AGS-17
AGS-17 Plamya | |
---|---|
![]() AGS-17 mounted on tripod. | |
Type | Automatic Grenade Launcher |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1970–present |
Used by | See Users |
Wars |
|
Production history | |
Designer | KBP Instrument Design Bureau |
Designed | 1967 |
Manufacturer | Molot Plant |
Variants | AG-17A helicopter-mounted version |
Specifications | |
Mass | 31 kg |
Length | 840 mm |
Cartridge | 30×29mm grenade |
Caliber | 30 mm |
Action | Blowback |
Rate of fire | 400 round/min |
Muzzle velocity | 185 m/s |
Effective firing range | 800 to 1,700 m |
Feed system | 29 grenades belt |
Sights | Adjustable iron sights, optional mount required for optical sights |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Afgan30mmAutoMinomet.jpg/305px-Afgan30mmAutoMinomet.jpg)
The AGS-17 Plamya[8] (Russian: Пламя; Flame) is a Soviet-designed automatic grenade launcher in service worldwide.
Description[]
The AGS-17 is a heavy infantry support weapon designed to operate from a tripod or mounted on an installation or vehicle. The AGS-17 fires 30 mm grenades in either direct or indirect fire to provide suppressive and lethal fire support against soft skinned or fortified targets.
The weapon uses a blowback mechanism to sustain operation. Rounds are fired through a removable (to reduce barrel stress) rifled barrel.
The standard metal ammunition drum contains 29 linked rounds.[9][10]
The tripod is equipped with fine levelling gear for indirect fire trajectories.
Development[]
Development of the AGS-17 (Avtomaticheskiy Granatomyot Stankovyi—Automatic Grenade launcher, Mounted) started in the USSR in 1965 by the OKB-16 design bureau (now known as the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, located in the city of Tula). Most probably its development was inspired by the Sino-Soviet border conflict of the late 1960s, as well as initial experience with several US automatic grenade launchers, learned from Vietnamese troops who were often on the receiving end of these weapons.
It was thought that an automatic grenade launcher would be one of the most effective infantry support weapons against typical Chinese "human wave" attacks. This lightweight weapon was to provide infantry with close to medium range fire support against enemy personnel and unarmored targets, like trucks, half-tracks, jeeps and sandbag-protected machine-gun nests. The first prototypes of the new weapon entered trials in 1969, with mass production commencing in 1971.[citation needed] Never used against the Chinese, the AGS-17 was widely operated and well liked by Soviet troops in Afghanistan as a ground support weapon or as a vehicle weapon on improvised mounts installed on armored personnel carriers and trucks.[1]
At the same time, a special airborne version of the AGS-17 was developed for installation on Mi-24 Hind gunship helicopters.[citation needed]
It is still in use with the Russian army as a direct fire support weapon for infantry troops; it is also installed in several vehicle mounts and turrets along with machine guns, guided rocket launchers and sighting equipment. A special airborne version, the , was installed on the door mounts of several Mil Mi-8 Hip combat transport helicopters and on gun pods used in late model Mi-24 Hind gunships; this weapon had a thick aluminium jacket on the barrel and used a special mount and an electric remotely controlled trigger. It is being replaced by the AGS-30 launcher, (using the same ammunition, this weapon weighs only 16 kg unloaded on the tripod and has an upgraded blowback action).
Variants[]
- AGS-17A-remotely controlled aircraft mounted version with electric trigger mechanism.
- AGS-17D-remotely controlled vehicle mounted version with electric trigger mechanism.
RGSh-30[]
Ukrainian company developed a miniaturized handheld version of AGS-17 called RGSh-30[11] "in order to create a grenade launcher that could respond to the needs of Ukrainian units and special forces operating in the Donbas". RGSh-30 is designed to disable armored vehicles.[12][13][14] that can be carried like an assault rifle. RGSh-30 uses magazines with five 30mm VOG-17 grenades.
Precision Systems plans to develop versions using 20mm, 25mm, and 40mm grenades.
