MetalStorm 3GL Grenade Launcher: WOW!
While watching a video of the MetalStorm 3GL 40mm Grenade Launcher I was blown away by the incredible technology1 that these Australians have developed. I have blogged about the 3GL before, but I had not imagined it worked so well in practice. The video is worth 1000 words ...
The MetalStorm technology allows multiple rounds to be loaded into, and fired from, a single barrel. This makes a much more compact weapon than competing MGL2 systems such as the Milkor. The weapon has been designed to be within the same tolerances as the M203/M320 and so achieves similar range, velocity & accuracy. It makes use of standard 40x46mm grenade warheads which are inserted into the MetalStorm 'tail assembly'. This would make the system much more attractive to nations which currently use the standard 40x46mm rounds.
The grenades are fired electronically as fast as the trigger can be pull and the barrel is capable of 720 rounds per minute! I asked Mark, MetalStorm's armorer, about battery life and he told me that the 2xAA batteries is uses will last as long as the barrel does.
What really impressed me was how fast it could be reloaded. In the video you see the operator remove the rifle's magazine when reloading - this was for safety and it not required in the field.
In its stand-alone configuration (not attached to a rifle and with its own stock) it weighs 5 lbs - less than half the weight of the 11 lb Milkor MGL!
MetalStorm have also been working on a bullpup version of the 3GL. Aside from the shorter overall length, it allows the system to be used with rifles, such as the AK variants, which require the magazines to be rocked into place. The pistol grip of the non-bullpup version would get in the way during magazine changes,
As I said before, I am very impressed with this weapon. It offers a lot of power in a very small package.
Many thanks to David for answering my questions and providing photos and videos for the blog.
I think that the main problem of this launcher , must be the diferent ballistics of each individual grenade , due to diferent barrell lenghts . That would require diferent long range targeting for each round . Short range -<250yards would be OK .
I allso think that this is not in the same category with Milkor .
This is probably more suitable to replace the M203s .
1. The grenades were dummy, not HE on the demo video, it have to be SAFE with actual explosive grenades.
2. the barrel length, therefore the ballistics will be different for each shot.
Otherwise interesting use of the old roman candle pyrotechnic device:-))
AFAIK the “Different Ballistiks for Each Shot” problem is addressed by adapting the propellant charge behind each round (I think I’ve seen this in one of their animations). The safety issue of stacking 40 mm grenades is not such a big one since the detonators of those work by inertia, not pressure. The inertial loads imposed on the shells by this system will be not much different from those generated by a revolver style system. (They will be higher due to the lower mass of the MetalStorm launcher but still in the same order of magnitude)
I suppose you could get around the ballistics problem if they offered these grenades in pre-packaged stacks with gradually increasing loads to compensate for the different amounts of barrel length each one has available (which would, unfortunately, mean having to settle with the least amount of barrel length as the lowest common denominator).
Alternatively, an electronic sight with a built-in ballistic computer might automatically adjust the calculated trajectory based on the amount of grenades remaining in the barrel.
that was very interesting.
however i remain completely unconvinced on connecting 40×46mm grenade launchers to rifles. i already don’t think they add any effectiveness to the combined weapon. in fact i think putting these two weapons together actually reduces the effectiveness of both them. the m203 handicaps a soldier from my perspective. many nations have spent the last 20 years trying to develop combined rifle/grenade launcher weapons from scratch, from a clean sheet, and they never work out.
i was excited about the 25×59mm grenade rifle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XM25
but it was cancelled. i still think this is something worth working on if the grenades can be improved. a 40×46mm grenade does not do that much damage, less than a hand grenade, so the 25mm grenade has a long way to go.
but i still like the idea of getting the grenade launchers off the rifles and turning them into stand alone weapons only.
Notice how the cadence of each of the 3 grenade shots changes.
As each round is shot out, the round behind it has a longer effective barrel length than the one just shot, and the noise it makes when it is shot is slightly different. I’m curious if the balistic trajectory also changes, or if there is some sort of compensation built in for this in the electronics of the gun or round.
Theoretically the last round shot will have the longest time in the barrel and should be travelling faster than the first round shot, if the pressure levels are the same for each round.
Maybe it’s not that big of a deal with these low pressure grenades, but I am intersted if they have a way around this for there other products.
There has to be some form of sensor telling the launcher which round to fire. If that sensor gets disabled in combat it might launch the middle or back round into a blocked tube. Sounds uncomfortable.
