Russian The Balkan grenade launcher is undergoing military tests, its adoption is expected this year, said Oleg Chizhevsky, chief designer of NPO Pribor of the Tekhmash holding.
NPO Pribor has developed for a new 40-mm grenade launcher system shot with a 7P39 fragmentation grenade. The 6S19 “Balkan” anti-personnel grenade launcher system is the latest development in the field of domestic grenade launcher weapons.
What are its main advantages over its predecessors? First of all, this is the caliber. Due to its increase (from 30 to 40 mm - approx.) and a new design solution for the shot, it was possible to significantly increase the firing range. If the “Plame” (AGS-17) has a range of up to 2000 m, which is quite good, then the “Balkan” had a range of 2500 m already at the first stage of testing.
It is planned to develop a number of special grenades for it, in which electronics will be introduced. In what form this will be implemented is still a military secret. Now the testing of remote detonation in artillery rounds has been completed and the designers of NPO Pribor are ready to switch to melee weapons.
The range of special ammunition for the new grenade launcher is quite wide, ranging from smoke grenades, to grenades with video surveillance, grenades intended for electronic warfare, and so on.
The grenade launcher is currently undergoing military testing. It should be put into service in 2018. The holding's specialists have already supplied grenade launchers and ammunition to the troops for testing.
40 mm grenade launcher anti-personnel complex 6G27 "Balkan"
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Purpose:
Designed to destroy and suppress manpower and defeat fire weapons located outside shelters, in open trenches (trenches) and behind natural folds of the terrain, in hollows, ravines, on reverse slopes of heights, as well as defeat military equipment (vehicles, launchers, radar stations, etc.).
For firing from the 40 mm Balkan grenade launcher system, 40 mm rounds with the 7P39 fragmentation grenade, 40 mm rounds with the 7P39prakt practical grenade and 40 mm rounds with the 7P39U practical grenade for target practice are used.
Firing from the 40 mm Balkan anti-personnel grenade launcher system is carried out in short (up to 5 shots), long (up to 10 shots) bursts and continuously.
Shots are supplied during firing from a box with a capacity of 20 shots loaded into a cartridge belt.
Shooting can be carried out both flat and mounted trajectories.
Characteristics:
40 mm shot with a 7P39 fragmentation grenade for the 6G27 “Balkan” grenade launcher system
Purpose:
Designed for firing from automatic grenade launchers.
The 40 mm 7P39 index shot, equipped with a fragmentation grenade, performs the following tasks as part of a grenade launcher system:
- defeat of open manpower and manpower located behind reverse slopes of terrain and in open engineering structures at a distance of up to 2500 meters;
- destruction of military equipment (vehicles, launchers, radar stations, etc.).
Characteristics:
40 mm shot with a practical grenade for target practice (index 7P39U)
Purpose:
Designed for target practice in order to train personnel in the techniques and rules of firing from the 40 mm automatic anti-personnel grenade launcher system "Balkan", and also as a target designator due to the fact that a red smoke cloud is formed on the ground at the site of the grenade explosion.
Characteristics:
40 mm shot with a practical grenade (index 7P39 practical)
Purpose:
Designed for testing to determine various characteristics of ammunition and grenade launchers.
Characteristics:
30 mm shot with high-efficiency fragmentation grenade VOG-30 (index 7P36) for AGS-17, AGS-30 grenade launchers
Purpose:
Designed for shooting at manpower and military equipment. The shots are intended to be used for firing from machine-mounted grenade launchers AGS-17 and AGS-30, as well as their modifications installed at various military equipment sites. The shots are equipped with a fuse that has a self-destruct mechanism.
Characteristics:
30 mm shot with a practical grenade for training shooting from automatic grenade launchers (index 7P36U)
Purpose:
Designed for target practice in order to train personnel in the techniques and rules of firing from automatic grenade launchers, as well as target designation, due to the fact that a contrasting smoke cloud is formed on the ground at the site of the grenade explosion.
Characteristics:
30 mm shot with a practical grenade (index 7P36 practical)
Purpose:
Designed for testing to determine various characteristics of shots and grenade launchers. The shot is made according to the weight and size characteristics of a 30 mm shot with a fragmentation grenade and is equipped with a ballistic sleeve instead of a fuse.
