A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.
The Objective Individual Combat Weapon or OICW was the next-generation service rifle competition that was under development as part of the United States Army OICW program; the program was eventually discontinued without bringing the weapon out of the prototype phase. The acronym OICW is often used to refer to the entire weapons program.
The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces low. While compatible with many weapons, the M203 was originally designed and produced by the United States military for the M16 rifle and its carbine variant, the M4. The launcher can also be mounted onto a C7, a Canadian version of the M16 rifle; this requires the prior removal of the bottom handguard.
The Heckler & KochXM8 is a lightweight assault rifle system developed from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The rifle was designed by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K), and shares design and engineering with their G36 rifle.
The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40×46mm grenade, which uses what the US Army calls the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War. Its distinctive report has earned it colorful nicknames, such as "Thumper", "Thump-Gun", "Bloop Tube", "Big Ed", "Elephant Gun", and "Blooper" among American soldiers as well as "Can Cannon" in reference to the grenade size; Australian units referred to it as the "Wombat Gun". The M79 can fire a wide variety of 40 mm rounds, including explosive, anti-personnel, smoke, buckshot, flechette, and illumination. While largely replaced by the M203, the M79 has remained in service in many units worldwide in niche roles.
The Heckler & KochG36(Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, and replaced the heavier G3 battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm. The G36 was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997. Since then, it has been a popular export, and has seen active service in military and police units in several countries, including Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The G36 is gas-operated and feeds from a 30-round detachable box magazine or 100-round C-Mag drum magazine.
The M26-MASS is a shotgun configured as an underbarrel ancillary weapon attachment mounted onto the handguard of a service rifle, usually the M16/M4 family of United States military, essentially making the host weapon a combination gun. It can also be operated as a stand-alone shotgun by attachment to a pistol grip/collapsible buttstock module. Rollout commenced in 2013, replacing the Mossberg 500 shotguns in service.
The GP-25 Kostyor ("Bonfire"), GP-30 Obuvka ("Shoe") and GP-34 are a family of Russian 40 mm under-barrel muzzleloaded grenade launchers for the AK family of assault rifles. The acronym GP stands for Granatomyot Podstvolnyj, "under-barrel grenade launcher" in Russian, and was adopted by Soviet forces in 1978.
The FNSCAR is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to satisfy the requirements of the SCAR competition. This family of rifles consists of two main types. The SCAR-L, for "light", is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO and the SCAR-H, for "heavy", is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Both types are available in Close Quarters Combat (CQC), Standard (STD), and Long Barrel (LB) variants.
The XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) System, also known as the Punisher and Individual Semiautomatic Air Burst System was an airburst grenade launcher with programmable ammunition derived from the XM29 OICW. It was fielded to soldiers serving in the War in Afghanistan in 2010, after which malfunctions and 2013 program budget cuts delayed official entry into service, planned for early 2017. In early 2017, the contract with Orbital ATK was cancelled, calling the future of the entire program into question. The program was officially terminated on 24 July 2018.
The AG36 is a single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher that operates on the high-low system and was designed primarily for installation on the G36 assault rifle, designed by the German weapons manufacturing company Heckler & Koch of Oberndorf am Neckar. It originally appeared as Heckler & Koch's candidate for the US Army's Enhanced Grenade Launcher requirement, evaluated for use with the XM8 and FN SCAR rifles. As is commonly mistaken, the "A" is not an addition to the name "G36", which is short for Gewehr 36, but is in fact an abbreviation of the German Anbaugranatwerfer, literally meaning "attached grenade launcher" and the 36 coming from the name of the primary weapon it was designed to enhance – the G36. It can also be used dismounted, with a stock attached as a stand-alone model, or a LLM01 laser light module can be attached to it.
The XM148 was an experimental 40 mm grenade launcher developed by Colt Firearms as the CGL-4. Colt manufactured the launcher for field testing during the Vietnam War era. After problems with the experimental design were discovered, the XM148 was replaced by AAI Corporation's conceptually similar M203 design, which became the primary grenade launcher used by the US armed forces and others until its ongoing replacement with the M320.
The Type 91 Grenade Launcher is a Chinese grenade launcher used to launch 35mm non-lethal grenades. It may come in shoulder-launched, rifle-attached, and vehicle-mounted variants. The rifle mounted version has a similar loading mechanism to the American made M203.
The HK69A1 is a 40 mm grenade launcher developed and produced by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K). The weapon was designed to engage enemy troops and strongpoints out to a distance of 350 m; it can also be used to deploy smoke grenades and illumination flares.
The AG-C/EGLM is a single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher that attaches to assault rifles of various types. It is manufactured by Heckler and Koch and is derived from the AG36. EGLM stands for "Enhanced Grenade Launching Module". A stand-alone variant exists. The device attaches under the barrel. A separate sighting system is added to rifles fitted with the AG-C/EGLM, as the rifle's standard sights are not matched to the launcher. The AG-C/EGLM can fire high-explosive, smoke, illuminating, buckshot direct fire, CS gas, and training grenades.
The MEI Mercury is a family of medium-range low-impulse 40mm grenade (40×46mmSR) developed by Martin Electronics, Inc. (MEI) that can reach out to 800 meters. The rounds are a fixed type ammunition designed to be fired from a 40 mm Grenade Launcher such as the M79, M203, M320, or Milkor MK-1.
The Milkor 40mm UBGL grenade launcher is a lightweight single-shot, underslung grenade launcher designed and developed in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. It can be attached to most modern assault weapons and rifles using a Picatinny rail system. The UBGL is capable of firing standard 40mm rounds including illumination and observation rounds. Clip-on, clip-off mechanism allows the UBGL to be fitted, with an additional recoil buffer, to any weapon fitted with a Picatinny rail.
The Pike is a precision-guided mini-missile or grenade munition designed by Raytheon. It is a 40 mm guided munition that can be fired from the barrel of a Heckler & Koch M320 Grenade Launcher Module and FN Enhanced Grenade Launching Module (EGLM) like a standard 40mm grenade, but is powered by a rocket motor to propel it 2,000 m to give infantrymen improved extended-range precision capabilities. The weapon uses a digital, semi-active laser seeker to guide itself to within five meters of the target; it can operate in a two-man shooter/spotter team or by the grenadier alone lazing after firing, as it can fly for 15 seconds before homing in. When fired, Pike has a small propellant to "kick" it 2.5–3 m (8.2–9.8 ft) out of the tube before the nearly smokeless motor ignites, and range is dependent on firing angle. The munition is effective against fixed and slow-moving mid-range targets, using a 6⁄10 lb blast fragmentation warhead with a 10-meter lethality radius. Raytheon developed the weapon for three years in collaboration with Nammo Talley, which developed the warhead and propulsion system. The Pike is intended to be more accurate with a longer range than rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and standard rifle grenades, while being far lighter and more cost-effective than current infantry guided weapons like the $78,000 each FGM-148 Javelin. Further improvements could include different fuses, multiple-round simultaneous programming and targeting with data-link capabilities, and platform integration onto small boats, vehicles, and small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Pike weighs 1.7 lb (0.77 kg) and is 16.8 in (43 cm) long, too long to fit in the breech of the M203 grenade launcher. At AUSA 2015, Raytheon revealed they had performed two successful test firings of the Pike.
