Power at low weight
The Russian TKB-0249 grenade launcher has a simple device.
For convenience, the design of the weapon is complemented by a folding bipod. The “crossbow” can be equipped with various options for mechanical sights and optical systems. TKB-0249 is equipped with magazines for 5 and 10 rounds of ammunition. The main design feature of the 10-kilogram grenade launcher is the shock absorption system, thanks to which the recoil from shots is approximately the same as a Kalashnikov assault rifle and no more than that of the Groza (OTs-14) automatic grenade launcher system. The Crossbow's ammunition was a fairly powerful grenade, created for early easel grenade launchers. In this regard, the developers of TKB-0249 had to complete a difficult task: to minimize the recoil impulse of the grenade launcher while maintaining its small dimensions and weight. For this purpose, the TKB-0249 “Crossbow” device has a spring shock absorber located in a separate casing on the lower frame. At the same time, the casing protruded noticeably back, behind the butt, which became another design feature of the rear part of the grenade launcher.
The shock absorber spring was the reason why the Crossbow received a number of advantages.
- Firstly, it reduced the recoil energy during shots, which made it possible to use the weapon with emphasis on the shoulder.
- Secondly, the shooting accuracy increased, after which the grenade launcher began to be called “sniper”.
With a total length of 90 cm, the TKB-0249 Crossbow grenade launcher weighed about 10 kg without ammunition. As a result, weapons using grenades for mounted systems turned out to be much lighter. The extended barrel accelerated the grenade to a speed of 185 m/s.
The official presentation of the grenade launcher took place in 1998. It was distinguished from automatic machine tools by its noticeable mobility and ease of use. These characteristics became a kind of compensation for the lack of automatic firing. In practice, the weapon performed well, including demonstrating high accuracy. Having no experience in handling the Crossbow, the tester at a distance of 300 meters hit several ammunition into the same window of the building.
homelach 04/06/201704/06/2017 Category Miscellaneous Comment.
Usually, when we say “grenade launcher,” we mean the famous “Mukha” (RPG-18), but today there are much more advanced grenade launchers. In this short review you will learn about the most destructive and most expensive grenade launchers, a grenade launcher for snipers and a pistol grenade launcher.
The most destructive grenade launcher RPG-32
In the post-war period, Russia was famous for its hand grenade launchers. RPG-7 has become the same Russian brand as Kalashnikov. It is in service with 50 countries, and is actively produced abroad (in the photo - RPG-32 Hashim). In particular, the well-known American company Airtronic, a Pentagon contractor, produces its own version of this “venerable weapon.”
In the photo: The Russian-Jordanian RPG-32 “Nashshab” grenade launcher was put on wheels
Such a future is predicted for the RPG-32 hand grenade launcher. It is interesting because it is multi-caliber, that is, capable of firing grenades of different calibers, both seventy-two millimeter and one hundred five millimeter. Thanks to this property, the RPG-32 grenade launcher allows you to adequately respond to current combat challenges. For example, if you need to knock out a lightly armored vehicle, then use 72-mm grenades. If you need to knock out a modern tank or break through a half-meter concrete wall, then they fire a more powerful cumulative missile.
Video: RPG-32 test - YouTube
It is known that grenades of different calibers, as a rule, have different ballistics. This risks making it difficult for a fighter accustomed to using one grenade launcher in the heat of battle to hit the target with another similar weapon. Meanwhile, the developers managed to achieve almost the same trajectory for grenades of both calibers at a distance of up to 200 meters. For shooting at longer distances, the RPG-32 has a sight switch.
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The most expensive grenade launcher XM-25 “Punisher”
Two famous weapons companies - the German Heckler & Koch GmbH and the American Alliant Techsystems - have developed the XM-25 grenade launcher. Considering the high technological status of the developers, experts even at the design stage predicted innovative bells and whistles for this grenade launcher and, as a result, an exorbitant price.
And so it happened. The result was something between a self-loading grenade launcher and a large-caliber assault rifle.
Whatever the XM-25 ammunition is. These include high-explosive air-detonated fragmentation grenades, powerful shot cartridges, and non-lethal ammunition. The grenade launcher is equipped with sophisticated optics and a laser rangefinder. In the basic mode, after aiming at the target, the electronics will tell the fighter whether the shot will be effective or not. If so, then the soldier just has to pull the trigger. A grenade will definitely destroy the enemy. After military testing in Afghanistan, the XM-25 was nicknamed the “punisher.”
