M83A2 SADAR

The SADAR (Shoulder-Launched Active-homing Disposable Anti-tank Rocket) is a single-shot anti-armor weapon effective out to 1,000 m. The launch tube is discarded after use while the fire-and-forget rocket travels toward the target. The weapon is watertight when stowed and is cocked by pulling an inner cylinder forward until it locks. The inner aluminum cylinder contains the actual rocket while the outer cylinder is made of carbon-fiber to protect the user from the rocket's heat during launch. A trigger assembly and thermal sight are attached to the outer cylinder and flipped up when the weapon is cocked.

A charging button on the trigger assembly activates the supercooled IR seeker in the rocket's nose. The seeker feeds images to the thermal sight within two seconds and remains active for up to 20 minutes; after that, the rocket can only be used in an unguided fashion. While the seeker is active, as long as a hot object is clearly in view the rocket will hit it.

After launch, the seeker guides the rocket to the hottest part of the target, such as the engine, and adjust the flight path for optimum penetration. Against a tank, it will typically climb upward before diving towards the thinner top armor. The latest version is able to identify decoy flares and other countermeasures and has "rejection logic" to counteract them.

The backblast of the rocket is quite large, although small plastic slivers have been included in the rear of the tube to absorb most of the blast. A backblast zone of 10m is recommended and firing in confined spaces should be avoided.

With a HEAT warhead rated against light and medium tanks, the SADAR can also be used like an RPG by using a backup optical sight. This allows it to be used against bunkers, buildings, supply dumps, and other targets that don't have a thermal signature. However, unguided accuracy is only 200m.