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