Born to open fire Automatic grenade launchers as a means of anti-personnel warfare are quite effective. In skillful hands, they are able to repel a serious enemy offensive and reach important strongholds. In the history of domestic weapons, since 1968, samples of automatic grenade launchers for special ammunition - a grenade - begin to appear every now and then, which are developed with one single purpose - effective firing at shelters and concentrations of enemy manpower. Such grenade launchers are called “pocket” in the army for their unique firing characteristics artillery." AGS-17 “Flame” is the first, and, perhaps, one of the most successful and simple automatic grenade launchers in the world. A 30-mm automatic system designed to defeat enemy forces is a good solution for effectively “scattering” and destroying the enemy almost everywhere: in open space, in shelters, in trenches and behind natural folds of the terrain. “Door artillery” is the second nickname of the AGS grenade launcher -17, which is what the weapon was called during the war in Afghanistan. 30mm automatic grenade launcher Afghan war- not just an effective means of firing, which can be operated by two people. This grenade launcher had one more thing, common to everything domestic weapons quality, - versatility. There are a lot of cases when the AGS-17 was attached to, to put it mildly, surfaces that are not typical for a grenade launcher. “Attaching an AGS to armor or cars is a common thing. We did this every day,” Soviet special forces veteran and retired officer Oleg Zvonarev told Zvezda in an interview. “We had to do something else. In Vietnam, the Americans widely used the so-called door gunner - a man with a machine gun who suppressed fire from the ground. But there the opposition was not always targeted, and so, for the sake of noise. We did it simpler - we attached the AGS to a special carriage near the doorway, equipped the tape and, along the way, worked out all the points from where the spirits worked on us. That’s how they escaped the fire from the ground,” he explained. Sniper thirty“Be better than its predecessor” - this is the motto of any weapon that needs to be adapted to reality modern warfare. And although the AGS-17 itself and the ammunition that was used in it were very reliable, the developers decided to find the limit of technological excellence and reliability with the help of a modernized version of the automatic grenade launcher - AGS-30. From its predecessor, the “thirty” inherited all the best that is possible it was possible to imagine: rate of fire, reliability, effective ammunition - VOG-17, VOG-17M, VOG-30 and an effective radius of continuous destruction of the enemy of seven meters. However, modernization implies improvement; in the case of the AGS-30, the developers managed to achieve the maximum possible weight reduction - instead of 30 kg in the AGS-17, the new grenade launcher weighed almost half as much - 16 kg, which made it possible to operate powerful weapons virtually alone. The weight reduction significantly increased maneuverability units on the battlefield and made it possible to build another modification of the grenade launcher in the field. It's about about a handicraft, created by the hands of ordinary soldiers, a sniper version of a grenade launcher for 30 mm ammunition. One of these modifications during the campaign in the North Caucasus helped Russian motorized riflemen block and destroy a bandit group. “Yes, everything is as usual. The task was set, and it must be solved by any means,” reserve officer of the internal troops Sergei Khan told Zvezda in an interview. “To simplify it as much as possible, it was necessary to block the militants in a gorge, one side of which was covered by a mountain, and the other side was free,” - he emphasized. Reflecting on the choice of weapons with which to solve the problem, the Russian military came to the conclusion that the use of RPG-7 hand grenade launchers would not leave any survivors among the militants. “Well, we thought about it, had a quick consultation and decided that it would be easier to cover the entrance in the gorge alone and cause rock collapse. We had such an ace, we called him a sniper-grenade thrower. He accomplished the entire task,” Khan said. According to him, three shots from a 30-mm AGS-30 grenade launcher were enough to cause a collapse and a serious rockfall, which blocked a group of militants, effectively cutting off their path to retreat. Russian The retired officer also added that it was impossible to come up with something more suitable for solving the problem than an automatic grenade launcher in combat conditions. “You see, this was reconnaissance after all, and we actually ended up with a grenade launcher by accident. We made it as light as possible, deprived it of a “tripod” and used it as sniper rifle. I don’t know of any other grenade launcher that can be used in exactly the same way in combat conditions as you please.” During the campaign in the North Caucasus, the AGS-30 was used in a good hundred combat missions, and every time the “thirty” opened fire, resistance “with that side" stopped. Well designed new After all the testing and combat work, it was decided not to abandon the idea of ​​automatic grenade launchers, but to develop work in a promising direction. Combat use AGS-17 and AGS-30 in a variety of weather and combat conditions showed that more effective means for instant destruction of a target, with the exception of anti-tank grenade launchers, has not been invented. This time they did not modernize the old one and developed a unique grenade launcher with a number of innovations that are not found in any automatic grenade launcher. Presented at the IDEX-2013 exhibition in United Arab Emirates The AGS-40 “Balkan” grenade launcher caused genuine delight among those initiated into the intricacies of weapons production. Eyes wide open and a large number there were questions from foreign experts where to come from, because “Balkan” is nothing more than a fusion of reliable and long-tested technologies with innovations and unique technical solutions. Firstly, “Balkan” surprises with its firing range - 2500 meters instead of 1700 for the AGS-17. Secondly, the 40-mm grenades for the new grenade launcher are designed according to the so-called mortar principle. “The technology is great, of course. Efficiency increases significantly. Such ammunition makes it possible to almost double the amount of explosive in a grenade and, as a result, increase its effectiveness,” an officer and operating engineer told Zvezda in an interview small arms Nikolai Kukushkin. A caseless projectile with a two-chamber ballistic engine, according to a military engineer, promises a number of advantages in the future: “The service life of the grenade launcher, its general convenience, the amount of ammunition in the ammunition load... You can also cite five or six positive aspects.” According to expert, almost all foreign automatic grenade launchers are inferior in terms of the totality of their qualities to the new 40-mm Russian-developed grenade launcher. “Right off the top of my head, the Mk.19 - an American grenade launcher - is almost twice as inferior in characteristics not only to the AGS-40, but also to the old AGS- 30, the Germans from Heckler&Koch tried to implement their own version, which was called HK GMG - there are also a number of problems there. From effective firing range to ammunition. One of the most interesting designs was built by the Americans - their Striker 40 would have been good if not for reliability problems. After a series of shots, the grenade launcher simply stopped working. As far as I know, they are still trying to eliminate the reason without a major design change,” he says. The AGS-40, developed on the basis of the experimental automatic grenade launcher TKB-0134, in the future should completely replace the AGS-17 and AGS-30. New times - new weapons. Judging by the amount of work being carried out on the new grenade launcher and the attention to detail paid by the developers, the new weapon will not disgrace the glory of its predecessors and, most likely, will surpass them in all respects.

