The GM-94 is a

pump action Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to coc ...

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 the KBP design bureau for use by Russian

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

and

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (s ...

Description

The GM-94 is a short range weapon, allowing it to be used in close

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

environments. With a minimum safe distance of only 10 meters, the GM-94 is well suited to close, room-to-room fighting. Its simple design and operation allows it to operate in dusty and dirty environments and even after being immersed in

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. The launcher is capable of firing VGM-93.900

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

fragmentation, VGM-93.100

thermobaric A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, a vacuum bomb or a fuel air explosive (FAE), is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The fuel–air explosive is one of the be ...

, VGM-93.300

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...

and VGM-93.200

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

canisters, VGM-93.600 rubber slugs and other

non-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

payloads. The VGM-93.100 thermobaric grenade contains around 160 grams of explosive filler. It can penetrate up to 8 mm of mild steel or interior wall, while producing minimal primary fragmentation. In June 2005, GM-94 with

VGM-93.100 ammunition was adopted by the

Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

. In October 2007, the Russian armed forces adopted a new launcher designated LPO-97 developed in the

KBP Instrument Design Bureau JSC ''Konstruktorskoe Buro Priborostroeniya'' (KBP) (russian: АО «Конструкторское бюро приборостроения», AO konstruktórskoje bjuró priborostrojénija Joint-Stock Company - Instrument Design Bureau) is one ...

on the basis of the GM-94 with a thermobaric grenade, in 2008 GM-94 adopted for the branches of the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...

. Though the launcher was intended for use by

Russian security forces Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

, the GM-94 has been spotted as far afield as

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Russian forces have fired the tear gas version of canisters on protesters in Ukraine.

Users

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References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, title=The Russian GM-94 Grenade Launcher , url=http://armamentresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/The-Russian-GM-94-Grenade-Launcher.pdf, publisher=Armament Research, first1=Maxim , last1=Popenker, first2=N.R., last2=Jenzen-Jones, series=Arms & Munitions Brief, isbn=978-0-9924624-5-1, date=September 2015 Grenade launchers of Russia KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Riot guns Riot control weapons Teargas grenade guns Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Description

Users

See also

References

Bibliography