The B-300 is a reusable man-portable

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

weapon system developed by

Israel Military Industries IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as (), was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces (especially Israel' ...

in the late 1970s for use by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. The B-300 can be carried and operated by a single operator and is effective to approximately . Pre-packaged munitions and simple operating mechanisms make the weapon quite versatile, permitting use by airborne, motorized, and ground troops alike. When defence publications first heard reports of the B-300 in the early 1980s, various reports stated in error that it was an improved Israeli manufactured version of the Russian

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

Usage

Munitions used by the B-300 are propelled by a

solid rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/ oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder. The inception of gunpowder rockets in warfare can be cr ...

motor, and can be equipped with one of two

warhead A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: *E ...

variants. The first,

high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

round, provides specialized support for

missions. The second, known as a high-explosive follow-through round, is designed for use against

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

targets or enemy units behind cover. A primary charge punches a hole through the protective structure, allowing a secondary

anti-personnel An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gav ...

charge to pass through and detonate within the building. The B-300 was produced during the 1980s and entered service in limited quantities within

Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

SF units.

Further development

SMAW

The

Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon The Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) is a smoothbore Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired rocket launcher. Primarily used as a portable assault weapon, or "bunker buster", it also possesses secondary Anti-tank warfare, ...

(SMAW) is a shoulder-launched rocket weapon, designed by

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...

, with the primary function of being a portable

anti-armor Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

launcher. It entered service in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1984. It has a maximum range of 500 m against a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

-sized target.

Shipon

During the late 1990s, IMI introduced the Shipon, an advanced disposable multi-purpose shoulder-launched rocket system consisting of a launch tube and FCS module. The Shipon includes an advanced fire-control system, helping to aim and increasing effective range to 600 meters. The Shipon fires two types of rockets: HEAA Tandem, which penetrates 800 mm of

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

after

explosive reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...

, and a bunker-buster rocket. The Shipon is in service within Israeli Special Forces units in the IDF and the

YAMAM Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...

(the elite police counter-terror unit). File:B-300.png, B-300 File:Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon.jpg, SMAW File:Shipon001.jpg, IMI Shipon with its rockets

Operators

Current operators

* * * * * * * * * Used under the designation Mk153 SMAW. *

References

{{reflist Anti-tank rockets Weapons of Israel Military equipment introduced in the 1980s