This is a general collection of the world's many types of
ammunition
Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...
for
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
s in
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...
.
Several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 mm caliber.
NATO
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
currently uses three standardized 40 mm grenade families: 40 mm low velocity (LV), 40 mm medium velocity (MV), and 40 mm high velocity (HV). Low- and medium-velocity cartridges are used for different hand-held
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
s, while the high-velocity cartridge is used for
automatic grenade launchers
An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an Belt (firearm), ammunition belt or Magazine (firearm), magazine.
These weapons are oft ...
.
40×46 mm LV (40 mm low velocity)

''40×46 mm LV'' (''low velocity'')
is a
NATO-standard high–low grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...
cartridge meant for hand-held grenade launchers, such as the
M79,
M203,
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 t ...
,
Heckler & Koch AG36 and
M320 Grenade Launcher Module
M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is the U.S. military's designation for a new single-shot List of 40 mm grenades, 40 mm grenade launcher system to replace the M203 grenade launcher, M203 for the U.S. Army, while other services initially kept ...
.
The propellant has low pressure and gives the projectile an average velocity of depending on the ammunition type.
40 mm low-velocity ammunition types (NATO)
Besides combat ammo there also exists crowd control ammunition like
sponge grenades.
40 mm low-velocity ammunition types (Sweden)
Sweden currently operates the
M203 grenade launcher (designated in Sweden) and thus uses the 40 mm low-velocity
cartridge.
Going against Swedish military tradition, the 40 mm low-velocity cartridge currently lacks a specified indigenous designation in Swedish service.
Instead only the projectile types have designations.
Currently these projectile types can be found in Swedish service manuals.
Mockups and inert types also exist for loading exercises and educational purposes.
40 mm low-velocity ammunition types (Romania)
Romanian arms producer
ROMARM has made a version of their 40 mm rifle-mounted grenade launcher
AG-40 chambered in 40×46 mm NATO (then designated AG-40PN). Production of Romanian 40 mm low-velocity ammunition is handled by the arms factory ,
a subsidiary of
ROMARM. The projectiles seem to be of Romanian origin based on available information.
SAGM fuze
The
United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) began development of a 40 mm
smart airburst
fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates its function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fu ...
(
proximity fuze
A Proximity Fuse (also VT fuse or "variable time fuze") is a fuse that detonates an explosive device automatically when it approaches within a certain distance of its target. Proximity fuses are designed for elusive military targets such as air ...
) in 2011 to improve the ability of grenade launchers like the
M203 and
M320 to engage targets in
defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
. Called ''
small arms grenade munitions'' (SAGMs), they double the lethality of the standard
M433 grenade round by adding a small "smart" fuze sensor that detonates in the air to hit targets in cover or behind obstacles. The
airburst
An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...
function is similar to the
XM25 CDTE, which has an onboard laser system to determine the distance to the target, but SAGMs are considered complementary to the XM25 rather than competing against it, as the XM25 provides low-angle fire while 40 mm launchers fire a lobbing trajectory. Integrated sensors and logic devices scan and filter the environment and then autonomously airburst the fuze without needing to be told to by the firer, thereby not requiring the soldier to carry extra weapon accessories. SAGMs enable soldiers to accurately incapacitate personnel targets in defilade at ranges between 50 and 500 meters. The round is engineered with three firing modes: airburst; point detonation; and self-destruct. A successful demonstration occurred in November 2013. Although the SAGM sensor does not need a laser rangefinder or any pre-fire programming sequence, it does require some skill by the user to aim and fire the round correctly so that it can detect the wall or obstruction to detonate in the air. The SAGM was to undergo evaluation in July 2015 and, if successful, transition into an official Army
Program of Record
In the United States, the processes of government procurement enable federal, state and local government bodies in the country to acquire goods, services (including construction), and interests in real property. Contracting with the federal gove ...
by the end of the year. Not only does the fuze burst over walls, but it can detonate when passing cover like trees, bursting just as it senses and passes the trunk. The sort of
sensor
A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal.
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...
SAGMs use to differentiate clutter from triggering obstacles is highly classified, but shows airburst reliability of 76 percent.
40×51 mm MV (40 mm medium velocity)
''40×51 mm MV'' (medium velocity),
also known as ''40×51 mm extended range low pressure'' (ERLP),
is a
NATO-standard high–low grenade launcher cartridge meant for hand-held
grenade launchers. Its purpose is to be an intermediate cartridge between the 40×46 mm low-velocity and 40×53 mm high-velocity cartridges and is thus referred to as 40 mm medium velocity.
The propellant has medium pressure and gives the projectile an average velocity of depending on the ammunition type.
It has a maximum range of 800 meters, exceeding conventional extended range low-velocity variants by up to 375 meters.
The 40×51 mm MV cartridge was designed by
Rheinmetall Denel Munitions for the
US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) after a 2008 requirement for enhanced range and lethality from hand-held 40 mm grenades.
Rheinmetall answered by developing a new family of 40 mm grenades named 40 mm medium velocity
and by 2019 the cartridge was undergoing
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
qualification.
Besides NATO the cartridge has been ordered by the
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as the cartridge for their next generation multiple grenade launcher, the
Milkor Y4.
SANDF approved acquisition in February 2018 but deliveries could not be finished until the end of 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
40×53 mm HV (40 mm high velocity)

