DP-64

     Notes:  This weapon was designed to protect ships and ports from combat swimmers and frogmen.  It is a twin over-and-under barrel grenade launcher with a selection of rounds available.  Chief among these is the concussion round, designed to have double the concussion value underwater.  An antipersonnel round was also developed to allow use against swimmers that come up on land.  This launcher has been copied by China.

KBI AGS-30

     Notes: The AGS-30 began replacing the AGS-17 in Russian service in 1994.  The AGS-30 is a much simpler weapon than the AGS-17, using some 40% less parts, and is much lighter than the AGS-17.  Other differences include only one rate of automatic fire, though again the cyclic rate is low enough that a gunner can squeeze off short bursts and single shots with a minimum pf practice.  The operation is blowback, using a heavy buffer, bolt, and sear; in addition, the AGS-30 uses a counter-recoil buffer to further decrease recoil, and the bolt uses long recoil.  Cocking is by a simple lever.  The same PAG-17 2.7x sight as the AGS-17 is used, along with backup iron sights.  The tripod is a new lightweight model weighing only 5.7 kilograms.  The lighter weight of the weapon decrease the standard crew for the AGS-30 to two men.  A variant, the AG-30, is designed for mounting on vehicular mounts or tripods without any modifications, but does not have the PAG-17 sight.  The AGS-30 fires the same rounds as the AGS-30, and can also fire two additional rounds – the VOG-30, with a larger explosive and propellant charge, and the GPD-30, an enhanced fragmentation round.

KBI GM-94

     Notes: Despite the capabilities of the GM-94, this pump-action grenade launcher was actually designed for use by the Russian equivalent of police SRT teams, and came into military use relatively recently.  The GM-94 is basically a greatly-enlarged RM-93 shotgun, and operates in a similar manner – one pumps the barrel forward to jack a round into the chamber (and to eject any fired shell), and back again to lock the barrel and cock the weapon.  The barrel is pulled almost halfway forward to load the tubular magazine atop the weapon.  The barrel is not only heavily ribbed externally, it also has two hand stops to aid in working the action and gripping the weapon.  Construction is primarily of steel, with a stock that can be swung up and over the weapon to fold it.  When folded, the stock may also be used as a carrying handle.  The ammunition is peculiar to the GM-94, and not used by any other weapon.  Though the tubular magazine can normally hold four rounds, if it has thermobaric rounds (whether one or as many as three), the magazine can hold only three rounds, since the thermobaric grenades are longer than other types of ammunition.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Merc 2000 Notes: This is a popular terrorist weapon in the Merc 2000 timeline.

*If even one thermobaric round is loaded into the magazine, only three rounds may be carried.

KBI RGS-50

     Notes: The RGS-50 is a single-shot shoulder-fired grenade launcher designed primarily for use by police, but also with some military applications (and called the RGS-50M in that guise).  The RGS-50 uses primarily a tubular break-open mechanism with an attached pistol grip and firing mechanism, along with a detachable shoulder stock and forward foregrip.  Sights are an adjustable ladder rear and post front. And the weapon is broken open by a latch behind of the rear sight.  The trigger mechanism has s safety switch.  The detachable shoulder stock has a rubber recoil pad.  The RGS-50 can be fired without the stock or even the foregrip if desired; the RGS-50’s stock weighs 2 kilograms, and the foregrip 0.2 kilograms.  On military versions, the foregrip folds backwards, and the sights are a bit more precise.

KBTM AGS-17 Plamya

     Notes:  The Plamya (Flame) was first seen in use in Afghanistan in about 1977, though it had been in Russian and Warsaw Pact service since about 1975.  It is generally issued at the company level in infantry and combat engineer units, and is meant to provide a massive volume of high-explosive fire during assaults.  Construction is largely of steel; the firing mechanism allows only for variable rates of automatic fire, but the maximum cyclic rate is slow enough for a gunner to get single shots with a minimum of practice.  Recoil is blowback with a hydraulic recoil damper.  The charging handle is a handle attached to a wire cable.  The firing control levers fold for transport.  Though the AGS-17 is fed by 30-round belts, experienced AGS-17 gunners normally keep the first round loop open due to problems with first-round feed reliability.

