Russian anti-personnel grenade launchers are increasing their caliber. Yesterday, March 9, "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" reported that the 40-mm automatic grenade launcher "Balkan" successfully passed state tests.
"According to the results of the tests, the 6S19" Balkan" grenade launcher system is recommended for adoption by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, "said Alexander Kochkin, Executive Director of the NGO" Mechanical Engineering Technologies".
Automatic grenade launcher 6C19 "Balkan»
Image source: vitalykuzmin.net
The Balkan entered pilot combat operation of the Russian Armed Forces in July 2018. The new grenade launcher looks similar to its predecessor-the AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher, also known as the "Flame". It has about the same mass, but a longer firing range (2.5 km versus 2.3 km) - this is achieved due to the new design of the ammunition with a flying sleeve. "Balkan" can fire bursts of 5 and 10 shots, as well as in continuous mode.
According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the arsenal of the AGS-40 includes two types of grenades: the fragmentation caseless 7P39 and the cumulative VKO-25. The latter is the latest development of the Russian military-industrial complex, capable of piercing up to 200 mm of armor or 400 mm of concrete. Increasing the caliber to 40 mm increased the firing range by 25% — up to 2500 m. The power of the ammunition at the same time doubled.