40-MM AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER AGS-40 “BALKAN”

40 MM AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER AGS-40 “BALKAN”

19.02.2013


Russia will arm itself with the new AGS-40 “Balkan” automatic grenade launcher of 40 millimeters caliber. ITAR-TASS reports this with reference to general director"Pribor" company Oleg Chizhevsky.
Now “Balkan” is undergoing state tests. “During this year, the work should be completed, and we will begin to produce Balkan together with Izhmash,” Chizhevsky said.
According to Chizhevsky, who presented the Balkan at the international arms exhibition IDEX-2013 UAE, the new grenade launcher is lighter and more effective than its foreign counterparts. The mass of the Balkan will be almost equal to the 30-mm AGS-17 Plamya grenade launcher, which is in service with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
To achieve the superiority of the Balkan over similar grenade launchers, noted the general director of Pribor, allowed new principle- the so-called mortar shot with an ejected cartridge case. “No one has anything like this. This principle makes it possible to almost double the use of explosive mass and, accordingly, increase fragmentation due to a more dense configuration of the projectile. Thus, a significant reduction in weight and an increase in the power of the weapon is ensured,” Chizhevsky said.
According to Chizhevsky, the mass of explosives in the Balkan shells was increased to 90 grams instead of 40 grams. The firing range of the new grenade launcher was increased to 2.5 kilometers instead of 1.7 kilometers for the AGS-17.
The Balkan grenade launcher was first shown four years ago at the IDEX-2009 exhibition. As reported, the Balkan was developed on the basis of the experimental 40-mm TKB-0134 Kozlik grenade launcher, created in the 1980s. The grenade launcher's rate of fire is 400 rounds per minute, and its weight is about 32 kilograms. In addition, the Balkan is equipped with an optical sight as standard.
Lenta.ru