Controls
In the 1980s, an experimental 40-mm grenade launcher TKB-0134 "Kozlik" was developed at the Tula TsKIB SOO. When developing the TKB-0134 grenade launcher, the goal was to significantly increase the firing range and efficiency compared to the standard AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher of 30 mm caliber at that time.
To achieve this task, the developers increased the caliber of the weapon to 40 mm, also using a non-standard design for this class of weapon of a caseless ammunition with a “flying away” cartridge case (the propellant charge chamber is an integral part of the grenade body and flies out of the barrel along with it). A similar solution was used in the 40-mm VOG-25 rounds for the GP-25 underbarrel grenade launchers, however, the grenades for the TKB-0134 had approximately twice the mass and a significantly longer firing range.
In the early 1990s, based on TKB-0134, designers V.N. Telesh, Yu.P. Galkin and Yu.V. Lebedev began creating the 40-mm automatic grenade launcher system "Balkan".
The designers designed and tested the main elements of the 6G27 “Balkan” grenade launcher, and only the economic difficulties that arose in the country prevented the completion of such a promising project.
The development of the Balkan grenade launcher system, which includes the 6G27 easel automatic grenade launcher and 40-mm 7P39 caseless rounds for it, was carried out by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Scientific Enterprise Pribor, the main developer of ammunition for automatic grenade launchers and small-caliber automatic guns in Russia.
The Balkan automatic mounted grenade launcher uses gas-operated automatics, in which the role of a gas piston is performed by a firing pin rigidly connected to the bolt frame. This solution became possible (and necessary) due to the absence of a separate sleeve for 7P39 grenades, which ensures the obturation of powder gases in the barrel chamber.
Firing is carried out from an open bolt, and when the bolt group comes to the front position, the bolt frame with the firing pin continues to move forward under the action of the return spring, turning the bolt to lock it, and then the firing pin strikes the primer in the bottom of the grenade. At the moment of firing, the powder gases escaping from the bottom of the grenade put pressure on the end part of the firing pin, pushing it (and the bolt frame associated with it) back. After the grenade has left the barrel and the pressure in it has dropped, the bolt carrier rolls back enough to rotate the bolt and unlock it, after which the entire bolt group rolls back by inertia.
40 mm 7P39 grenades
in the factory equipment tape
for automatic grenade launcher "Balkan"
The grenade launcher is fed with ammunition from loose metal belts supplied from right to left. Grenades are shipped from the factory loaded into belts with a capacity of 20 shots, 2 belts per transport container. For firing, the tape is placed in a round container adjacent to the right side of the grenade launcher body.
The Balkan grenade launcher is equipped with an optical sight as standard.
The grenade launcher is mounted on a tripod, which is a modified AGS-17 grenade launcher with a seat for the shooter mounted on the rear supports.
The problem of stability of the 6G27 “Balkan” grenade launcher was solved simply: by placing the shooter on a seat located between the rear supports of the machine. They fire from the seat from the “lying”, “sitting” and “kneeling” positions; there is no need to weigh down the weapon, and when carried, a flat seat, rather than angular supports, is attached to the fighter’s back.
In 2008, Pribor supplied 6 Balkan grenade launchers and the required amount of ammunition for testing to the Russian Armed Forces.
Compared to the best foreign grenade launcher of the same caliber - the American Mk19MZ - it is twice as effective and the same amount lighter.
At the same time, for the 40-mm Balkan grenade launchers, a significant increase in the firing range (up to 2500 meters) and target destruction efficiency (up to 2 times) is claimed compared to the 30mm AGS-17 and AGS-30 caliber grenade launchers.
It is worth adding that the Russian 40-mm caseless ammunition is three times more powerful than the American caseless ammunition of the same caliber.
Tests of the prototype showed that the Balkan is twice as effective as the 30-mm automatic mounted grenade launcher AGS-17 Plamya, and has a 47% greater range (2500 m versus 1700). A caseless grenade with a two-chamber ballistic engine is shorter than a cased grenade of the same caliber, which means it has a larger charge, produces more fragments, and is ultimately much more effective.
