Breda Folgore

The Folgore is an Italian 80 mm calibre anti-tank system developed & manufactured by Breda Meccanica Bresciana. It Weights: 18.9kg (with bipod), 25.6kg (with tripod), 5.2kg (1x round).

The Folgore is a mix between a recoilless rifle and a rocket launcher. It consists of a rather long, reusable launch tube and both rocket propelled and unassisted ammunition. To load the Folgore the nozzle clamp has to be released. Then the nozzle can be removed to insert the ammunition. One kilogram of explosive is loaded to fire the round. Folgore is light enough to be shoulder fired, but usually mounted on a bipod or tripod.It is fitted with a 5x scope, but a night vision sight can also be mounted. The only user is Italy.

The Folgore is a very accurate weapon. A skilled operator can fire three rounds in 30 seconds. An unassisted HEAT round is fired with an initial velocity of 385 m/s. A rocket propelled HEAT round has an initial velocity of 500 m/s. The accuracy and high velocity give the Folgore a long range. Its maximum range is 4.5 kilometres with rocket propelled ammunition. Its maximum range is 1 kilometre against vehicles and 2 kilometres against infantry. When firing unassisted ammunition all ranges are halved.

The HEAT round penetrates about 450mm of rolled homogenous armour, which is a bit too little to counter modern tanks. Therefore it is better to use it against all vehicles except main battle tanks. It is also very useful against bunkers and sandbag emplacements.

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http://www.bellum.nu/armoury/Folgore.jpgFolgore: Anti-Tank System] |