22.07.2013

JSC NPO Pribor will present a wide range of its products at the IX International Arms Exhibition, military equipment and ammunition Russia Arms EXPO 2013, the general organizer of which is the Uralvagonzavod research and production corporation. Leading domestic enterprise in the field of development and production of small-caliber artillery ammunition for automatic gun complexes weapons will be presented by the 40-mm automatic mounted grenade launcher system "Balkan".
A special feature of the system is that during its development a new principle was used - the so-called mortar shot with an ejected cartridge case, which makes it possible to almost double the mass of the explosive used and, accordingly, increase the fragmentation effect. This ensures a significant reduction in weight and a simultaneous increase in the power of the weapon.
The weight of the grenade launcher on a machine with a sight without a cartridge box is only 32 kg, the rate of fire is up to 400 rounds per minute, and the firing range is up to 2.5 km. Each belt clip for the Balkan complex contains 20 grenades, 2 belts in each transport container. The grenade launcher is mounted on a tripod with a seat for the shooter on the rear supports. In addition, the Balkan grenade launcher system is equipped with an optical sight as standard.

The very idea of ​​​​creating automatic grenade launchers arose due to the insufficient effectiveness of the use of grenades by infantry. It is simply impossible to throw the best live grenade by hand at a distance of 40-50 meters, and even then these standards are suitable for training sessions. In a real battle, under enemy fire, the throwing range does not exceed 20 meters, which increases the risk of being hit by shrapnel and the grenade launcher himself. What was needed was a kind of “slingshot” that would allow ammunition to be thrown over a long range, and even better, a machine gun that could fire grenades. This is how AGS appeared - effective weapon long-range and close combat. The most famous domestic AGS-17 “Flame”, which entered service with the Soviet army in the early 70s of the last century, is still used in Russian army. And not only this - in export version and in various modifications, this automatic easel grenade launcher is still used in several dozen countries. The AGS was tested in combat in Afghanistan, although it had previously been well-tested at army training grounds.

“AGS-17 was in service with every motorized rifle or airborne unit as part of OKSVA (Limited contingent Soviet troops in Afghanistan - author), says combat veteran and now senator Franz Klintsevich. - A good “machine” that allowed effective shooting at opposing forces. An experienced fighter could hit the window of a duval or adobe house with a grenade from a distance of a kilometer; as they say, he shot at the bull's eye, without even using an optical sight. In mountainous terrain, being in dominant positions, this grenade launcher could hit targets at a distance of three kilometers - the grenade was already flying down by inertia until the self-liquidator was triggered. One of the disadvantages of the "Flame" is high recoil, when the barrel lifted up during automatic firing up and interfered with aiming. Therefore, they preferred to fire with single shots, and the gunner had to lean on the grenade launcher with his entire body so that he would not be thrown up. Often, the AGS frame was welded to the turret of an armored personnel carrier or an improvised turret, for which an ordinary rotating wheel from a truck was used. The soldiers did not like to carry it on their backs because of its weight, but in battle it was very helpful with its rate of fire and accuracy of destruction.”

Russian The Balkan grenade launcher is undergoing military tests, its adoption is expected this year, said chief designer NPO "Pribor" of the Tekhmash holding Oleg Chizhevsky.

