According to information received from the RIA Novosti news agency, the newest grenade launcher AGS-40 "Balkan" entered the RF Armed Forces into experimental-military operation. Its distinctive features are the range up to 2.5 kilometers, more powerful than the AGS-17 and AGS-30, ammunition - 40-millimeter grenades, the rate of fire comparable to the rate of the machine gun (400 rounds per minute), as well as a significant density of attachments and flooring of fire. Like its predecessors, the Balkan is designed to destroy manpower and fire weapons located in open areas and on the reverse slopes, as well as destroy light military equipment and military infrastructure.
Although the development of AGS-40 started in the early 90s, however, the problems characteristic of that period significantly delayed it. As a result, the grenade launcher was first demonstrated only in 2009 at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, and the arrival in the army for various reasons was periodically postponed. So, according to the Director General of the NPO Pribor, Yuri Nabokov: “I cannot say the exact time of adoption, they wanted to accept it last year (2017), but unforeseen difficulties arose. Everything that depended on Pribor, we did, but our affiliates solved some issues with the state customer ".
It is assumed that the military tests of the Balkan will last for at least a year, the competent specialists will check the new grenade launcher in all climatic conditions and under different tactical circumstances. It is not excluded that the AGS-40 will be in demand for the armament of the latest technology of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. For example, the Terminator BMPO, which is also undergoing military trials, carries two AG-17Ds, which potentially makes it possible to equip it with a more powerful Balkan. According to the testimony of the same Yuri Nabokov: "A new grenade launcher can be installed on any, including robotic platforms, helicopters and boats. While everything is at the stage of development, we make layouts, see what comes out of ballistics. The Kalashnikov is made by the grenade launcher, we help with ammunition. "
In the infantry version, the AGS-40 is equipped with a tripod machine, which is a modernized version of the SAG-17 machine from the AGS-17 grenade launcher, which should provide vertical and horizontal guidance of the weapon and even fix it in a certain position. For the convenience of the operator, the machine is equipped with a folding seat, which is a definite step forward compared to previous versions, when the shooter was forced to fire while kneeling. However, for now, perhaps, it is too early to admire all these innovations, because, as the Afghan experience has shown, grenade launchers have very specific features of use in different conditions that can only be detected by combat practice.
The ammunition for the new grenade launcher, the 40-mm 7P39 grenades, differs from their predecessors not only in caliber, but also in a more optimal design - they are equipped with a "flying away" sleeve. With this technical solution, the propellant charge is placed in a separate volume of ammunition that is not detached from the fired grenade and remains in place during the shot, which potentially increases the firing range.
Structurally, the 7P39 grenade is a cylinder with a conical front part that has a socket for installing a fuse. Most of the body of the grenade contains an explosive charge, in its end part there is a cartridge with a propelling charge, in the bottom of which there is a central opening for installing the capsule and four larger nozzle openings for the exit of pore gases covered with knock-out membranes.
The standard AGS-40 slug box contains 20 grenades. The ammunition system uses loose metal ribbons that enter the right side of the grenade launcher, respectively, the empty links are thrown to the left. Ammunition is supplied in special packages for two tapes, which are placed in the projectile box of a grenade launcher just before firing.
In the context of modern military-political conjuncture, when the battlefield often becomes urban buildings, mountain forests and just rugged terrain, it can be assumed that AGS-40 has a great future. This was convincingly demonstrated both by the fighting in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and by the ongoing conflict in Syria - everywhere the AGS-17 and AGS-30 grenade launchers found their widest use, marking their best sides - fire rate, accuracy of fire, good mobility, and high injectivity.
The birth of the "Balkan" took place not in the best of times for the domestic military industrial complex, which determined the almost twenty-year delay in its "bringing to mind." However, now that military trials are underway, one can count on the fact that this powerful weapon will soon be put into service. Albeit with a significant delay.
