US Army Stocks Up on Auto-Grenade Firepower as FY 2008 Closes

Mk.19, firing(click to view full) As “Britain’s GMG Order Illustrates 2 Key Trends” discusses, 40mm grenades are a potent battlefield weapon. Many of the current conflicts are essentially infantry battles, which makes firepower overmatch a critical goal. Whether fired singly from an M203 rifle mount, used in a remote-control vehicle system like CROWS, or as an infantry platoon’s crew-served heavy weapon, the 40mm grenade brings considerable firepower to the infantry fight. It’s also lethal against unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. Some companies are even offering shotgun-style repeating launchers, like Milkor’s MG-32 – or even weapons that can be fired around corners! As FY 2008 ticked down to a close, the US military issued over $120 million worth of contracts for its staple 40mm weapon – the Mk19 grenade machine gun. It also got set to begin testing an interesting addition to infantry firepower – a programmable 25mm air bust weapon that offers comparable lethality, but can be carried by a single soldier… Contracts and Recent Events Mk19 40mm GMG/AGL(click to view full) Note that the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year expires on Sept 30th, so FY 2009 begins on Oct 1/08. Hence the clarifying contract dates, alongside the standard DefenseLINK announcement dates. […]