The RBS 56B BILL 2 Anti-Tank Guided Weapon is a man-portable or
vehicle
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
-mounted guided
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...
using the
overfly top attack method to attack the weaker parts of an
armoured vehicle
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fightin ...
. BILL is acronym for ''Bofors Infantry Light & Lethal''.
System
Design
The RBS 56B BILL 2 was designed upon the original
BILL 1 Anti-tank guided weapon that has been in the service of the
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years.
History
Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...
since 1988. The BILL 2 is currently produced by
Saab Bofors Dynamics
Saab Bofors Dynamics is a subsidiary of the Saab AB, Saab Group that specializes in military materiel such as missile systems and anti-tank systems. It is located in Karlskoga and Linköping, Sweden.
Its corporate heritage goes back to Bofors, a ...
, who are located in
Karlskoga
Karlskoga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. It is located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population o ...
, Sweden. The BILL 2 comes with one 10.5 kg missile, a launching tube,
tripod
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
with x7 magnification day sight, and one
thermal imaging
Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared im ...
sight.
Operation
The RBS 56B BILL 2 uses OTA or
Overfly Top Attack to attack its target. The missile flies towards the target on a standard horizontal
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...
, but rather than directly hitting the target head on, it overflies it, detonating its warhead on top of an armored vehicle, where the
armour
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 ...
is usually lighter. It also utilizes additional guidance accuracy via the installed rate
gyro
Gyro may refer to:
Science and technology
* GYRO, a computer program for tokamak plasma simulation
* Gyro Motor Company, an American aircraft engine manufacturer
* '' Gyrodactylus salaris'', a parasite in salmon
* Gyroscope, an orientation-sta ...
, which monitors the tracking movement of the launcher. It is designed primarily to attack armoured or unarmoured vehicles, but can also be used to attack
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
s or soft ground targets, such as light buildings.
The BILL 2 can be mounted onto a variety of vehicles and then fired remotely from inside the vehicle.
Firing Modes
The BILL 2 has three firing modes that the launcher's operator can select, before launching the missile.
* Basic – In this mode the missile will use both of its sensors to hit the armoured vehicle from the top.
* Non-Armored – In this mode the missile uses no sensors and flies on a LOS or line-of-sight, while using the impact fuse.
* Soft Target – In this mode the optical sensor is used, but the magnetic sensor is not. The missile then uses OTA to attack its target.
Missile
The BILL 2 Missile uses a
SACLOS
Semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) is a method of missile command guidance. In SACLOS, the operator must continually point a sighting device at the target while the missile is in flight. Electronics in the sighting device and/or the ...
or semi-automatic command to line-of-sight guidance system, and is controlled via a communications wire that trails behind the missile from the launch tube. The BILL 2 warhead has an optical and magnetic sensor. The optical sensor serves to find the target's range, while the magnetic sensor detects metallic targets to determine the best point for the missile to detonate.
The BILL 2 contains both a
proximity fuse
A Proximity Fuse (also VT fuse or "variable time fuze") is a fuse that detonates an explosive device automatically when it approaches within a certain distance of its target. Proximity fuses are designed for elusive military targets such as air ...
and an inertial impact fuse. The BILL 2 is armed with a pair of vertically striking
explosively formed penetrator
An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively, from a much greater standoff ...
warheads, which each direct a self-forging slug of metal downwards at extreme velocities using a high explosive blast. The 40 mm frontal "precursor" warhead destroys any
reactive armour
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 include ...
protecting the target and leaves the 110 mm rear warhead to penetrate the armour.
Total penetration capabilities are classified, but are known to be at least 550 mm in rolled homogeneous armor.
Operators
* : Known as Panzerabwehrlenkwaffe PAL 2000 Bill
*
* : In service from 1999 to 2013, returned to service in December 2021
References
{{reflist
External links
Army Technology: BILL 2
Anti-tank guided missiles of Sweden