American soldiers will receive improved M72 grenade launchers. Yesterday, December 23, the portal armyrecognition.com He reported that the US Department of Defense ordered Nammo Defense Systems a large batch of disposable M72 FFE grenade launchers.
The parties do not disclose the details of the transaction. At the same time, it is known that the contract value is $498,092,926. Deliveries of disposable grenade launchers will begin next year. The US Armed Forces will be supplied with the M72 FFE (Fire From Enclosure) version in the Anti-Armor (A8) and Anti-Structure Munition (A10) modifications.
M72 FFE grenade launcher with two types of rocket-propelled grenades
Image source: mynewsdesk.com
In 2016, the command of the US Marine Corps and Nammo signed a contract for the production of a new modification of the M72, called FFE. Its key feature is the absence of a jet jet when fired. Instead, a cloud of special liquid comes out of the back of the grenade launcher, which is so safe for the environment that even the furniture behind the shooter remains intact when shooting in a closed room. In addition, the M72 FFE is a relatively quiet weapon (a shot from it is comparable in volume to shooting from a 9 mm pistol).
Shot from M72 FFE
Image source: defensenews.com
The M72 disposable hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher was adopted by the US Army in 1962 as an individual anti-tank weapon, replacing the M31 rifle grenade and the M20A1 Super Bazooka grenade launcher. The successful design made the M72 very popular, including outside the United States. So, Norway and Turkey have established licensed production of a grenade launcher, and in the Soviet Union the M72 was copied and produced as an RPG-18 ("Fly"). At the same time, the Norwegian version of the M72 turned out to be simpler and cheaper to produce, and the United States began using a grenade launcher upgraded by Raufoss Ammunition Jons Fabrikker (which later became Nammo).