO India Pvt Ltd, a fully foreign-owned subsidiary of Saab AB, establishing a new production facility in India.
According to images circulating from recent Indian Army exercises, troops have been observed operating the Carl-Gustaf M4 84mm system, with assistant gunners carrying two 751-series extended-range anti-armor rounds.
The M4 represents a substantial upgrade over older Carl-Gustaf models previously in Indian service, offering reduced weight, shorter length, and improved targeting systems.
In 2024, after receiving approval for 100% foreign direct investment, Saab established its new production entity in India, aimed at building Carl-Gustaf M4 systems domestically. The company broke ground on the new facility on March 4, 2024, marking the beginning of local manufacturing of the M4 variant with full technology transfer.
The M4 is engineered with advanced fire control and lightweight materials, including carbon fiber reinforcement, allowing greater mobility and faster response in infantry operations. It supports a range of munitions including anti-armor, anti-structure, and illumination rounds.
India’s adoption of the latest model aligns with its broader effort to modernize infantry weaponry while encouraging local defense manufacturing under the “Make in India” policy.
While the Indian Army has long operated older variants of the Carl-Gustaf system, the M4’s deployment brings a higher level of versatility and lethality to its infantry units.
Indian Army Rejected Nag Mk-II
The Nag Mk-2 is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, infrared-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) developed by India. It has a range of 4 km and is designed to target and destroy heavily armored tanks and other armored vehicles. The Nag Mk-2 utilises a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead and features a top-attack capability, making it effective against modern armoured vehicles, including those with Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA).
The Nag has failed multiple launches and overheated the launch platform, especially the shoulder-launched variant. The trials involved three tests in which the missile’s seeker failed to acquire the target, confirming both maximum and minimum firing failure. This performance indicates that the NAG MK-2 is an unreliable fire-and-forget missile system.
Following these unsuccessful evaluations, the Indian Army now disregards the entire weapon system, including the updated Nag missile carrier version 2.
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