December 4, 2023:
European defense manufacturer MBDA is reviving production of PARM, a Cold War era anti-tank weapon that performed well in tests. The Cold War never turned hot and PARM was one of many unused weapons that were retired. A growing number of those weapons are being revived for use in Ukraine, where PARM was found to be not merely effective, but useful enough to have its production resumed. PARM was among the modern Western anti-tank weapons which destroyed most of the tanks Russian sent into Ukraine. This was the first combat use of PARM, and the Ukrainians want more of them. Reviving PARM production won’t deliver new PARM until 2027. The war may be over by then, but Parm will become a standard item in the stores of postwar German and Ukrainian armies.
The current version of PARM is PARM2 and is a minor upgrade to the original Cold War era PARM 1. PARM 2 weighs 20 kg (44 pounds) with a 1.9 kg (4.2 pound) warhead that can penetrate the armor of most tanks, including those that have ERA (explosive reactive armor) panels added. Once PARM is set up on its tripod and aimed, armed, and programmed to remain active for anywhere from several hours to 30 days. PARM is triggered by infrared (heat sensing) and/or a fiber optic cable that when crushed by a vehicle rolling over it. PARM has a max range of a hundred meters. The programmable timer makes it possible to have PARM turn itself off after a set period of time and not become a menace to any nearby traffic. This was always a problem with earlier anti-vehicle mines.