- Weapons » Grenade launchers » Russia / USSR
- Mercenary 12774 0
AGS-40 "Balkan" is a Russian automatic mounted grenade launcher developed at NPO Pribor. The caliber of this weapon is 40 mm. It is designed to destroy unprotected living enemy forces, as well as enemy infantry located in field shelters or behind natural folds of the terrain.
Small-scale production of weapons began back in 2008. It is planned that this year the AGS-40 “Balkan” grenade launcher will finally be adopted by the Russian army.
The creators of the AGS-40 were tasked with creating a weapon superior in power and maximum range to the AGS-17 “Plamya” and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers. And, judging by the reviews of those who had the opportunity to get to know the new weapon better, the designers coped with this task brilliantly. Thanks to the increase in caliber to 40 mm and the use of new ammunition, the AGS-40, having almost the same weight as its famous predecessor AGS-17, has significantly “grown” in firepower, rate of fire and firing range.
The AGS-40 was created on the basis of the experimental 40-mm Kozlik automatic grenade launcher, which was developed in the 90s of the last century.
The history of the creation of the AGS-40 “Balkan” grenade launcher
The Soviet Union can safely be called the birthplace of automatic grenade launchers. Even before the war, domestic gunsmith designers were the first in the world to begin developing this type of weapon. In 1934, a special design bureau was even created, headed by Yakov Grigorievich Taubin.
A year later, a mounted 40.6-mm automatic grenade launcher, which could fire at 1.2 thousand meters, was handed over to the military for testing. The new type of small arms was received ambiguously by the military leadership; it had both opponents and supporters. For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that the Taubin 40.6-mm grenade launcher had serious technical flaws, and the reliability of the weapon was unsatisfactory. Therefore, it was never adopted, and in 1941 Taubin was arrested and executed. The automatic grenade launcher project was closed.
Despite the tragic fate of Taubin, his design bureau continued its work. And in the early 70s, his students and followers created the 30-mm mounted grenade launcher AGS-17 “Flame”. In 1972 it was put into service.
AGS-17 took part in most of the armed conflicts of the last quarter of the last century. The real test for him was the Afghan War. The weapon turned out to be so successful that Soviet soldiers often proactively welded the AGS-17 to the hulls of combat vehicles, thus significantly increasing their firepower.
The practical use of the AGS-17 showed a number of shortcomings of this grenade launcher, the main one of which was the significant weight of this weapon. Therefore, already in the 80s, the Instrument Design Bureau began developing a new automatic grenade launcher, which later received the name AGS-30. Due to objective and subjective reasons, its creation took a long period of time; only in the mid-90s did it begin to enter the troops in limited quantities. The designers coped brilliantly with their main task: while the weight of the AGS-17 with the machine exceeds 30 kg, the AGS-30 weighs only about 16 kg.
However, the effective damage radius of the AGS-30 remained the same as that of its predecessor. And this is not surprising, because the new grenade launcher uses the same ammunition as the AGS-17.
Therefore, in the 80s, work began on another project at the Tula TsKIB SOO - a more powerful 40-mm automatic grenade launcher. The main objective of this project was to create a weapon that had a greater firing range and combat effectiveness compared to the AGS-17 grenade launcher in service at that time. At the development stage, the new 40-mm grenade launcher was named TKB-0134 “Kozlik”.
To achieve the stated characteristics, gunsmiths used a non-standard caseless ammunition design for this type of weapon with a so-called flyaway cartridge case (it is integral with the grenade body and, after firing, flies away with it). In their design, these ammunition are very similar to shots for VOG-25 under-barrel grenade launchers, but at the same time they are much more powerful.
The collapse of the USSR and a decade of economic turmoil never made it possible to complete this project. But the developments obtained during its implementation were used in the design of the AGS-40 grenade launcher. Work on its creation began in the mid-90s, but due to the difficult economic situation in the country it was greatly delayed. In 2008 alone, Pribor delivered six copies of the new AGS-40 Balkan and a batch of ammunition to the Russian armed forces for testing.
