MARA (anti-tank weapon)

This article is about the unguided anti-tank weapon developed in Argentina. For other uses, see Mara.

The MARA is a portable one-shot 78 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed and manufactured in Argentina by Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM). The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed by CITEFA.

MARA
MARA anti-tank rocket launcher
Type	Anti-tank rocket launcher
Place of origin	Argentina
Service history
Used by	Argentina
Specifications
Mass	4.2 kg (9.3 lb)
Length	70 cm (unarmed) 100 cm (armed)
Caliber	78 mm
Muzzle velocity	170 m/s (560 ft/s)
Effective firing range	200m
Maximum firing range	350m
Sights	front post and rear ladder sights

History

In the 1990s, the Argentine Army identified the need to replace obsolete short-range infantry antitank weapons in use, Such as the PDEF-40 rifle grenade, with a modern weapon similar to the AT4 locally developed and built,

The MARA Project was started by DGFM in the late 1990s, and in February 2005 the weapon was tested at the “Fábrica Militar Fray Luis Beltrán”.

Description

Argentine Army soldier firing a MARA

The MARA is a weapon of 78 mm caliber with a fiberglass launcher tube 70 cm in length when transported that is extended to 1 meter when ready to fire. The launcher weighs about 4.2 kg, can be reused up to five times when using training ammunition, and is disposable when firing live ammunition.

The anti-tank projectile is fin-stabilized, and is propelled by the rocker motor to a speed of about 170 meters per second. It is able to penetrate 300mm of steel armor, and the sighting system's accuracy allows to hit 1 m² target at a distance of 200 meters.

Specifications

The MARA looks like the M72 LAW but is slightly different in size. Its sling swivels are on the bottom, so the user doesn’t need to remove the sling before firing. It is usually painted sand, olive drab, or drylands camouflage with white markings.

For ammunition, a 73 mm rocket is used, similar to the 66 mm rocket in the M72 LAW. The rocket can penetrate 300 mm of armor, and once fired, has six folding fins that open immediately out of the barrel to keep it stable in flight. For training, an empty launcher can be reloaded up to five times. ^[1]

Users

• Argentine Army^[2]

See also

• M72 LAW – (United States)
• M80 Zolja – (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
• RPG-18 / RPG-22 – (Soviet Union)
• RPG-76 Komar – (Polish People's Republic, Poland)