NPO Pribor has developed for a new 40-mm grenade launcher system shot with fragmentation grenade 7P39. The 6S19 “Balkan” anti-personnel grenade launcher system is the latest development in the field of domestic grenade launcher weapons.

What are its main advantages over its predecessors? First of all, this is the caliber. Due to its increase (from 30 to 40 mm - approx.) and a new design solution for the shot, it was possible to significantly increase the firing range. If the “Plame” (AGS-17) has a range of up to 2000 m, which is quite good, then the “Balkan” had a range of 2500 m already at the first stage of testing.

It is planned to develop a number of special grenades for it, in which electronics will be introduced. In what form this will be implemented is still a military secret. Now the testing of remote detonation in artillery rounds has been completed and the designers of NPO Pribor are ready to switch to melee weapons.

The range of special ammunition for the new grenade launcher is quite wide, ranging from smoke grenades, to grenades with video surveillance, grenades intended for electronic warfare, and so on.

The grenade launcher is currently undergoing military testing. It should be put into service in 2018. The holding's specialists have already supplied grenade launchers and ammunition to the troops for testing.

40 mm grenade launcher anti-personnel complex 6G27 "Balkan"

Purpose:

Designed to destroy and suppress manpower and defeat fire weapons located outside shelters, in open trenches (trenches) and behind natural folds of the terrain, in hollows, ravines, on reverse slopes of heights, as well as defeat military equipment (cars, launchers, radar stations and etc.).

For firing from the 40 mm Balkan grenade launcher system, 40 mm rounds with the 7P39 fragmentation grenade, 40 mm rounds with the 7P39prakt practical grenade and 40 mm rounds with the 7P39U practical grenade for practice shooting are used.

Firing from the 40 mm Balkan anti-personnel grenade launcher system is carried out in short (up to 5 shots), long (up to 10 shots) bursts and continuously.

Shots are supplied during firing from a box with a capacity of 20 shots loaded into a cartridge belt.

Shooting can be carried out both flat and mounted trajectories.

Characteristics:

40 mm shot with a 7P39 fragmentation grenade for the 6G27 “Balkan” grenade launcher system

Purpose:

Designed for firing from automatic grenade launchers.

The 40 mm 7P39 index shot, equipped with a fragmentation grenade, performs the following tasks as part of a grenade launcher system:

• defeat of open manpower and manpower located behind reverse slopes of terrain and in open engineering structures at a distance of up to 2500 meters;
• destruction of military equipment (vehicles, launchers, radar stations, etc.).

Characteristics:

40 mm shot with a practical grenade for target practice (index 7P39U)

Purpose:

Designed for target practice in order to train personnel in the techniques and rules of firing from the 40 mm automatic anti-personnel grenade launcher system "Balkan", and also as a target designator due to the fact that a red smoke cloud is formed on the ground at the site of the grenade explosion.

Characteristics:

40 mm shot with a practical grenade (index 7P39 practical)

Purpose:

Designed for testing to determine various characteristics ammunition and grenade launcher.

Characteristics:

30 mm shot with high-efficiency fragmentation grenade VOG-30 (index 7P36) for AGS-17, AGS-30 grenade launchers

Purpose:

Designed for shooting at manpower and military equipment. The shots are intended to be used for firing from machine-mounted grenade launchers AGS-17 and AGS-30, as well as their modifications installed at various military equipment sites. The shots are equipped with a fuse that has a self-destruct mechanism.

Characteristics:

30 mm shot with a practical grenade for training shooting from automatic grenade launchers (index 7P36U)

Purpose:

Designed for target practice in order to train personnel in the techniques and rules of firing from automatic grenade launchers, as well as target designation, due to the fact that a contrasting smoke cloud is formed on the ground at the site of the grenade explosion.

Characteristics:

30 mm shot with a practical grenade (index 7P36 practical)

Purpose:

Designed for testing to determine various characteristics of shots and grenade launchers. The shot is made according to the weight and size characteristics of a 30 mm shot with a fragmentation grenade and is equipped with a ballistic sleeve instead of a fuse.

