New Delhi: As a part of the country's aim to modernise its defence forces, Swedish defence conglomerate Saab was on Thursday awarded a contract to supply single-shot anti-armour weapon AT4 to the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In a statement, Saab said that it was awarded the contract for the lightweight and fully disposable weapon after going through a "competitive program".

"The AT4CS AST [variant] offers a tandem warhead with a breach or blast mode, which is optimized to defeat enemies within buildings and to destroy structures, which can create a point of access into them," it said in a press release.

All about the AT4CS AST and how it will help in modernising Indian Armed Forces:

AT4CS AST is a lightweight and man-portable preloaded weapon system that is capable of destroying structures and other weapon systems such as helicopters, tanks, etc. AT4CS AST, as per the makers, has an effective range of 20 to 300 metres and can penetrate armour as thick as 17.5 inches.

AT4CS AST, which weighs around eight kg, also comes with an optical night sight that helps in low-light environment missions.

AT4CS comes with four variants. India, however, is only acquiring the anti-structure tandem-warhead (AST) variant which Saab says is very effective in confined spaces.

"The AT4 systems are combat-proven across the world. They are lightweight, single-shot, fully disposable and truly characterised by its ease of use and handling. This selection of the system through a competitive process underscores Saab’s commitment to bringing to Indian forces the latest systems," Saab India Chairman and Managing Director (MD) Ola Rignell said, adding that the weapon system is "combat-proven".

Meanwhile, Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics, said, "We are honoured that the Indian armed forces, which are already users of our Carl-Gustaf system, have also selected Saab for their single-shot weapon need. The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force can be confident in the knowledge that they have the necessary firepower to give them the advantage."