When Springfield Armory unveiled their new 18″ and 20″ Hellions, many of us noticed the 20″ version has a similar-looking barrel as the Croatian military-issued VHS-D2. It looks like it has a gas ring to launch a rifle grenade. So I took my review [Read More…]
During the last day of the Swedec EOD Exercise a test was conducted to demonstration an explosion of a hand grenade. The test was done in Sweden and it was captured on high speed camera. Imagine a family of mannequins sitting at the dinner table. The conversation is a [Read More…]
With Level IV armor rising in availability, calls for “overmatch”, and the increased presence of urban warfare, will designers be able to meet the requirements for future small arms? Forumgoer Poliorcetes raised this question in a discussion at the Military [Read More…]
At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Korean optics maker DI Optical was showing off many of their familiar products, but also had on display an interesting looking rifle attachment from a company called Jammer Korea. The attachment, named [Read More…]
It’s no secret that the field of war is changing, and that fact is just as true for the infantryman as it is the F-35 Lightning II pilot. Increasingly, small, inexpensive, expendable drones are being used as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) [Read More…]
At the 2017 National Defense Industry Association’s (NDIA) annual Armament Systems Forum in April, Mr. Howard Kent of Armor Development Group, and Dr. Jeffery Widder presented a concept for a caseless grenade system which allows the user to aim by changing the [Read More…]
At the 2017 National Defense Industry Association small arms conference in April, the US Army revealed its efforts to produce new improved varieties of 40mm low velocity ammunition for the M203 and M320 grenade launchers. Product Director for Medium Caliber Ammunition [Read More…]
The scientist-warriors at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey are working to bring the hand grenade into the 21st Century. With the flip of a “switch”, U.S. soldiers will be able to decide whether to use fragmentation or concussive forces – all from [Read More…]
In a head-scratching ruling, the ATF has reclassified 40mm practice (“chalk”) rounds and 40mm flares as “destructive devices”, putting them in the same category as actual explosive 40mm grenade ammunition. While several sources have covered this [Read More…]
Our friend Gabor from KaliberInfo.hu sent us a photo of this slick looking lightweight 40mm grenade launcher. He writes … Austrian Madritsch MWT 40×46 mm grenade launcher in standalone configuration. It is issued in Bundesheer (Austrian Army). Very [Read More…]
Larry Vickers’ TacTV YouTube channel has released a series of videos showcasing 40mm underbarrel grenade launchers, including uncommon footage of firing actual high explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) grenades. The videos are embedded below: The underbarrel grenade [Read More…]
The U.S. Army is testing out a new type of hand grenade being referred to as stackable, although the actual connectivity brings to mind the methods used to connect cylindrical Legos. They’re called the Scalable Offensive Hand Grenade, and they far out-perform the [Read More…]
Did you know that it is legal to own a grenade launcher? Yeah, that is pretty awesome. By the letter of the law you can also possess live HE grenades, but acquiring them is incredibly difficult. However a smattering of other rounds are available if you want to [Read More…]
You don’t often see an M32 Milkor Multiple Grenade Launcher being used side by side with an old-school M79 Grenade Launcher. Ray sent us this photo taken in Ramadi, Iraq where he and the 3d Batallion, 8th Marines were stationed in 2006. Ray wrote … I [Read More…]
The author recently had the privilege and opportunity to qualify with 40mm Low Velocity Less Lethal rounds. As a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, these rounds are usually not part of our tool kit. They would be much more commonplace among Military Police, Marine [Read More…]
ST Kinetics has been developing their 40mm ABMS (Air Bursting Munitions System) for a while now. The ABMS Upgrade Kit can be installed in a wide range of 40mm automatic grenade launchers, such as the Mk19 Mod 3, H&K GMG, CIS 40 and STK LWAGL. The company now [Read More…]
Despite setbacks, SOFREP.com reports that the XM25 is set to be adopted by the US Army and named the M25 … The XM25 has a range against point targets (e.g. a window) of 600m, and 700m for area targets. The M203 has a 150m/350m range for point/area targets. Maj. [Read More…]
There’s an article title I never thought I’d write! A Victorian grenade launcher? Not quite. It is indeed a Martini-Henry grenade launcher, or to be precise, a Blanch-Chevallier Grenade Discharger. Rather than being designed to combat Zulus on the South African [Read More…]
Nicknamed the “The Ballerina”, the GL 310 is a new CS tear gas grenade from Brazilian firm Condor that rolls around on a random path after it hits the ground. The idea behind it is that its targets will have a hard time anticipating the movement and [Read More…]
The 9mm Peruvian MGP-87 is a fascinating weapon. It was developed in the 1980s by the Peruvian military and used by the Navy and local police forces. About 16,000 were produced. It is notable for its ability to launch rifle grenades. The photo above shows the MGP-87 [Read More…]
A reader emailed us asking to help identify the grenade launcher, at least I think it is a grenade launcher, on the hip of the commando in the foreground of the above photo. The photo shows two French special force soldiers. I don’t know the context of the photo [Read More…]
These videos show the new Madritsch ML40AUS 40mm grenade launcher, mounted on Thales Australia EF88 Assault Rifle, being fired with a M583A1 White Star Parachute illumination round (top video) and a M433 HEDP (bottom video). The Madritsch ML40AUS was designed for use on [Read More…]
The US Army has patented a system to convert surplus 155mm projectiles containing bomblets into 40mm grenades. Someone in the Pentagon thinks it would be cheaper to convert surplus bomblets into 40mm grenades than to dispose of them. I had always assumed that the cost [Read More…]
IWI will be debuting their new 40x46mm GL 40S Grenade Launcher at upcoming Eurosatory ’12 expo. It is a standard single shot grenade launcher that integrates well with the Tavor. It is side opening and so accommodates longer 40mm rounds. From the press release [Read More…]
Our favorite Bulgarian arms manufacturer has added two new exotic grenades to their 2012 line up. The RLV-AD (Anti-Diver) round is designed to explode at a depth of 5 meters creating an underwater shockwave that is lethal at up to 15 meters and harmful up to 30 meters. [Read More…]
The NZ Army emailed me this video of their new 40mm H&K Grenade Machine Guns (H&K GMG). The H&K GMG is very similar to and fills the same role as the Mk. 19 Grenade Launcher. As I frequently say, “don’t buy a rifle automatic grenade launcher if [Read More…]
Matthew Cox reports that the USMC like the XM-25 semi-automatic air burst grenade concept but would prefer it in 40mm instead of 25mm. “I have not seen a detailed analysis on the [XM25’s] lethality,” Clark said. “We think we can get more [Read More…]
Marine Corp Times reports that the USMC are fielding the DefenseShield MAG-D (Molle Adaptable Grenade Dispenser). The nifty device, which resembles a large magazine, allows easy access to five 40mm grenades. [ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the link. ]
In a document, dated 6/07/2011 and sent to law enforcement agencies by the ATF Phoenix Field Division and leaked by the Anonymous-affiliated group LulzSec, states that the USA manufactured 40mm grenades in use by Mexican drug gangs were legally exported to foreign [Read More…]
At the LAAD ’11 expo in Brazil Taurus exhibited a version of their Taurus Carbine CT G2 with a quad rail and folding stock. The model that goes on sale later this year in the US lacks side rails and has a fixed thumbhole stock. Taurus needs to bring this model to [Read More…]