New AGS-40 Balkan 40mm automatic grenade launcher will enter in service with Russian army TASS 11311161
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Military Defense Industry Technology - AGS-40 Balkan
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| New AGS-40 Balkan 40mm automatic grenade launcher will enter in service with Russian army. | |||
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Russia`s Armed Forces are planning to bring the newest AGS-40 Balkan automatic grenade launcher (AGL) into service in 2017 after the completion of the relevant operational tests and evaluation (OT&E), according to the Director General of the Pribor scientific development and production center (a subsidiary of the Tekhmash Concern; the developer of Balkan), Yury Nabokov.
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 New Russian-made AGS-40 40mm automatic grenade launcher |
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| "The range of the newest [AGS-40] AGL has been increased to 2.5 km. Its predecessor, namely, world-known AGS-17 Plamya (Flame) launcher has a maximum firing range of 2.3 km. Balkan also features innovative grenades. AGS-40 has a combat weight of 32-33 kg and a magazine capacity of 20 rounds," Nabokov added. The Pribor center has also launched the serial manufacturing of the newest VOG-25M and VOG-25PM grenades for GP-25/GP-30/GP-34 under-barrel single-shot grenade launchers, the director pointed out. Russia`s military is supposed to receive the tripod-mounted modification of the weapon. TekhMash is also integrating the Balkan AGL with the MBDU remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) developed by the Kalashnikov Group (Concern Kalashnikov, a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation). Balkan has a firing range of 2,500 m - about 500-600 m over its Western analogues. The 40 mm grenade used by Balkan is reported to be 30% more effective than the 30 mm VOG-17 munition of the AGS-17 Plamya AGL. According to the official technical specifications issued by the Pribor center, the Balkan automatic grenade launcher fires 40 mm 7P39 caseless high-explosive (HE) grenades. It has a combat weight of 46 kg (including a body of 32 kg and a drum box magazine of 14 kg), a firing rate of 400 rds/min, a maximum firing range of 2,500 m, a magazine capacity of 20 grenades, and a guaranteed service life of no less than 4,000 shots. Balkan is equipped with a PAG-17 2.7x optical sight that can be replaced by a night vision device. |
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Russia`s MoD is reported to phase out of service ageing AGS-17 Plamya AGLs, replacing them by modern AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers developed by Tula-based Instrument Design Bureau (Russian acronym: KBP, a subsidiary of the High-Precision Weapons holding). AGS-17 and AGS-30 launchers share the same munition.
The AGS-30 man-portable, tripod-mounted AGL was developed by KBP in the 1990s as the replacement of AGS-17 Plamya. AGS-30 has an empty weight of 16,5 kg, a length of 1,165 mm, a width of 735 mm, a height of 490 mm, a firing range of 1,700-2,100 m, a firing rate of 400 rounds per minute, and a magazine capacity of 30 grenades. It can be complemented by 2.7x/3.5x optical sight and a portable radar. The automatic grenade launcher significantly increases the firepower of infantry units. |
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