Italy selects Rheinmetall 40mm infantry ammunition

Rheinmetall will supply the Italian armed forces with more than 50,000 rounds of enhanced-performance 40mm x 53 war shot ammunition under a new €8.7 million contract announced on 8 March. Italy joins Canada and Denmark as the third NATO nation to equip its armed forces with the ammunition.

The 40mm x 53 High Velocity High Explosive Dual Purpose Insensitive Munition with Electronic Self Destruct (HV HEDP IM ESD) is designed for use against semi-hard targets and lightly armoured vehicles at ranges of up to 2,200m. The highly accurate enhanced performance ammunition has been developed for use in automatic grenade launchers such as MK19, MK47 and Heckler & Koch GMG.

According to Rheinmetall, the ammunition features a newly developed shaped charge warhead, and is the only 40mm cartridge on the market today that can penetrate 80 mm of RHA steel. The round also has an insensitive propulsion system; and together with its explosive, the round conforms to the insensitive ammunition criteria contained in STANAG 4439 Level/Reaction Type V. An electronic self-destruct mechanism is another important safety feature, designed to minimise the risk of unexploded duds.