Colt CZ's Mk 47 automatic grenade launcher makes long-range shots easier for soldiers.

Colt CZ presented the Mk 47 automatic grenade launcher at Milipol 2025, following the company’s full acquisition of the system from General Dynamics in early 2024.

At Milipol 2025, Colt CZ, through its subsidiary Colt, presented its new Mk 47 automatic grenade launcher (AGL) after acquiring full ownership rights and the intellectual property for the system and its fire control suite from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems on January 3, 2024. The presentation emphasized the launcher’s programmable airburst function, its ability to fire NATO standard high velocity 40 mm ammunition, and its mounting compatibility with tripods, vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft. Expanding Colt CZ’s activities in crew-served weapons, the Mk 47 is also part of its ongoing industrial changes, which include the recent full acquisition of Sellier and Bellot for $350 million.
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The Mk 47’s combination of long-recoil operation, integrated programmable fire control, and compatibility with all NATO high-velocity 40 mm rounds allows it to match or exceed the capabilities of systems of similar or greater weight. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Automatic grenade launchers (AGLs), such as the Mk 47, are fully automatic weapons typically requiring a small team due to the combined weight of the weapon, tripod, and ammunition boxes, contrary to single-shot grenade launchers like the M79 carried by individuals. Their ammunition types typically include high-explosive, fragmentation, and shaped-charge rounds suitable for engaging light armored vehicles, as well as less lethal munitions such as tear gas or sponge grenades. These AGLs can perform indirect fire out to ranges traditionally associated with mortars, such as the Mk 19’s 2,200-meter indirect capability, and in the 21st century, many of them have incorporated programmable sighting and fuze setting features for precise detonation above or behind targets. Their mechanical designs vary between blowback systems and long recoil systems, with the latter generally weighing less while offering slightly reduced accuracy.

Initially designed by the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane and produced by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, the Mk 47 received a first production contract in July 2006 valued at $23 million, followed by another contract valued at $12 million in February 2009. Raytheon supplied the Lightweight Video System fire control elements associated with earlier versions, such as the Mod 0 and Mod 1 variants, fielded by U.S. Special Operations Command units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, with approximately 1,500 systems now in U.S. service. Israel procured 130 Mk 47 Mod 0 systems for $24.9 million in 2010, with deliveries planned from January to August 2012 to replace Mk 19 systems. Australia acquired more than 200 Mk 47 Mod 1 launchers fitted with lightweight video sights and thermal imaging in a $47 million contract, following trials at Port Wakefield in September 2016 and entry into service in November 2016. Australian company NIOA established in-country sustainment, maintenance, and repair capabilities, including inventory and spares, and stated its intention to explore future opportunities under Colt CZ’s new ownership.

The Mk 47, also known as the Striker or Striker 40, is a lightweight 40 mm automatic grenade launcher chambered for 40×53 mm ammunition and built around a short-recoil operating principle. It weighs 18 kilograms, measures 940 millimeters in length with a 610 millimeter barrel, has a width of 255 millimeters, a height of 205 millimeters, a total charge pull of 25 kilograms, and a recoiling mass of 55 percent. It feeds linked ammunition from the left side, fires from the closed bolt position, and requires no headspace or timing adjustments, which simplifies crew procedures and reduces operator workload. The launcher incorporates a simple backup sight and can mount accessories using a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail, allowing the addition of laser pointers, illuminators, and modular optical devices. The Mk 47 can fire both conventional impact rounds and programmable 40 mm grenades that can be set to airburst at a predetermined point using either in-bore or radio frequency programming, enabling engagement of targets at ranges up to 1,700 meters.

The thermal imaging system and video sighting components support super elevation calculations by enabling the operator to keep the target inside the display, while raising the barrel until reaching the ballistic solution, which is important when engaging at long distances with 40 mm munitions. The LVSII fire control module, for its part, provides a video and thermal night imaging, along with an LCD that shows both the target and the adjusted aim point, allowing more effective use of airburst programming. Equipment associated with the launcher includes the MK47 Mod 0 machine gun with an airburst barrel, the MK107 Mod 0 mount, and the MK108 Mod 0 tripod whose legs adjust to the available ground surface. Additional accessories include the MK195 vehicle adapter kit, ground mount ammunition can brackets, ballistic shield brackets, tertiary sight brackets, and a shroud for aim lasers, ensuring that the launcher can be adapted for light infantry vehicles, dismounted tripod roles, naval vessels, and airborne installations. The system maintains compatibility with all NATO-standard high-velocity 40 mm rounds, which broadens the CZ group’s ties to ammunition producers such as swissAA.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.