''40×53 mm HV'' (''high velocity'')
is a NATO-standard
high–low grenade launcher cartridge meant for mounted or crew-served
automatic grenade launcher
An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an Belt (firearm), ammunition belt or Magazine (firearm), magazine.
These weapons are oft ...
s, such as the
Mk.19 AGL
The Mk 19 grenade launcher (pronounced Mark (designation), Mark 19) is an American 40mm grenade, 40 mm belt (firearm), belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War.
Overview
The Mk 19 is a be ...
,
Mk 47 Striker,
HK GMG,
STK 40 AGL, and
Daewoo K4.
The propellant has high pressure and gives the projectile an average velocity of depending on the ammunition type.
40 mm high-velocity ammunition types (NATO)
40 mm high-velocity ammunition types (Sweden)
Sweden currently operates the
Mk 19 grenade launcher (designated ''40 mm granatspruta 92'' in Sweden) and thus uses the 40 mm high-velocity
cartridge.
Going against Swedish military tradition, the 40 mm high-velocity cartridge currently lacks a specified indigenous designation in Swedish service.
Instead only the projectile types have designations.
Currently these projectile types can be found in Swedish service manuals.
Mockups and inert types also exist for loading exercises and educational purposes.
Green ammunition
The MK281 is a new type of 40 mm target practice grenade ammunition that has been accepted for use into the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
and the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. It is "green" because it is non-toxic and non-dud producing (since it is a training round), meaning that there is no unexploded ordnance left to clean up on the range and
heavy metals
upright=1.2, Crystals of lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead
Heavy metals is a controversial and ambiguous term for metallic elements with relatively h ...
in the fuze do not leak into the ground. The MK281 was introduced into parts of the U.S. Armed Forces because of an executive order mandating that they buy green ammunition. The MK281 is manufactured by an American subsidiary of the
Rheinmetall Group.
The United States Army has a requirement for a non-dud producing 40 mm training ammunition in both high- and low-velocity variants. The Army awarded four contracts to three United States companies to test designs. The resulting ammunition will not contain explosive energetics and have day and night visible, infrared, and thermal signatures.
Other
40×47 mm (Poland)

40×47 mm is a cartridge caliber produced in Poland for their
Pallad wz. 74 rifle-mounted grenade launchers (used with the AK family of rifles in the Polish Army, like the AKM/AKMS, Tantal and Beryl) and Pallad-D wz. 83 grenade launcher (standalone variant fitted with standard pistol grip and folding stock from the AKMS assault rifle). The construction is similar to the one used in 40×46 mm grenades, but they are not interchangeable.
40×47 mm (Romania)

