Clearer military requirements could unlock UGV market growth
Western armies continue to test uncrewed ground vehicles, but wider procurement will depend on turning ambitions for autonomy into defined operational roles and funded requirements.
6S19 grenade launcher enters serial production
The 6S19 Balkan 40mm anti-personnel grenade launcher. (Photo: TASS/Milena Sineva)
New Russian 6S19 system has a 25% longer range than in-service grenade launchers, says Rostec.
Rostec revealed on 25 January that serial production has begun of the 6S19 Balkan 40mm anti-personnel grenade launcher.
‘The design documentation for the Balkan system has been formalised and accepted by the Defense Ministry of Russia for serial production. The first serial batch has been produced,’ said Bekhan Ozdoyev, director of Rostec’s Armaments, Ammunition and Special Chemicals Cluster.
The weapon is now undergoing ‘expanded operational evaluation’ by Russian troops, Rostec added in a statement.
The 6S19 grenade launcher is made by the Pribor Research and Production Association (part of the Technodinamika Group within Rostec). Its firing range is 25% longer than the in-service 30mm AGS-17 and AGS-30 grenade launchers.
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