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FoxtrotOscar
08-26-17, 04:07 PM
The Army is working on a safer but more lethal hand grenade.31760
A lot has changed since 1968. The Army’s offensive grenade has not.

The M67 has been a workhorse for the Army for decades, but it could use some upgrades, according to the lethality branch chief at Fort Benning’s Maneuver Center of Excellence.

“Over Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, we collected soldier feedback,” Maj. Jason Bohannon told Army Times in July.

“And that feedback told us that the M67 hand grenade had limitations — which we’ve known of — in restricted terrain.”

It’s also not as safe as it could be, he added.

“A lot’s changed since 1968 in terms of what the Army deems a safe munition,” he said.

So for the past few years, the Army has been working on new grenades from several angles, to create a new frag grenade that is less sensitive to unwitting explosions but that can fragment farther in dense vegetation like tall grass and wooded areas.

“If you have a hand grenade in your kit, you don’t want it to go off because it’s been exposed to something in the environment,” Bohannon said.

“This isn’t me accidentally pulling the pin. Imagine a case of hand grenades sitting in a storage case, and there’s a fire. We don’t want the entire warehouse to explode.

There are also plans in the works for a new blast grenade, and, eventually, one grenade that can switch between blast and fragmentation, he added.

One grenade is better than two

First up, the Army wants to bring back the power of a blast grenade. The service used to have the MK3A2 concussion model, which takes out targets with a single blast rather than by shooting out fragments, but it was pulled from use in 1975 because it was full of asbestos.

Its replacement is coming in 2020, Bohannon said, dubbed the XM111.

Meanwhile, MCoE and the Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center have been working on a more long-term project: A multipurpose grenade that can be both a fragmentation and a concussion grenade.

“Right now it’s in critical design and testing,” he said. “We’re really early in the engineering process, which is why we consider this late mid-term to far-term. Probably not a technology that we see until the late 2020s, early 2030s.”

But in the meantime, there’s still a need for that safer, more lethal frag grenade.

The technology to make one exists, Bohannon said, but there isn’t a specifically funded program to develop it.

“The intent would be in the interim to produce an improved M67,” he said. “The only caveat to that is, the tech is there, it’s just a matter of resourcing it.”

“With the right funding and time, we could probably do it within a few years,” he added.

USMC 2571
08-26-17, 05:12 PM
Interesting article, thanks, Mike.

advanced
08-26-17, 07:16 PM
When I was in Hue and we threw in grenades to neutralize a room I certainly didn't want the gooks to die from asbestos poisoning, I wanted them to simply die from the blast. I think it's terrible that we were using asbestos in our grenades. I feel bad now. Just saying.

Kegler300
08-26-17, 07:27 PM
The concussion works a lot faster than the shrapnel ...

FistFu68
08-26-17, 08:07 PM
Those 40mm frags I humped and used sure did the J O B

Tennessee Top
08-27-17, 11:34 AM
Adding some pigs blood inside somehow would be a nice touch.

FistFu68
08-27-17, 11:40 AM
Yessir Top pig blood from a SOW

FistFu68
08-27-17, 09:02 PM
Until the College boys come uP with something new and you youngbucks find yourself in a pinch a Claymore flipped around a corner or in a room crank it oFF ,Yah don't really care which way it's pointing it's got enough C4 in it too F**K uP their day...just run it by your XO or Gunny 'cause it may not be PC these days :marine:

oldtop
08-28-17, 02:38 PM
Fist, PC says you can't even toss in the grenade first these days... now the fireteam or squad is supposed to use "clearing tactics"... just tossing in a grenade first might "hurt or kill some innocent" that just happens to be providing food, shelter, medical, and weapons/ammo to the insurgent, but They are "innocent"....

FistFu68
08-28-17, 02:42 PM
Ain't talking bout going In Top talking about Leavin nothing but Bad guys KIA yah know the ones trying too overrun your position when your running very low on Ammo no Frags left etc etc

advanced
08-28-17, 05:59 PM
Our old say was F... them, I'm still here. Hard to contradict that one.

Mongoose
08-29-17, 04:12 PM
You Grunts sure are cold blooded........

advanced
08-30-17, 07:31 AM
You Grunts sure are cold blooded........
No Billy, we're warm blooded. Those that we kill rapidly become cold blooded. Just saying.

Mongoose
08-30-17, 07:58 AM
31776Click to make bigger

advanced
08-30-17, 08:59 AM
Now you know the infantry exam wasn't that easy. They always had at least 3 dots, the advanced class had 4. If you failed they sent you to morse code school, or made you get out of the Corps and become an af jag.