40×47 mm is a cartridge caliber produced in Romania for their
AG-40 model 77 and model 80 (today AG-40P) rifle-mounted grenade launchers.
It features a
casing with a
high–low system. The propellant has low pressure and gives the projectile an average velocity of depending on the ammunition type.
Production was originally handled by the arms factory ''Uzina Mecanica Filiasi'', however production was later moved to the arms factory ''Uzina Mecanica Tohan Zărnești'',
today more commonly known as ''S. Tohan S.A.'',
a subsidiary of
ROMARM.
Several types of the Romanian 40×47 mm exist:
*
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 ...
*
High-explosive fragmentation
*
Smoke
Smoke is an aerosol (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 unwante ...
*
Incendiary
*
Tear gas
Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
* Practice, featuring a small flash charge and smoke signal.
* Inert
Tohan currently (2021) offers a 40×47 mm high explosive type called GETZ (Grenadă Explozivă Tohan Zărnești) and an inert version called GITZ (Grenadă Inertă Tohan Zărnești). Both cartridges are long, with GETZ weighing and GITZ .
40×74.5 mm (Romania)
40×74.5 mm is a cartridge caliber produced in Romania for their
AGA-40 Model 85 automatic grenade launcher
An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an Belt (firearm), ammunition belt or Magazine (firearm), magazine.
These weapons are oft ...
.
It features a
casing with a
high–low system. The propellant has high pressure and gives the projectile an average velocity of depending on the ammunition type.
Production is handled by the arms factory ''Uzina Mecanica Plopeni'',
a subsidiary of
ROMARM.
Three ammunition types are known:
* A
high-explosive grenade producing 150 fragments weighing each, creating a deadly radius of upon impact.
* A
high-explosive dual-purpose grenade capable of penetrating of steel armor.
* An inert cartridge for loading exercise.
40×56mm (Japan)
The standard adopted by the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches.
New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...
in its
Type 96 grenade launcher. It is manufactured by
Daikin Industries and the '40 mm anti-personnel light armour-piercing round' (ammunition length 112 mm, weight 371 g) is a multi-purpose grenade with a moulded explosive charge. There is also a '40 mm training round' available.
Caseless ammunition
40 mm VOG-25 (Russia)

''40 mm VOG-25'' (
Russian Cyrillic: ''ВОГ-25'') (GRAU-Index: 7P17 (
Russian Cyrillic: ''7П17'')) is a unique type of 40 mm grenade designed in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
for hand-held grenade launchers, such as the Soviet
GP-25 Kostyor and GP-30 Obuvka.
Instead of a casing, the VOG-25 is
caseless ammunition
Caseless ammunition (CL), or caseless cartridge, is a configuration of Cartridge (firearms), weapon-cartridge that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the Percussion cap, primer, propellant and projectile together as a unit. Instea ...
, featuring its propellant in an expansion chamber at the base of the projectile, functioning more like a mortar round than conventional cased ammunition.
Today it is used primarily by the
Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...
in weapons such as the
GP-34, BG-15 Mukha and
RG-6
RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. An RG-6/U coaxial cable has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. The term, ''RG-6'', is generic and is applied to a wide variety of c ...
. Several types exist but the most common version is the default VOG-25 high-explosive version.
The VOG-25 is long, weighs , and features a explosive charge. It has a
muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately t ...
of and will self-destruct after 14 seconds.
40 mm Metal Storm (Australia)
During its time (1994–2012),
Metal Storm Limited in Australia designed several automatic caseless 40 mm grenade launcher systems
based on their own caseless ammunition weapon design.
Unlike common caseless ammunition and their weapon systems the Metal Storm design lacked a feeding magazine and instead stacked the projectiles in front of each other in the barrel with the propellant in between the projectiles.
The system lacked moving parts and the propellant was
electronically fired.
The 40 mm grenades used in the systems were off the shelf existing warheads converted to function in the design.
40 mm 7P39 (Russia)
The 40mm 7P39 is a type of caseless grenade used in the Russian
AGS-40
AGS‑40 Balkan is a Russian 40 mm caseless automatic grenade launcher and successor to AGS-17 and AGS-30, introduced and adopted by the Russian military.
Design
The AGS-40 uses 40 mm CL (Caseless ammunition#Internal propellant casele ...
“Balkan” automatic grenade launcher. Unlike conventional grenades that use separate casings, propellants, and projectiles, the 7P39 integrates all components into a single unit, eliminating the need for ejected shell casings. This design is tailored for the AGS-40, which fires at a rate of up to 400 rounds per minute and has an effective range of approximately 2,500 meters. The 7P39 grenade features a high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warhead and is approximately 132 mm in length, weighing around 0.432 kg. It is designed to deliver powerful explosive effects against personnel, vehicles, and fortifications. The 7P39 is not compatible with the VOG-25.
See also
*
35 mm grenade
*
40×46mmSR Hellhound
*
United States 40 mm grenades
Notes
References
External links
Milkor WorldwideDefense Review overview of Mk 47 Mod 0 'Striker' 40mm Grenade Machine GunDefense Review overview of Corner Shot 40 personal grenade launcherDefense Review overview of Penn Arms PGL65-40 'Fourkiller Tactical Model' 40 mm Multiple Grenade LauncherDefense Review overview of Metal Storm 40mm Weapon System
{{Modern US Infantry Weapons
Grenades
Ammunition
Projectiles
Military cartridges
Paramilitary cartridges
Large-caliber cartridges