The thing I’d be worried about is an accidental in barrel discharge. Stacking HE grenades under the barrel of my rifle makes me cringe. And electornic ignition worries me too. I know it’s ran off of a small battery pack and it’s a very remote possibility but we sometimeshad problems when I was a welder if people welding on a vehicle next to suspension components like shocks and struts and arcing through the shaft. I know the voltage and amps dealt with on that level are much more than would ever be seen in the metalstorm, but it still seems iffy in my mind. Also, have they thought of powering it through one of those powered rail systems? Seems like a logical solution.
But a+ for the ingenuity. Way to break the mold!
I asked their representative about (2) on the last Eurosatory.
He claimed that the difference in muzzle velocity is too insignificant.
That’s actually not implausible because the muzzle velocity doesn’t rise much any more after a certain barrel length. Maybe that’s why the barrel is so long – it may be necessary for the forward most grenade to reach that point.
the barrel length won’t matter that much; at 250 yds you’re already talking area target anyway, and your maximum effective range is 350-ish yards, depending on wind/elevation/etc, so we’re not talking minutes of angle here. i did 3.5 years as a grenadier, and i think it looks neat.
I would imagine they test them with explosive grenades.
I’m certain eventually they would test them with live HE munitions. You can’t sell a car if you never started after manufacturing it.
Overcomplicated solution to a non-problem. It’s a cool tech toy, but not useful.
KP, the problem is laying down fire. Single shots can currently be used, but they are single shot. The big MGL’s can be used but they take a while to reload, are are big and heavy. The 3GL allows semi-auto fire and quick reloading in a small/light package.
The weight comparison isn’t fair, you stacked the rifle-mounted version (5lbs) against the M32 (11lbs), which is an entire weapon system. The M320, on the other hand, weighs 3.3 lbs. 5lbs is a lot to hang off the end of your rifle! Three shots doesn’t make for much “laying down fire”, and the MGL puts out 6, if that’s what’s attractive. It also loads by moving forward, the same as the old M203. Part of why the M320 was attractive is that it swings out to reload for faster reloading and to accommodate the longer 40mm ammo. It’s a way-too-heavy 3-shot-but-slower-reloading under rifle grenade launcher that requires additional fittings for standard ammo.
I think MetalStorm should design their own stand alone version like the Milkor MGL. Make the weapon lighter and add capacity with the electornic ignition technology. Definitely need to produce pre-packaged stacks of rounds with varied loads to fix the ballistics issue.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=128883&page=86
Can’t understand there’s any comment about South korean K-11 rifle.
Durham68, yes, it does come in a stand alone version.
This thread got me thinking about ways to build multiple shot grenade launchers.
Have there been any attempts to use box magazines (AR layout) or tube magazines (shotgun layout)? Any semi-auto designs (other than crew-served weapons of course)?
Carl, there is one company that makes a pump action with shotgun like tube magazine 40mm grenade launcher (I forget the name). Small caliber grenades (20mm, 25mm) have come in semi-auto and bolt action fed from a box magazine, but this is not practical for 40mm just because they are so big. There are full auto crew served 40mm launchers that are belt fed.
Very interesting!
I think metalstorm has finally found it’s first practical application towards small arms technology. I was impressed that they have worked the system as separate fixed rounds instead of “pre-loaded” barrels. Compared to conventional under-barrel 40mm grenade launchers the metalstorm unit has obvious advantages.
As for the criticism that the velocity would vary from the first to the last grenade fired in a loading…
Even the old M-79 grenade launcher only had a muzzle velocity of 250 fps. It doesn’t take much barrel to achieve that much velocity, witness the ultra-stubby Soviet GP-30 40mm GL. The difference between the metalstorm first round and the last round’s velocity is probably lost in the noise of the random differences in individual cartridge loadings. In other words, no practical measurable difference.
Why would the size of the 40×46mm grenade prevent it from being used in a box magazine?
Would the general weight of the entire weapon including magazine be to large?
Or are there other issues with feeding these cartridges from a box magazine? I guess they are kind of short and stubby but that doesn’t seem like an impossible problem to me…
Carl, there is no reason why it could not be fed from a box, but as you concluded, the size of the magazine and the weapon would be to big for practical purposes.
Well, the Milkor seems to be usable loaded with six shots. A semi auto or repeater with six shots box magazines would increase the firepower considerably I would guess.