Canada's Department of National Defence has announced that it will be purchasing a
high tech automatic grenade launcher for use in close area suppression.
The Government of Canada has awarded a contract valued at $95 million to Rheinmetall Canada Inc., of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Québec, for the acquisition of 304 C16 Automatic Grenade Launcher Systems under the Close Area Suppression Weapon (CASW) project.
The C16 Automatic Grenade Launcher System is a modern high-velocity 40 mm weapon system which has multiple interrelated components that include a "grenade machine gun" and an advanced Fire Control System (FCS).
The FCS, which has direct and indirect firing capability, is also equipped with full GPS and a laser range finder.
The C16 system also includes a ground mount group (cradle and tripod), a thermal weapon sight, and multi-purpose and airburst ammunition.
The contract also includes the provision of ancillary equipment, logistics containers, tactical containers, project management, system engineering, spare parts, interim support, and training.
The first systems will be delivered to train the trainers in February 2011. The Infantry School and the Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering will receive systems in April 2011, and units will begin receiving systems in May 2011.
By: Shelldrake
Canada's Department of National Defence has announced that it will be purchasing a high tech automatic grenade launcher for use in close area suppression.
This looks like the 40mm GMG automatic grenade launcher, made by Heckler and Koch and in use with the German Army. Anyway, broadly similar to the MK19 which has been in limited use by the JTF-2 (CF special operations unit) for some time now.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with these things are that they are damn heavy. The GMG gun plus tripod weighs almost 87 pounds, even heavier than the Mk19's 72 pounds, and a 32 round belt of ammunition (which the gun can crank off in about six seconds) weighs another 18 or 20 pounds. If these are meant to be a rifle company asset (and I sure couldn't see a rifle platoon lugging one of these around), they would only be deployed on a vehicle or in some kind of sustained defensive position.
Yeah, I will admit I am old school about these things and think we should keep the old 60mm mortar. The tube was only 19 pounds, rounds were heavier at about 3 pounds each but anyone could carry them, and if you needed a bipod mount one was available (at another 20 pounds). One was carried by each rifle platoon, and they were and are being used in Afghanistan.
The point with the mortar was that it was a mortar - it gave PLUNGING FIRE, something this new gizmo cannot do easily (and can't do at all once its sub-gizmos are broken, as they inevitably will be). It's also the last piece of kit in the infantry battalion that that can give indirect fire - there used to be a four-tube 81mm mortar platoon in the battalion but these were given to the artillery regiments in the late 90s.
Still, not bad - the contract announcement is only a year late and it is approximately within the original budget estimate of $100 M.