Suck My Glock
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So while the 40x46mm and 40x53mm grenade rounds the U.S. currently chamber in the M203, M320 and Mk19 and work well for their intended uses,...the evolution of warfare is causing the Pentagon to re-evaluate what it is they want future grenades to do. And as a result, the grenades need to change form,...which means the grenade launchers need to change form as well.
The key new function the Pentagon is demanding is not entirely new. Air-bursting at specific distances is something they have been seeking for over 30 years now. Various developmental programs have been trying to come up with a smaller 20mm munition that could be utilized in a more direct fire rather than short-range arcing artillery. The challenge has been working in micro electronics for the proximity fuse in such a small diameter which is both reliable and resilient. In fact, just a few years ago, Barrett developed a prototype 25x59mm version of their iconic .50BMG weapon which they called the XM-109 to try to satisfy this quest the Pentagon has been on for some time.
But the war in Ukraine has shown that drones are a threat that is not currently well addressed. There have been advances made against that threat. One of those has been Rheinmetal's 30mm anti-aircraft gunnery ammo (similar in size to what the A-10 shoots) originally designed for planes but has shown good results even against the much smaller and harder to target drones. It is now envisioned that future shoulder-fired grenades could and should be effective at targeting close range aerial targets such as battle drones. But to achieve this, a more straight-lined ballistic arc of shorter flight time than the current 40mm grenades offer is required. And thus, a new 30mm munition nearly identical in size and shape to the Russian VOG-17 has been developed.
Both Barrett and FN have so far developed prototypes for the Precision Grenadier System (PGS) project that the Army is expected to request submissions for in 2026, which is what we see here.
For comparison, the common M433 40x46mm munition usually fired in the M-203 and M-320 has a maximum range of 400 meters, but a travel time of over 5 seconds to get there. The new 30mm munition is required to reach 500 meters in under 3 seconds, which pretty much means doubling the velocity of the 250 fps the M433 leaves the muzzle at, to over 500 fps for the newer 30mm,...and a correspondingly flatter trajectory as a result. The hotter XM1176 fired in the Mk19 only flies a little bit faster at 330 fps, but achieves an 800 meter maximum range. The new 30mm might just equal that distance - unsure, since few details of current performance are available.
Rather interesting that the Russians already have a launcher like these, which we have seen in use in Ukraine. The difference, however, is the the Russian ammo is just "dumb" impact-initiated ammo and not any sort of air-burst or proximity fused payload. Depicted here are couple of captured Baryshev B-40 ARGB grenade rifles.
It's a brave new world, kids.
The key new function the Pentagon is demanding is not entirely new. Air-bursting at specific distances is something they have been seeking for over 30 years now. Various developmental programs have been trying to come up with a smaller 20mm munition that could be utilized in a more direct fire rather than short-range arcing artillery. The challenge has been working in micro electronics for the proximity fuse in such a small diameter which is both reliable and resilient. In fact, just a few years ago, Barrett developed a prototype 25x59mm version of their iconic .50BMG weapon which they called the XM-109 to try to satisfy this quest the Pentagon has been on for some time.
But the war in Ukraine has shown that drones are a threat that is not currently well addressed. There have been advances made against that threat. One of those has been Rheinmetal's 30mm anti-aircraft gunnery ammo (similar in size to what the A-10 shoots) originally designed for planes but has shown good results even against the much smaller and harder to target drones. It is now envisioned that future shoulder-fired grenades could and should be effective at targeting close range aerial targets such as battle drones. But to achieve this, a more straight-lined ballistic arc of shorter flight time than the current 40mm grenades offer is required. And thus, a new 30mm munition nearly identical in size and shape to the Russian VOG-17 has been developed.
Both Barrett and FN have so far developed prototypes for the Precision Grenadier System (PGS) project that the Army is expected to request submissions for in 2026, which is what we see here.
For comparison, the common M433 40x46mm munition usually fired in the M-203 and M-320 has a maximum range of 400 meters, but a travel time of over 5 seconds to get there. The new 30mm munition is required to reach 500 meters in under 3 seconds, which pretty much means doubling the velocity of the 250 fps the M433 leaves the muzzle at, to over 500 fps for the newer 30mm,...and a correspondingly flatter trajectory as a result. The hotter XM1176 fired in the Mk19 only flies a little bit faster at 330 fps, but achieves an 800 meter maximum range. The new 30mm might just equal that distance - unsure, since few details of current performance are available.
Rather interesting that the Russians already have a launcher like these, which we have seen in use in Ukraine. The difference, however, is the the Russian ammo is just "dumb" impact-initiated ammo and not any sort of air-burst or proximity fused payload. Depicted here are couple of captured Baryshev B-40 ARGB grenade rifles.
It's a brave new world, kids.
