Spain’s Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, announced last night that two Spanish Air Force planes will deliver “offensive material” to Ukraine tomorrow, Friday 4 March. This is believed to consist of 1,370 anti-tank weapons and 700,000 assult rifle and machine gun cartridges. this initial supply is important because the items can be used by “people with little experience in using weapons”. The planes will land in Poland, near the border, and the weapons will then be picked up by the Ukrainian authorities.
Government of Ukraine has been asking for offensive material for several days, although it says the most useful weapons are mortar and rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. In their inventory, the Spanish armed forces have weapons similar to those of Ukraine, such as C-90 and Alcotán C-100 rocket launchers, made by the Spanish firm Instalanza. Instalaza SA is a Spanish firm that designs, develops and manufactures equipment and other military material for infantry. The company became famous for the production of highly accurate rocket launchers.
The Instalaza C90 is a 90 mm disposable, shoulder-fired and one-man operated rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG) which can be fitted with a VN38-C night vision device for full night combat capability. The C90 is a rocket launcher that can be operated by a single person. It consists of a launch tube made of reinforced resin and a 90mm HEAT warhead housed inside it. The launch tube also houses all the various peripherals for the rocket. The trigger mechanism is autonomous, and there are no electric components present in the warhead where its solid rocket booster, igniter and stabilizers are located.
The Instalaza Alcotán-100 is a recoilless, one-man portable, single-use (firing control unit is reusable) anti-tank rocket launcher used by infantry, manufactured by Instalaza. The Alcotán-100 fires a 3.94-inch (100mm) caliber HEAT charge, in addition to HE/FRAG and HEDP (dual-purpose) rounds, and the weapon can be fired from confined spaces. The weapon also has a laser range finder and a ballistic computer; this firing control unit must be turned on before the weapon can be operated. It is in service with the Spanish Military, where it is gradually replacing the C90.
