The NLAW is a portable, top-attack, fire-and-forget weapon weighing around 28 pounds. Combat range is 22-440 yards for a moving target but up to 650 yards for a stationary object. It also can be operated in any weather conditions.

Other features include the missiles integrated in a re-loadable launcher, night-vision capability, proximity fuses that can't be jammed and a confined-space capability.

The weapons system entered service last year with Swedish, British and Finnish armies, although after some technical delays. Some production takes place in Finland and Sweden.

Saab AB said it is confident that the Luxembourg deal will be the start of more export orders for the weapon after more than a decade in development.

"NLAW is a unique weapon system that provides the individual soldier with a true anti-tank capability," said Anders Haster, NLAW product manager.

"The system has no real competitors on the market and the fact that a fourth customer now has chosen NLAW is another proof of the system's capacity. We see a lot of customer interest for NLAW and its unique capabilities from all parts of the world."

In June 1999, the British army announced it had chosen Saab AB's NLAW as one of two preferred bidders for a portable anti-tank weapon it wanted in service by 2006.

In mid 2002, Swedish and British defense authorities contracted their Joint NLAW System program to Saab Bofors Dynamics AB.

Saab AB entered into an agreement with Thales Air Defense, formerly Shorts Missile Systems, in Belfast as part of a large consortium known as NLAW UK Team. The contract for Swedish and U.K. requirements was expected to be worth around $595 million.

Other partners included BAE Systems Avionics, BAE Systems subsidiary Royal Ordnance Rocket Motors, EPS Logistics Technology, Express Engineering, FR-HiTEMP, Leafield Engineering, MetalWeb, ICI-Nobel Enterprises, NP Aerospace, Raytheon Systems and Thales Missile Electronics.

Finland selected the NLAW in June 2007 and production began in 2008.

Successful tests of the NLAW were conducted in 2009 in an undisclosed country in the Persian Gulf region. Nine missiles were launched against moving, hull-down and soft targets under severe desert conditions of sand, dust and high temperatures, Saab Bofors Dynamics said.

Saab AB claims the weapon is the "first-ever, non-expert, single-soldier, short-range, anti-tank missile, that rapidly knocks out any main battle tank in just one shot by striking it from above." This makes it especially suitable for knocking out tanks in confined areas such as tight urban environments, Saab AB said.

The "overflying top-attack" means the missile or artillery shell attacks the target from above where the armor is usually thinnest. The missile is launched about 1 yard above the line of sight and ideally will penetrate at a 90-degree angle to the attacked surface.

A predicted line-of-sight guidance allows the missile to automatically receive information about target speed from the operator's target-tracking and aiming operations, taken 2 to 3 seconds before launch. After a low-firing-signature "soft" launch, the main missile rocket motor ignites and the missile follows a predicted trajectory at a constant altitude above the line of sight. The time of flight to a target at 440 yards meters is around 2 seconds.

If there is a fly-past, the missile will self-destruct at about 1,100 yards.

Saab AB also claims the NLAW "is easy to learn and use," with all training done on simulators. "The weapon is completely maintenance free."

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