Based on the results of the tests, the AGS-40 was recommended for adoption. It is planned that the new grenade launcher will begin to enter service with the troops in 2019. This information was confirmed to journalists by representatives of the NPO Pribor. At the same time, the developers believe that the AGS-40 is significantly superior in its main characteristics to the best foreign analogues.
In 2013, the AGS-40 was presented at the IDEX-2013 arms exhibition, which was held in the United Arab Emirates. The new Russian grenade launcher has caused an unprecedented stir.
Description of the design of AGS-40 "Balkan"
One of the main differences between the AGS-40 and its predecessors, which immediately catches the eye, is the presence in the design of the tripod machine with a seat for the shooter, which is why the grenade launcher has already been nicknamed the “shooting chair.” The seat not only increases the comfort of the shooter, but thanks to the weight of the fighter, the weapon bounces less after firing.
The weight of the AGS-40 grenade launcher together with the mounting and sighting devices is 32 kg. A box of grenades weighs another 14 kg. The total mass of the weapon turns out to be quite impressive, but the combat characteristics have increased significantly compared to the AGS-17 and AGS-30. The maximum firing range of the grenade launcher is 2.5 thousand meters, and the rate of fire is 400 rounds per minute. The AGS-40 will be able to fire both along a mounted and flat trajectory. Firing can be carried out in single shots, short bursts (up to 5 shots), long bursts (up to 10 shots), continuous fire is also possible. And that is not all.
It would be more correct to call the AGS-40 a grenade launcher system, which, in addition to the weapon itself, also includes ammunition - a 7P39 grenade, equipped with a two-chamber ballistic engine. It is this that is the main “highlight” of the AGS-40, which largely determines the characteristics of this weapon.
The 7P39 grenade is made according to the so-called mortar design, when the chamber with the propellant charge is integral with the ammunition body and flies out of the barrel after firing along with it. It does not have a separate sleeve. This made it possible to increase the mass of explosive in the grenade to almost 90 grams.
The use of a caseless design made it possible not only to increase the power of the ammunition and the firing range of the grenade launcher, but also generally determined the operating scheme of the automatic grenade launcher.
The fire is fired from the open bolt, and the role of the gas piston is performed by the firing pin, which is rigidly connected to the bolt frame. After the bolt group returns to the front position, it continues to move further under the action of the spring and rotates the bolt, locking the barrel bore. The striker then breaks the grenade's primer. After the shot, the powder gases put pressure on the firing pin, pushing it back together with the bolt frame. The automation cycle repeats.
The weapon is supplied with ammunition from a composite metal belt with a capacity of twenty shots, which is fed from right to left. The tape is placed in a round box, which is attached to the grenade launcher on the right side. The ribbons will be delivered to the troops already equipped; each transport box will contain two ribbons. The grenade launcher crew consists of two people.
During use, the AGS-40 is mounted on a tripod machine, the design of which is in many ways similar to the tripod of the AGS-17 “Flame” grenade launcher, but has a seat for the shooter on the rear supports.
The AGS-40 grenade launcher can be installed on various types of military equipment. Considering the decent weight of the weapon and its firepower, this can be called the optimal solution. NPO Pribor has already stated that they are considering options for attaching it to light military equipment, as well as to boats. In addition, the increased firing range and increased ammunition power make the AGS-40 an excellent weapon for attack helicopters.
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Automatic mounted grenade launcher AGS-30 "Balkan"(GRAU index 6G27) traces its lineage to the experimental 40mm TKB-0134 Kozlik grenade launcher, developed at the Tula TsKIB SOO in the eighties of the last century. When developing the TKB-0134 grenade launcher, the goal was to significantly increase the firing range and efficiency compared to the standard AGS-17 30mm automatic grenade launcher at that time.
To achieve this task, the developers increased the caliber of the weapon to 40mm, also using a non-standard design for this class of weapon of a caseless ammunition with a “flying away” cartridge case (the propellant charge chamber is an integral part of the grenade body and flies out of the barrel along with it).
A similar solution was used in the 40mm VOG-25 rounds for the GP-25 under-barrel grenade launchers, but the grenades for the TKB-0134 had approximately twice the mass and a significantly longer firing range.