The disadvantages of this weapon include its heavy weight: about 6.3 kg, plus a 6-round magazine, and each grenade weighs on average 270 grams. In addition, this “toy” has a price tag of a million rubles. Meanwhile, the experience of previous wars shows that these weapons often fail.
Barrett XM109 sniper grenade launcher (USA)
As soon as the first grenade launchers appeared, the search immediately began for technical solutions that would make it possible to throw grenades over vast distances and with sniper accuracy. It is believed that these principles are implemented in the American Barrett XM109 sniper grenade launcher. This weapon is often called an anti-material sniper rifle, firing grenades measuring 25x59 mm.
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These ammunition were developed as part of the OCSW program, initiated to create a target weapon for group combat, in other words, an automatic mounted grenade launcher. Interestingly, experts found many similarities between the Barrett XM109 and the Soviet automatic grenade launcher on the AGS-17 “Plamya” machine. And the designer Ronnie Barretti himself did not hide this, saying that the idea of making a sniper grenade launcher was suggested to him by the project of the Soviet gunsmith A.F. Kornyakov.
The Barrett XM109 grenade launcher is equipped with a BORS optical system, with a built-in microprocessor that simulates the flight of a grenade and makes recommendations. This weapon successfully passed all tests, except for the recoil standard.
Chinese infantry grenade launcher QLB-06 / QLZ-87B
The Chinese army is the largest in the world. This alone makes us take a closer look at the advanced Chinese grenade launchers, primarily the QLB-06, which also has a second index QLZ-87B. The first designation is used for the domestic market, the second for the external market.
The purpose of this weapon is the most classic - to support infantry. The grenade launcher is largely made of aluminum alloys, but still weighs more than 9 kilograms. It is fed from drum magazines with a capacity of 4 or 6 shots.
Despite the muzzle brake and bolt group buffer, the QLB-06 / QLZ-87B has powerful recoil when firing. However, the Chinese themselves have a philosophical attitude towards this, they say, “who said it would be easy.” According to the instructions, a 250 gram high-explosive fragmentation grenade destroys all living things within a radius of 10 meters.
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Aiming is carried out using a regular front sight and rear sight; however, there is also a rail for installing optical or night sights. The Chinese claim that the QLB-06 / QLZ-87B semi-automatic grenade launcher can accurately hit targets at a distance of 600 meters, or cover an area from a distance of one kilometer.
Grenade launcher pistol AG36 (Germany)
The German arms concern Heckler & Koch developed a 40 mm AG36 grenade launcher in the form of a pistol. In fact, they advertise it as an under-barrel grenade launcher for the HK G36 automatic rifle, which can be used as an independent weapon. This “toy” weighs only one and a half kilograms, and at a distance of 150 meters it can accurately hit the target.
“It is more suited to be a powerful pistol, the shot from which will destroy a car,” says military expert Harold Murphy, “I think that for close urban combat this weapon is indispensable, if only because it is omnivorous, that is, it can shoot grenades of any type.” .
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Original development
The army arsenal of the USSR, and later Russia, has had automatic mounted grenade launchers for decades. They are distinguished by high power, but at the same time it causes the large weight and dimensions of the weapon itself. Therefore, its use in some cases is limited. For this reason, the military is interested in models with similar characteristics, but adapted for manual use. One of these options was “Crossbow”.
The accuracy of hitting a single target of the hand-held TKB-0249 reaches 1000 meters, and the range exceeds 1500 meters. At the same time, the “Crossbow”, developed in the mid-90s, is distinguished by a simple design and high reliability.
The “Sniper” grenade launcher “Crossbow” was created for the current VOG-17 and VOG-30 ammunition, developed for the AGS-17 and AGS-30 mounted grenade launchers. The TKB-0249 was entrusted with a difficult task: to demonstrate high firepower and at the same time be convenient to operate. TKB-0249 uses a magazine-type grenade delivery method. Shooting is carried out only in single shots, the accuracy of which is also ensured by the innovative depreciation scheme implemented in the design of the “Crossbow”.
