Grenade launcher

A grenade launcher^[1]^[2]^[3] is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.^[4]

Grenade launchers are produced in the form of standalone weapons (either single-shot or repeating) or as attachments mounted to a parent firearm, usually a rifle. Larger crew-served automatic grenade launchers such as the Mk 19 are mounted on tripods or vehicles.

Some armored fighting vehicles also mount fixed arrays of short-range, single-shot grenade launchers as a means of defense.

^ "Grenade Launchers and their Ammunition: International Developments". Small Arms Defense Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-12-11.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2017-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Weapons: Semi-Automatic Grenade Launchers".
^ Stuart Casey-Maslen, Sarah Parker, Gilles Giacca The Arms Trade Treaty: A Commentary, Oxford University Press 2016, p. 115-116

[1] "Grenade Launchers and their Ammunition: International Developments". Small Arms Defense Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-12-11.

[2] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2017-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[3] "Weapons: Semi-Automatic Grenade Launchers".

[4] Stuart Casey-Maslen, Sarah Parker, Gilles Giacca The Arms Trade Treaty: A Commentary, Oxford University Press 2016, p. 115-116

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