In the nineties, on the basis of TKB-0134, the development of the 40mm Balkan grenade launcher was carried out, but due to the difficult economic situation in the country, the development was greatly delayed. Currently, the development of the Balkan grenade launcher system, which includes the 6G27 mounted automatic grenade launcher and 40mm caseless rounds for it 7P39, is in charge of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise GNPP Pribor, the main developer of ammunition for automatic grenade launchers and small-caliber automatic guns in Russia.
In 2008, Pribor supplied 6 Balkan grenade launchers and the required amount of ammunition to the Russian Armed Forces for testing, so it is possible that in the next few years these grenade launchers will enter service with the Russian Army. At the same time, for the 40mm Balkan grenade launchers, a significant increase in firing range (up to 2500 meters) and target destruction efficiency (up to 2 times) is claimed compared to 30mm AGS-17 and AGS-30 caliber grenade launchers.
The Balkan automatic mounted grenade launcher uses gas-operated automatics, in which the role of a gas piston is performed by a firing pin rigidly connected to the bolt frame.
This solution became possible (and necessary) due to the absence of a separate sleeve for 7P39 grenades, which ensures the obturation of powder gases in the barrel chamber. Firing is carried out from an open bolt, and when the bolt group comes to the front position, the bolt frame with the firing pin continues to move forward under the action of the return spring, turning the bolt to lock it, and then the firing pin strikes the primer in the bottom of the grenade.
At the moment of firing, the powder gases escaping from the bottom of the grenade put pressure on the end part of the firing pin, pushing it (and the bolt frame associated with it) back. After the grenade has left the barrel and the pressure in it has dropped, the bolt carrier rolls back enough to rotate the bolt and unlock it, after which the entire bolt group rolls back by inertia.
The grenade launcher is fed with ammunition from loose metal belts fed from right to left. Grenades are shipped from the factory loaded into belts with a capacity of 20 shots, 2 belts per transport container. For firing, the tape is placed in a round container adjacent to the right side of the grenade launcher body.
The grenade launcher is mounted on a tripod, which is a modified AGS-17 grenade launcher with a seat for the shooter mounted on the rear supports. The Balkan grenade launcher is equipped with an optical sight as standard.
Supporting infantry in attack and defense has been and remains the main task of tactical specialists and engineers. The Soviet Union, as often happens in the arms business, was the first to create a new type of weapon, automatic grenade launchers. The work began back in the 1930s, and time has not been kind to either the designers or their brainchild.
Despite the difficulties, experience, engineering and talent led to the creation of the AGS-40 Balkan. Although the troops are at the stage of receiving this weapon, it has already made itself known, and quite loudly, in the weapons world.
Creation of "Balkan"
In 1934, an institute was opened in the USSR that dealt with an unusual type of weapons for that time. Under the leadership of Yakov Grigorievich Taube, workers were designing an automatic grenade launcher, the latest development at that time. The prototype presented a couple of years later caused a mixed reaction from the military.
Its firepower was undeniable, automatic and 40.6 mm caliber provided reliable infantry cover. At the same time, the model had many shortcomings and was clearly not suitable for production. Not given the opportunity to finalize the prototype, Taube was sent to do something else, and a 50-mm company mortar came into service.
The outbreak of war contributed to the work on creating weapons.
Taube was shot as an enemy of the people and a pest, and the development of his design went into the archives for decades.
Taube's ideas were returned to in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The successful experience of using such weapons by the US Army in Vietnam had its influence. Remembering that the archive contains ready-made developments and that people who remembered Taube can be found, the military department places an order for the creation of an automatic grenade launcher.
The design bureau that continued its work presented a project for an automatic grenade launcher. Having received the go-ahead for development, engineers already in 1972 brought the AGS-17, which received the name “Flame,” to testing and subsequent acceptance into service.
Seven years later, the weapon received its baptism of fire in Afghanistan. The fighters of the Limited Contingent of Troops could not help but appreciate the impressive power of the “Flame”. Indirect recognition of merit was the fact of welding AGS onto moving equipment.
