PureTeenLard said...

Is that a side feed, bottom eject bullpup?

Pretty much.

IIUC, the top of the magazine is angled ~45°, so it's not a "real" (90°) side feed, but rather the mag is offset far enough to fit the ejection port next to it.

Oh. I'm slightly disappointed now. I thought for a moment that it might have had a feed system similar to the old Madsen LMG . . .

Great info, thanks!

Is grenade weight is total projectile weight?  Any chance to get HE fill info between them and versus other potentially common reference points (like M230 30mm)?

Any info on smart round alternatives and exotic rounds (current production bounding HE, hellfire, mercury, novel explosive, etc)?

Could you go into detail on the old FN HV launcher (even though it turned out to be vaporware, it seems relevant just for reference that one existed)

Does anyone know if the Kastet (stand alone GP-25) is in use anywhere or just a one off?  Seems like the most compact stand alone launcher I've ever seen

renatohm said...

I remember Badcow advocating muzzle grenades a while back. Which would be their disadvantages when compared to 40mm conventional ones?

Accuracy of rifle grenades is not as good, and recoil tends to be heavy. Also, as the individual grenades weigh more, the more of them you carry, the heavier the system becomes relative to 40mm. Ten rounds is about the breakpoint - with the 20 or 30 rounds currently carried by grenadiers, 40mm adds up to a much lighter load.

The advantages of rifle grenades are that you don't have the weight of a launcher permanently attached to the rifle, and compared with using the UBGL as a stand-alone launcher, it's less trouble to grab a rifle grenade and attach it to the muzzle than it is to sling your rifle and unsling your launcher. RGs also hold about double the HE.

It really depends on how you use the capability. As I understand it, the British Army uses the UBGLs more for suppression than anything else - they are particularly useful in breaking contact from a short-range ambush. For this, precision is not required, but a big bang is useful.

marandreas said...

That reminds me, do you have any information on that UBGL shown on the Kepplinger MRCS last year?

http://www.altair.com.pl/news/view?news_id=13752

Sorry, I don't.

Refleks said...

Is grenade weight is total projectile weight?  Any chance to get HE fill info between them and versus other potentially common reference points (like M230 30mm)?

For 40mm LV grenades, HE fill varies quite a lot even for HE rounds, and of course many of the grenades are HEDP types with a nose cavity so carry less HE. They hold around 25-30g HE for HEDP, 30-50g for HE/Frag. An airburst HE/Frag, with a bigger fuze, carries around 25-30g HE. An Arsenal thermobaric LV round, with an extended body, carries 85g explosive mix (no weight or volume on fragmentation).

40mm HV grenades vary less in size, since they have to work in an autoloading mechanism. 40-50g HE is typical, but only 25-40g for HEDP. A 30mm M230 HEDP carries 27g HE.

Refleks said...

Any info on smart round alternatives and exotic rounds (current production bounding HE, hellfire, mercury, novel explosive, etc)?

Not a lot. The US is working on a proximity-fuzed LV grenade as an alternative to timed airburst.

Refleks said...

Could you go into detail on the old FN HV launcher (even though it turned out to be vaporware, it seems relevant just for reference that one existed)

Sorry, no info on that one.

For the Russian GL-94 grenade launcher I have seen it advertised and used for urban assault more than anti-riot duties. The thermobaric grenade in particular seems to have been chosen because it has much reduced fragmentation and thus lethality range, allowing it to be used for room clearing. Considering they advertise it for such, that means it has a very short arming range if any. The intended use being for such close ranges also shows why the ballistic range of the ammunition isn't all that great compared to other systems.

Personally I always liked the pump action grenade launcher as a much less bulky and heavy alternative to the revolver type launchers.

Yes, thermobaric VGM-93 grenade is primary a MOUT / CQB item to be used against enemy personnel (terrorists, usually) holed in apartments inside public housing or in private houses. Its key feature is minimized lethal range, about 5 meters when shooter uses body armor and face and hearing protection or about 8-10 meters for an unprotected operator

Blast kill radius is about 3 meters.

mpopenker said...

Yes, thermobaric VGM-93 grenade is primary a MOUT / CQB item to be used against enemy personnel (terrorists, usually) holed in apartments inside public housing or in private houses. Its key feature is minimized lethal range, about 5 meters when shooter uses body armor and face and hearing protection or about 8-10 meters for an unprotected operator

Blast kill radius is about 3 meters.

Max is there any negative commentary on the use of thermobaric in Russia? In the west they are considered particularly inhumane because its believed that people are usually still awake and aware after being hit by a thermobaric weapon, and so feel all of the effects?