"Sniper" hand / mounted grenade launcher NORINCO LG5 LG5s / QLU-11 (PRC)
40mm NORINCO LG5s grenade launcher in a “manual” version, with a conventional optical sight
40mm NORINCO LG5 grenade launcher on a machine, with an electron-optical sight
firing from a 40mm NORINCO LG5s grenade launcher
firing from a 35mm QLU-11 grenade launcher
Caliber:
40mm (40×53 HV) or 35mm (35x32SR)
Type
: automatic mounted grenade launcher with magazine feed
Length
: 1225 mm
Weight
: 12.9 kg (on bipod), 23 kg (on machine)
Effective firing range
: 1000 meters for point targets, 2200 meters for area targets from the machine (LG5); 1750 meters (QLU-11)
Magazine capacity
: 4 and 15 shots (40mm); 3, 5 or 7 shots (35mm)
Rate of fire
: ? rounds per minute
The LG-5 grenade launcher was developed and produced in China by the NORINCO Corporation, and is positioned as a “sniper” launcher, suitable for hitting small individual targets at ranges of up to 1000 meters, and group targets at long ranges. The NORINCO LG-5 grenade launcher is designed for export sale and can use standard “high velocity” 40mm NATO 40x53HV ammunition; In addition, for it in China, special “sniper” 40mm shots of increased accuracy BGJ-5 with a high-explosive fragmentation grenade have been developed, providing R100 dispersion for 3 shots at a distance of 600 meters of no more than 1 meter. Roughly speaking, this means that at a distance of 600 meters, this grenade launcher, with the right aim, can place three grenades in a row in one typical window of a residential building. The grenade launcher is offered in two versions - hand-held LG5s (for firing from a bipod) and mounted LG5 (for firing from a tripod or equipment). Both options can be equipped with optical, night or special electro-optical sights with a built-in laser rangefinder and ballistic computer. In the manual version, the LG5s grenade launcher can be carried and used by one soldier.
A direct analogue of the “export” LG5 grenade launcher for use in the Chinese armed forces is the QLU-11 grenade launcher (“35mm Type 11 sniper grenade launcher”). Its main difference is the 35mm caliber ammunition used (35x32SR), adopted by the PLA. There are also slight differences in the weight of the weapon and the capacity of the magazines (for 3, 5 or 7 shots). For the QLU-11 “sniper” grenade launcher, a standard electro-optical sight with a laser rangefinder and a ballistic computer, as well as 35mm high-precision shots with high-explosive and armor-piercing grenades, have been developed.
The LG5 grenade launcher is a self-loading magazine-fed weapon. The automatic system supposedly uses the recoil of the barrel during its long stroke and a recoil shock absorber built into the butt. Ammunition is supplied from detachable drum magazines with a capacity of 3 to 15 rounds. Shooting can be carried out both from a folding bipod and from a tripod machine. The grenade launcher is equipped with open, adjustable sights and a Picatinny rail, on which various types of day and night sights, both optical and electronic, can be mounted. In the QLU-11 version, an electro-optical sight with a built-in rangefinder and a ballistic computer is standard; for the LG5 export version, such a sight is offered as an option.
TKB-0249 "Crossbow" - hand grenade launcher
The 30-mm hand-held “sniper” grenade launcher TKB-0249 “Crossbow” was developed by Valery Nikolaevich Telesh for serial shots VOG-17M (7P9) and VOG-30. The grenade launcher was created for use by linear infantry units, as well as special forces of internal troops and police.
At the end of 1998, on the initiative of the leadership of TsKIB SOO V.K. Zelenko, the 30-mm hand grenade launcher TKB-0249 “Crossbow” was successfully demonstrated at an exhibition organized for representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the CIS countries. The grenade launcher is characterized by its simple design and relatively low manufacturing cost. Its advantages also include high operational reliability.
Although the grenade launcher is designed according to a classic layout, its receiver is elongated and protrudes beyond the shoulder rest. This design decision was made due to the need to place a powerful recoil system in the box. To prevent dust and dirt from getting inside the receiver, the window for ejecting spent cartridges is closed with a flap.
The trigger mechanism is a separate unit located under the receiver along with the pistol grip fire control. The grenade launcher is equipped with a non-automatic fuse; two-position, the switch of which is located on the right side of the trigger mechanism box above the trigger guard. The grenade launcher fires only single shots. The grenade launcher is equipped with mechanical and optical sights. It is possible to install a rangefinder.
The ammunition used is 30mm unitary rounds VOG-17M and VOG-30. A grenade weighing 280 g is fired with an initial speed of 185 m/s, the maximum firing range is 1700 m. Shots are fired from a box magazine with a capacity of 5 or 10 shots. A disk-type magazine has also been developed for the grenade launcher. When firing a grenade launcher, folding telescopic bipods are used. The main feature of the TKB-0249 is the shock absorption system: the recoil is approximately the same as that of the Groza assault rifle, with a weight of 10 kg.
The “crossbow” is sometimes called a “sniper” grenade launcher, as it allows you to hit single objects with high accuracy at a distance of up to 100 m, and the longest firing range is 1700 m.