Few types of weapons could so increase the power of a unit in battle and enjoy such love.
“Door artillery”, that’s what the OKSV fighters in Afghanistan called grenade launchers converted for a specific type of transport in slang.
There were also serious disadvantages, the main one being the large mass of the product. It was often simply not possible to carry a 30-kilogram AGS body on you to a combat exit, and this without ammunition.
War experience allowed us to improve the model to ASG-30. The caliber remained the same, 30 mm, but the weight was halved, leaving 16 kilograms. This sample served during the fighting in Chechnya. Once again, the army's ingenuity worked technical miracles, modernizing weapons in ways that no engineer would have guessed.
For example, soldiers from one of the special forces detachments removed everything from the AGS, leaving only the barrel and trigger mechanism and installing optics. The result was a kind of specially powerful sniper rifle.
The accumulated experience was enough for another modernization, but numerous difficulties in the 1990s did not allow the modernization to be carried out. The practically finished weapon turned out to be frozen, and only at the beginning of the 21st century was it remembered and presented at arms shows the ASG-40 “Balkan”, which immediately caused a stir. The military department, after a series of modifications and solving some minor problems, adopted a new model.
The design of "Balkan" and its closest competitors
The first thing that catches your eye when you get acquainted with the AGS-40 is the chair. In order to prevent the car from being thrown up when fired (the prototype design was also called “Kozlik”), as well as for the convenience of the operator, a seat was welded to the frame.
The ASG fires from an open bolt.
The firing pin is rigidly attached to the bolt frame, and it also plays the role of a gas piston. The spring ensures locking, and the firing pin breaks the grenade primer. Reloading occurs under the influence of powder gases. The design of the ammunition plays a big role.
Caseless shots provide a high rate of fire, eliminating distortions and jamming. Belt for 20 charges, feed from the right from a metal box.
It is interesting to compare the Russian model and its closest competitors in terms of tactical and technical characteristics. For example, consider the American Mark 47 Striker and the German HK GMG:
- the caliber of all presented samples is 40 mm;
- the weight of the AGS is 32 kg, the Americans are slightly larger, 41 kg, the German creation of Kohler and Koch weighs 46.5 kg:
- the barrel length of the systems is, respectively, 400 mm, 330 mm and 577 mm;
- rate of fire, AGS 40 - 400 rounds per minute, Stryker 225 - 300, GMG - 340;
- The firing range of Russian weapons is 2500 meters, and that of their Western counterparts is 2200 meters.
From this it is clear that domestic weapons are superior to their foreign counterparts in some respects. When compared, the American model is closest in characteristics, however, at joint exhibitions and open shows it often fails. The low reliability is caused by design features that US engineers have not yet been able to correct.
This should also include the traditional army love for various kinds of modifications and improvements “on the knees,” as well as the practice of non-standard, non-standard use of weapons in combat operations and exercises.
Application of AGS and prospects for modernization
The history of the use of automatic grenade launchers dates back to more than one battle and more than one war. Born before the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, the system performed well in the mountains. There were no more effective automatic weapons capable of covering an ambush or entrenched militants.
30 mm grenades fired in bursts were guaranteed to destroy the enemy. Its use with armored vehicles, which solved the problem of mobility and heavy weight, made the weapon indispensable.
The improved model, AGS-30, also showed excellent performance in battles, already in Chechnya.
The reliability of components and ammunition saved the lives of more than one soldier. According to the recollections of participants in those events, the enemy left positions or chose another place to attack if the AGS, or, in slang, “borders” began to work on it. An interesting moment was the battle between Russian special forces and one of the gangs emerging from the gorge.
In order to block the path, it was necessary to lock the exit from the valley. For this purpose, the feds used a converted AGS-30, transformed by the hands of the company Kulibins into a sniper rifle.
The shooter needed only three shots to bring down part of the rock and prevent the militants from escaping.
Further developments followed the principle of “improving what already works well.” The new AGS-40 “Balkan” system, adopted for service, has not exhausted its resource. Changing the grenade made it possible to make the shot even more powerful and increase the firing range. Despite this, work to improve the system is still ongoing.
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