     AGS-17 variants have also been found mounted in vehicle turrets as well as on pintle mounts, and in chin turrets and as door guns on helicopters (helicopter-mounted Plamyas are normally known as AG-17A’s instead of the AGS-17).  Other mounts include a mounting with a coaxial NSV machinegun on a high-angle mount for use in mountainous areas, and a remote control AGS-17 known as the 6S5 Mius that allows one gunner to control up to 4 AGS-17s at once, aimed by a laser rangefinder.  The standard AGS-17 is normally fitted with a 2.7x sight, and is mounted on a 12-kilogram tripod, though earlier AGS-17 tripods were of heavier and clunkier construction and weighed 17 kilograms.  The AGS-17 has proliferated throughout former Russian client states, and has also been copied by China.

TsKIB SOO 6G-30 (RG-6)

     Notes:  This weapon was developed in response to a Russian Army need for a multishot grenade launcher for use in Chechnya.  It is basically a modified GP-25 firing assembly with a rotating cylinder mechanism behind the barrel and a sliding stock with a thick recoil pad.  The 6G-30 is, however, not designed to be fired with the stock in the forward position. The barrels in the rotating cylinder are rifled, while the single central barrel is not.  The weapon is wound when reloading like a clock using a folding crank at the rear of the cylinder.  The cylinder assembly hinges to allow for reloading. 

     Early production 6G-30s had a defect, in that the weapon does not always fire on a given cylinder; any grenade is 2% likely not to fire, over and above the normal chance for misfire during catastrophic failure.  Grenades that do not fire are not defective; they may be reloaded and may then fire at normal probability, again with a 2% chance of misfire.  This is a defect of the weapon and not the rounds.  Newer production improvements are believed to have eliminated this problem.

     In addition to the types of rounds the GP-25 may fire, the 6G-30 can also fire a tactical flechette round called the Gvozd (Nail) and the GRD-40 extended-duration smoke round.

     This weapon was not issued to line units, but instead only to Spetsnaz and Alpha teams. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

*The 6G-30 cannot be fired with the stock folded.

TsKIB SOO GP-25/GP-30 Koster

     Notes: The GP-25 is a single-shot, muzzle-loaded grenade launcher of simple design and compact dimensions.  The GP-25 (also known as the BG-15, BG-1, or AK-GL) was designed specifically for use with AK-series weapons (but will also fit most foreign-made AK-derivatives with handguards about the same shape as the Russian AK series, as well as the AN-94), and clamps in place below the handguard, the area of barrel up to the gas block, and the very front of the receiver.  The GP-25 includes a rudimentary pistol grip, as well as a grenade launcher sight atop the gas tube.  Service with the Russians began in 1978.

     Grenades are slid into the muzzle of the grenade launcher and held in place by a spring-loaded latch.  Inserting a grenade cocks the launcher and also engages a safety that is removed by a thumb latch.  The GP-25 comes with a rubber recoil pad that can be slipped over the butt of the grenadier’s rifle.  (Again, this assumes that the dimensions of the rifle’s butt are approximately the same as that of Russian AK-series weapons.)  Other parts of the interface gear help protect the rifle itself against the recoil of the GP-25.  The stubby barrel of the GP-25 is a mere 8.07 inches long, with the entire weapon being only 12.72 inches long.  Firing may be done in direct fire or in indirect fire by bracing the butt on the ground against the grenadier’s foot.

     The GP-30 was designed to simplify production, but the new production procedures had the side-effect of lightening the weapon. The GP-30 has a simplified sight that is moved to the right side of the weapon.  It is otherwise identical to the GP-25 for game purposes.

     Both of these weapons can be fired separately from a rifle – but as they are light in weight, have only rudimentary pistol grips, and no provision for stocks, recoil is quite stiff and fire in inaccurate (one level more difficult).

     The GP-95 was designed specifically for use with the OTs-14 Groza assault rifle, but can also be used on the A-91 and 9A91.  The primary difference is in the mounting gear, which is incompatible with other assault rifles.