Tag: grenade launcher

Russian GM-94 thermobaric grenade launcher documented in Ukraine (2022)

N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Charlie Randall Images and videos recently posted to Twitter and other social media platforms, purporting to show arms captured from Chechen ‘special forces’ and Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) troops in Ukraine, include the Russian GM-94 grenade launcher. Previously identified in Crimea during the Russian invasion of 2014, the GM-94 is a pump-action

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: May 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the fourth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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Ukrainian UAG-40 automatic grenade launcher

Kristóf Nagy The automatic, belt-fed UAG-40 grenade launcher is one of the many domestic arms developments to come out of Ukraine in recent years. It was developed and is currently manufactured by Kusnja na Rybalskomu, a shipyard and major arms manufacturer in Kiev, located on the banks of the Dnieper River. Kusnja na Rybalskomu, known

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Swiss MZW 04 multipurpose launcher

Kristóf Nagy The Swiss MZW 04 (Mehrzweckwerfer 04; ‘multipurpose launcher 04’) is a less-lethal launcher developed for and used by the Swiss police. It remains little-known outside of the alpine state. Although generally very economically and socially stable, the significant upheavals throughout western society of the late 1960s also reached Switzerland. This resulted in turmoil

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ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 4 – Grenade Launchers & Anti-Armour Weapons

Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final part in a series examining the arms and equipment employed by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, in light of the prominent role played by this unit in recent fighting. Part 1 (personal equipment) is available here, Part 2 (precision rifles) is available here, and Part 3 (machine guns) is

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Improvised grenade launching attachment for HMGs in Syria

ImproGuns A video posted to social media on 25 November 2016 shows Shi’a militia fighters making use of what appears to be an improvised grenade launching device attached to the muzzle of a DShKM type heavy machine gun (HMG) whilst engaging Islamic State militants near Deir ez-Zor airport in Syria. The device appears to be a

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Bulgarian Arsenal MSGL grenade launcher in Syria & Iraq

The ARES Team Images and video of FSA-aligned Syrian rebel units fighting in the Aleppo area, shared on social media platforms, as well as images of weapons captured by Iraqi security forces during the advance to Fallujah, have shown the use of the Bulgarian Arsenal MSGL revolver-type grenade launcher by various groups in the region. In addition to the MSGL, Iraqi security

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Boko Haram with UAG-40 automatic grenade launcher in Nigeria

ARES Team On 24 April, Boko Haram (the Nigerian affiliate of the Islamic State) released information and images relating to an ambush against a component from the Nigerian Army’s 155 Task Force. Among the captured weapons and equipment is a UAG-40 automatic grenade launcher manufactured by Leninska Kuznya of Ukraine. The UAG-40 is a blowback

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Recent-production Bulgarian 40 mm ammunition in Syria

N.R. Jenzen-Jones On 21 February 2016, the Abkhazian Network News Agency (ANNA News) and Frontinfo posted some footage seemingly filmed near Nabi Younes in Latakia Governorate, Syria. Amongst the footage is a fired cartridge case from a 40 × 46SR mm high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) round produced in Bulgaria. The Arsenal 40×46 RLV-HEF round is of the 40 ×

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Arms & Munitions Brief No. 2: The Russian GM-94 Grenade Launcher

Armament Research Services is proud to release the second publication in our Arms & Munitions Brief series, The Russian GM-94 Grenade Launcher.  Authored by former Russian army officer and small arms historian Maxim Popenker, with ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, Arms & Munitions Brief No. 2 gives an overview of the GM-94’s development history, technical characteristics, and employment

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