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15 octobre 2013 2 15 /10 /octobre /2013 12:20
M84 stun grenade

M84 stun grenade

October 15, 2013: Strategy Page

 

U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has had a scalable offensive hand grenades developed and has spent over $40 million buying large quantities. Scalable refers to grenades that can have different amounts of their explosives removed by the user to produce different results. With the minimal charge the grenade is basically a “flash-bang” that is meant to disorient (with a loud noise and bright flash) people not really kill or injure. By adding 1-3 additional “increments” of explosives the user makes the grenade effective over a wider area and potentially lethal. These scalable grenades depend on explosives to injure, not fragments. They are also a lot more expensive, but for SOCOM operators the additional flexibility is often the difference between success and failure in an operation.

 

American Offensive hand grenades have been around since 1918, when they were invented for troops fighting in close quarters (enemy trenches). It was found that these grenades were also useful inside buildings and caves. Thus the Mk3 grenade kept getting upgraded and was the basis of the scalable version. The current Mk3A2 is made of waterproofed fiberboard with minimal metal components. The Mk3A2 weighs 440 gr (15.4 ounces) has a five second fuze and contains 228 kg (8 ounces) of TNT.

 

Stun (or “flash bang”) grenades were invented for British SAS commandos in the 1960s. These weapons do not use explosives but rather have a fire and shatter proof body with perforations for momentary bright light and very loud noise to escape. The effect is most intense 1-2 meters (up to six feet) from the detonation. A current example is the U.S. M84 stun grenade. This weighs 236 gr (8.2 ounces) and uses a 4.5 gr (.16 ounce) magnesium/ammonium nitrate mixture and a 1-2.3 second fuze to generate up to 180 db of sound and 6-8 million Candela of light for up to 1.5 meters (five feet away).

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16 septembre 2013 1 16 /09 /septembre /2013 07:35
Australian Munitions and Diehl to develop new hand grenade

Sep 13, 2013 ASDNews Source : Thales Group

 

Thales-owned Australian Munitions and German company Diehl have signed an agreement to co-develop an insensitive munitions variant of the Australian in-service fragmentation hand grenade.

 

Insensitive Munitions (IM) are designed to only detonate when deployed against a target, and will not detonate as a result of mechanical shocks, fire or impact from shrapnel.

 

The project follows on from work undertaken by Australian Munitions during its rapid development of a blast variant of the current Australian in-service fragmentation grenade to meet an urgent operational requirement in 2011.

 

Kevin Wall, Australian Munitions Executive General Manager, said: “Dismounted close combat is the right place to start with the introduction of IM products. We have listened carefully to our customers’ requirements, and it is clear that by working with Diehl we can produce a very effective grenade that increases soldier safety and meets the required performance.”

 

Frank Kienzler, Head of Diehl’s Land Forces Business Unit, said: “We appreciate being able to contribute our many years of experience in developing and producing insensitive ammunition to the corporate cooperation benefiting the Australian Armed Forces. This is a further step in expanding our strategic cooperation between Thales and Diehl.”

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