Slovakia procures Saab's M4 shoulder-fired weapon system

Saab is to supply its new Carl-Gustaf M4 shoulder-fired recoilless rifle to Slovakia, its first customer for the system that was unveiled in 2014.

Deliveries of the system are to take place in 2016, Saab announced earlier this week but no details were provided as to the number of units ordered or the value of the contract.

"Slovakia now has a system that will further increase its defense capabilities," said Magnus Lewis-Olsson, head of Saab Market Area Europe, Middle East and Africa. "Since the launch of the system we have seen a tremendous interest in the market and we look forward to taking further orders from more countries."

The Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle is an 84-millimeter weapon that first came on the market shortly after World War II and has regularly been updated since. Designed originally as an anti-tank weapon, it now comes with a variety of ammunition types.

The new variant purchased by Slovakia weighs only about 15.4 pounds -- about 6.6 pounds lighter than the M3 variant and features an intelligent sighting system for firing programmable rounds.

Saab said two other countries are now testing the new variant.