MATADOR, also marketed in the RGW 90 family, is a 90 mm disposable shoulder-fired recoilless weapon developed with Singaporean, German, and Israeli participation for anti-armor, breaching, and anti-structure missions. Singapore's version emphasized confined-space firing, a HEAT/HESH selectable effect, and wall-breaching performance for built-up areas, while Dynamit Nobel Defence's RGW 90 line includes dual-mode, anti-structure, long-range multipurpose, smoke, illumination, and training variants. The system is documented in Singapore service, in Israeli Matador WB use during the 2008 Gaza War, in German-funded RGW 90 deliveries to Ukraine, and in Israeli use during urban fighting in Gaza after October 2023.
During Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, Israeli infantry brigades used the Matador WB wall-breaching munition; Aviation Week reported it as the IDF's first use of that variant and described its role opening passages through brick walls.
Ukrainian forces fielded RGW 90/MATADOR disposable anti-tank weapons supplied from German-funded industry deliveries; Germany's official archived Ukraine aid list recorded 16,917 delivered RGW 90 weapons as of April 17, 2025.
Role details2023 Israel-Hamas War: used by Israeli forces in Gaza urban fighting, including IDF-released Khan Younis footage showing a Matador missile fired at a Hamas gunman.
Role detailsThe MATADOR/RGW 90 family uses mission-specific warheads and national designations; this structured variant list focuses on distinct RGW 90 effects beyond the baseline HEAT/HESH shoulder weapon.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| RGW 90 ASM / AS | Anti-structure munition | The ASM page describes mousehole and blast modes for field fortifications, adobe walls, bunkers, and reinforced-concrete walls. Sources: RGW90 ASM |
| RGW 90 LRMP / Wirkmittel 90 | Long-range multipurpose blast-fragment variant | DND lists impact and airburst modes, a blast-fragment warhead, and 20-600 m impact or 20-1200 m airburst range; Bundeswehr media uses the Wirkmittel 90 designation. |
| RGW 90 Illum | Battlefield illumination variant | DND lists infrared or white-light illumination, a 500 m illumination radius, 350-1200 m combat range, and more than 40 seconds of illumination. Sources: RGW90 Illum |
| RGW 90 Smoke | Phosphorus smoke variant | DND lists a smoke round with 20-1200 m combat range and a smoke screen that expands from 20 square meters after 1.5 seconds to 50 square meters after 5 seconds. Sources: RGW90 Smoke |
Singapore's MINDEF factsheet says MATADOR development began in 2000 as a SAF and DSTA collaboration with Dynamit Nobel Defence, intended to replace Armbrust.
Sources: Factsheet - MATADOR: Unguided Short Range Anti-Armour Weapon (SRAAW)
DSTA's anniversary timeline credits MATADOR in 2004 as a locally designed and developed anti-armour weapon with a dual-capability warhead for armored vehicles and brick walls.
Sources: DSTA 25th Anniversary
Aviation Week reported that Operation Cast Lead in Gaza saw the IDF's first use of Matador WB, a wall-breaching munition supplied to infantry brigades shortly before the fighting began.
Sources: Matador WB Gets Gaza Trial
Germany's official archived Ukraine aid list recorded 16,917 delivered RGW 90 man-portable anti-tank weapons from industry stocks financed by German funds as of April 17, 2025.
Sources: The arms and military equipment Germany is sending to Ukraine
Ynetnews reported IDF-released footage from Khan Younis showing Israeli soldiers using a Matador missile against a gunman firing from an apartment room.
Sources: Watch Matador missile take out terrorist
Dynamit Nobel Defence presents RGW 90 as a family of disposable shoulder-fired weapons built on a common design concept, with versions tailored for armor, structures, personnel or soft targets, smoke, illumination, and training. Singapore's MATADOR SRAAW and Israel's Matador WB context sit inside the same 90 mm disposable weapon family rather than as separate catalog records.
| Version | Primary effect | Documented distinction |
|---|---|---|
| MATADOR SRAAW | HEAT/HESH anti-armour and wall breaching | Singapore's factsheet describes a one-man 90 mm weapon with selectable HEAT and HESH effects, confined-space firing, and an effective range listed at 500 m. |
| RGW 90 HH | Dual-mode anti-armor and anti-structure fire | DND lists HEAT and HESH modes, 20-500 m combat range, enclosed-room firing, and more than 500 mm RHA armor effect. |
| RGW 90 ASM / AS | Anti-structure munition | The anti-structure version uses mousehole and blast modes for field fortifications, adobe walls, bunkers, and reinforced-concrete walls. |
| RGW 90 LRMP / Wirkmittel 90 | Long-range multipurpose blast-fragment fire | DND lists impact and airburst modes, with 20-600 m impact range and 20-1200 m airburst range; Bundeswehr media uses the Wirkmittel 90 designation. |
| RGW 90 Illum | Infrared or white-light battlefield illumination | DND lists a 500 m illumination radius, 350-1200 m combat range, and more than 40 seconds of illumination. |
| RGW 90 Smoke | Phosphorus smoke screening | DND lists 20-1200 m combat range and smoke-screen growth from 20 square meters after 1.5 seconds to 50 square meters after 5 seconds. |
| MATADOR-WB | Wall breaching | Aviation Week described Matador WB as a wall-breaching munition developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Dynamit Nobel Defence for opening passages through brick walls. |
