madritsch ag77 a1 40 mm grenade launchers

Madritsch AG77 A1 40 mm grenade launchers

Austria receives first batch of Madritsch underslung grenade launchers

The Austrian Army has taken delivery of its first batch of Madritsch AG77 A1 40 mm grenade launchers for installation on Steyr AUG rifles.

Madritsch developed the AG77 A1, known commercially as ML40, in response to a Ministry of Defence request for an underslung grenade launcher (UGL) to replace the currently used M203. The latter protrudes more than 200 mm from the barrel, in effect cancelling the advantages of the rifle bull-pup configuration, especially when operating in urban areas.

Austria is acquiring about 400 launchers under the contract, which includes long-barrel versions for conventional units and short-barrel versions for special forces.

From: http://www.janes.com/news/defence/idr/idr101026_1_n.shtml

http://www.nioa.net.au/Defence/Suppliers/Madritsch/Default.aspx

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