AGS-40 - a new grenade launcher that surpasses everything Russian models this class

The Russian AGS-40 “Balkan” grenade launcher is a seriously redesigned model of an automatic grenade launcher, created using the experience of producing the AGS-17 and AGS-30. This model was developed by NPO Pribor. Having a caliber of 40 mm, the automatic grenade launcher surpasses previous models not only in the power of the ammunition used, but also in the combat range.

General information about the new Russian grenade launcher

The new grenade launcher, which has been produced in small batches since 2008, is designed for the following purposes:

• Destroying concentrations of unprotected enemy manpower;
• Destruction of unarmored vehicles;
• Destroying enemy infantry located in trenches or using the terrain as cover.

It was planned that the new automatic grenade launcher would be adopted by the Russian army in 2017, although special forces have been using it since 2008. Weapons engineers had to develop a new weapon, the power of which would significantly exceed all others Russian analogues. Judging by the few reviews from special forces soldiers who managed to use this automatic grenade launcher in practice, the engineers coped with the tasks one hundred percent.

Although the AGS-40 is considered a further development of the AGS-30, it was created on the basis of one of the prototypes, which was developed back in the 90s. This is the Kozlik grenade launcher, which had a caliber of 40 mm, but was never able to enter mass production.

History of the development of automatic grenade launchers

The Soviet Union was the first to master the production of automatic grenade launchers, so without exaggeration it can be called the birthplace of weapons of this type. Although Western weapons experts claim that the USSR received development of automatic grenade launchers from the Germans in 1945, in fact, Soviet developments in this area began much earlier. In the early 1930s, the famous gunsmith designer Yakov Grigorievich Taubin was able to interest the government Soviet Union with his bold and revolutionary project.

In 1934, a design bureau was created that was developing an automatic grenade launcher. Within a year, the brilliant designer Taubin was able not only to develop a project for an automatic grenade launcher, but also to make a prototype model, which was allowed to be tested in 1935. Naturally, it was impossible to create a perfect weapon without flaws in a year. It is for this reason that a prototype 40.6 mm grenade launcher could not pass state tests.

Dissatisfied with the test results, the government closed the design bureau and censured its director. Taubin lived in disgrace for 6 years. In 1941, he was suddenly arrested and, accused of aiding the enemy, was shot. The design engineers working with Taubin were so frightened that they did not return to development of an automatic grenade launcher until the late 1960s.

In 1970, Taubin's followers developed the first automatic grenade launcher, called the AGS-30 "Flame". In 1972, it successfully passed state tests and was put into service. Soviet army. This weapon has proven itself well in the Afghan war. Despite concerns that the design of an automatic grenade launcher would be too complex, combat conflicts have shown that the grenade launcher is incredibly reliable.

During the Afghan War, the soldiers liked the AGS-17 so much that they even welded it to the hulls of infantry fighting vehicles, thus modernizing military equipment.

The appearance of the AGS-30 and the further development of this weapon

Ten years after the first automatic grenade launcher was put into service, its characteristics no longer met modern requirements. In the second half of the 1980s, development began on a next-generation grenade launcher, which was supposed to replace the previous model. The new grenade launcher was planned to be developed by 1990, but well-known events slowed down the development of all types of Russian weapons for a long time.

Despite the economic difficulties plaguing Russia in the 1990s, the Instrument Design Bureau was able to present its new development, the AGS-30, by the mid-90s. The new weapon was identical in its combat characteristics to the AGS-17 “Plamya” automatic grenade launcher, but its weight was halved. Now the weapon could be easily transported by one soldier, although the combat crew consisted of two people.

Despite the significant weight reduction, the designers were unable to increase the range of destruction of the new grenade launcher, since even the ammunition remained the same. Only later did engineers manage to create a more powerful grenade, but it could also be used by the AGS-17.

