The 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher, is a single shot

grenade launcher A grenade launcher 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 mos ...

developed by ARDE and

Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT), also called Ordnance Factory Trichy, is a small arms factory operated by Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited based in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, which was previously part of Ordnance Factory Bo ...

for use with the INSAS and

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

rifles used by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Stand alone versions of the grenade launcher exist. As of September 2019, around 10,000 UBGLs were manufactured.

History

In 2020, its ammunition's production began in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(it was earlier imported), in Ammunition Factory

Khadki Khadki is a cantonment in the city of Pune, India. It has now flourished as a quasi-metropolis & centered in the northern region of the city. Description Khadki could be considered an Indian Army base, along with an ordnance factory consist ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

under

Atmanirbhar Bharat Atmanirbhar Bharat (Devanagari: ) which translates to 'self-reliant India', is a phrase the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his government used and popularised in relation to the country's economic development plans. The phrase is an ...

. The first ammunition consignment was sent to the

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

Design

The 40mm UBGL can be attached to Indian INSAS and AK-47 rifles, and has a 3-point attachment for rigidity. The UBGL has an in-built safety to prevent accidental firing. The trigger system is located on the side of the barrel, allowing the soldier to fire both the rifle and grenade launcher without having to change his firing posture. Its maximum range is 400 metres. The weapon uses a simple ladder sight mechanism, similar to the

GP-25 The GP-25 ''Kostyor'' ("Bonfire"), GP-30 ''Obuvka'' ("Footwear") and GP-34 are a family of Russian 40 mm under-barrel grenade launchers (''Granatomyot Podstvolnyj'') for the AK family of assault rifles. They were first seen by the West in ...

. It also has tritium illuminated sights for night firing. The ammunition fired by the UBGL is similar to the

Milkor MGL The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher (variations also fire 37/38mm) developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the ...

used by the Indian Army, allowing for standardisation. The UBGL's can be equipped with Air Burst rounds for enhanced lethality.These rounds uses programmable electronic fuse for detonation and has self destructive capabilities in case of missing the target. To install the UBGL, the handguard of an INSAS/AK-type rifle needs to be removed first before the device is installed.

References

Notes

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Firearms of India 40×46mm grenade launchers Defence Research and Development Organisation