In this regard, back in the late 1980s, the USSR was developing a new automatic grenade launcher, which had a caliber of 40 mm. New project received the name TKB-0134 “Goat”.

The appearance of the AGS-40 grenade launcher

Since the USSR collapsed, the Kozlik grenade launcher project was never completed. However, in the mid-1990s, these developments were used to create a new model of automatic grenade launcher. The new weapon was called AGS-40, but its development lasted for for a long time. The first limited series of new Russian grenade launchers, consisting of 6 pieces, was transferred to the Russian army only in 2008. This weapon had to be tested in the field.

Tests were carried out over for long years, but as a result the grenade launcher was recommended for adoption. According to the latest information, it was supposed to enter service before the end of 2017. According to the developers, the new Russian grenade launcher still has no equal among similar foreign models.

In 2013, the AGS-40 automatic grenade launcher was presented to the world community at an arms exhibition in the UAE. A new development in the Russian military industry has caused a sensation.

Nuances of the AGS-40 design

The Kozlik grenade launcher got its name for a reason. Due to its caliber, the weapon bounced a lot when fired. The new grenade launcher got rid of this feature, since the weapon’s tripod machine received a seat for the shooter. The fighter's weight now prevents the weapon from bouncing. The weight of the new grenade launcher is 32 kg, which is equivalent to the weight of the AGS-17. The box of ammunition also weighs about 14 kg. Despite its weight, the new grenade launcher has become significantly more powerful than its predecessors. The characteristics of the 40 mm grenade launcher are as follows:

• The firing range of the grenade launcher is 2,500 meters;
• Rate of fire up to 400 rounds per minute;
• You can shoot from a grenade launcher both along a flat and mounted trajectory;
• Shooting can be carried out either in single shots or in bursts.

In addition, the grenade launcher can fire for a long time and continuously. The metal used for the barrel of the weapon is resistant to overheating and does not deform.

Grenades for the new grenade launcher

The AGS-40 automatic grenade launcher can be called a grenade launcher system, since its ammunition was developed specifically for this weapon. The new grenade is called 7P39. Its special feature is the presence of a two-chamber ballistic engine. It was the use of a specially designed grenade that allowed the automatic grenade launcher to achieve such performance.

The 7P39 model grenade has the following features:

• The chamber with the charge is integral with the grenade body;
• It does not have a separate sleeve;
• The weight of the explosive reaches 90 grams, which affected the power of the grenade launcher;
• This scheme had a beneficial effect on the operation of weapon automation.

Although the new automatic grenade launcher currently uses only one type of ammunition, its power is sufficient to solve most combat missions.

Operating principles of the AGS-40 grenade launcher

The grenade launcher works according to the following scheme:

• Firing is carried out from an open bolt;
• The firing pin acts as a gas piston; it is connected to the bolt frame by a rigid connection;
• After the shot, the bolt group returns to its original position due to the spring. She moves further, while locking the barrel channel;
• The firing pin breaks the ammunition capsule, causing a shot to occur;
• The powder gases that are formed after the shot act on the firing pin, which moves backward along with the bolt frame.

After this, the firing cycle is considered completed and is repeated in the same sequence.

Ammunition for the grenade launcher is located in a metal belt, in the amount of 20 pieces. This tape is placed in a box, which is attached to the right side of the grenade launcher. As sighting devices There are two types of sights used. The first sight is mechanical, the second is optical. Considering that the weight of the grenade launcher with ammunition is 46 kg, the designers said that they will soon equip it with special mounts that will allow it to be installed not only on armored vehicles, but also on boats and helicopters.

Automatic grenade launchers are a continuation of a branch of evolution that began with the advent of the first grenades. The first grenade launchers solved the problem of throwing grenades over long distances. Gradually, the design of grenade launchers was improved. Russia can be proud of its automatic grenade launchers, which not only were invented in the USSR, but also currently have no analogues in terms of power and rate of fire in the world.