Ammunition[]
The AGS-17 fires 30×29 mm belted cartridges with a steel cartridge case.[15] Two types of ammunition are commonly fired from the AGS-17. The is the version of the original 30 mm grenade ammunition, which is currently available and has a basic high explosive fragmentation warhead. The is similar, but contains a better explosive filling and an enhanced fragmentation design that greatly increases the effective blast radius. New improved VOG-30D grenade was taken into service in 2013 for use with AGS-17 and AGS-30 grenade launchers.[16][17]
The Bulgarian weapons manufacturer Arcus produces hand grenades based on cartridges and (Russian: УЗРГМ), which is also a Soviet design of fuse.[18]
- VOG-17M (HE)
- IO-30 (HE)
- IO-30TP (Practice)
- VOG-30 (HE)
- VOG-30D (HE)
- VUS-30 (Smoke)
Users[]
Current[]
Afghanistan[19]
Angola[19][2]
Armenia – imported[citation needed]
Azerbaijan[20][21]
Bulgaria – produced locally by Arsenal AD[citation needed]
Chad[19]
China – produced by Norinco based on captured examples from Mujahideen groups.[22][19][23]
Cuba[19]
Czechoslovakia[24]
Finland – designated 30 KrKK AGS-17, replaced by the HK GMG in 2005[25]
Georgia[26]
India[19]
Iran[19]
Iraq – produced under license[19][23]
Islamic State[27]
Ivory Coast[28]
Montenegro – designated the M93[19]
Mozambique[19]
Myanmar[29]
Nicaragua[19]
North Korea[30]
Russia[19]
Serbia – designated the M93[19] Produced under license.[31]
Sierra Leone[32]
Sudan: used by the Sudanese Armed Forces, some captured by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North[4]
Syria[33]
Slovakia[34]
Turkey[35]
Vietnam – Made under license in [36][37] Known under the Vientamese industrial name of SPL-17.[38]
Former[]
See also[]
- AGS-30, first successor
- AGS‑40 Balkan, second successor using caseless high-explosive 40mm grenades.
- GA-40 similar weapon (in Polish)
- HK GMG, similar weapon
- Howa Type 96, similar weapon
- Milkor MGL, another South African 40 mm grenade launcher
- Mk 19 grenade launcher, similar weapon
- SB LAG 40
- Type 87 grenade launcher, used by the People's Liberation Army
- Vektor Y3 AGL
- XM174 grenade launcher, similar weapon
References[]
- Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon: A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 239. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "AGS-17 en Afghanistan". Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde (in French). IX. Atlas. 1986. pp. 2017–2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b André Du Pisani (1988). Beyond the Barracks: Reflections on the Role of the SADF in the Region. The South African Institute of International Affairs. p. 12. ISBN 9780908371600.
Near Cuvelai and Cahama the SADF for the first time encountered the considerable firepower of the Soviet-made 30mm AGS-17 grenade launcher [during Operation Askari] - its first use outside the Afghanistan theatre.
- ^ de Tessières 2012, p. 74.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Gramizzi, Claudio; Tubiana, Jérôme (March 2013). New war, old enemies: Conflict dynamics in South Kordofan (PDF). HSBA Working Paper 29. Small Arms Survey. p. 34. ISBN 978-2-9700856-2-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ "Syrie: comment al-Qaïda reprend pied en zone djihadiste". France Soir (in French). 28 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYVaXi9QhUw
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHH5Ith4g7g
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "AGS-17 Automatic Grenade Launcher". www.military-today.com. Military Today. Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ "AGS-17". modernfirearms.net. Modern Firearms. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ "Weapons: Semi-Automatic Grenade Launchers". Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ^ "Portable DESTRUCTION: Ukrainian Firm Develops Handheld Automatic Grenade Launcher -". 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "Ukrainian Firm Develops Handheld Automatic Grenade Launcher". 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "Ukraine presents light grenade launcher for special forces in Donbas". Archived from the original on 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "From 25mm to 30mm - the Russian Ammunition Page". Archived from the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ^ "Tłumacz Google".
- ^ "AGL-17 Automatic Grenade Launcher | Armaco JSC. Bulgaria". Archived from the original on 2017-11-25. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
- ^ "Arcus AR-ROG defensive hand grenade (Bulgaria), Grenades - Hand". Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ^ "Azerbaijan fires AGS-17 grenade launcher at Nagorno Karabakh line of contact". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
- ^ "Azerbaijani forces fire AGS-17 grenade launcher at north-eastern direction of NK line of contact". armenpress.am. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-11-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Jump up to: a b "A new generation of AGLs: within only a few decades the Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) has leapt from the concept stage to becoming a widely accepted and valued infantry support weapon, providing the foot soldier with a highly effective area fire suppression system". Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Tempête rouge sur l'Europe" [Red Storm over Europe]. Batailles & Blindés (in French). No. 52. Caraktère. December 2012. pp. 38–59. ISSN 1765-0828.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-08-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Armament of the Georgian Army". Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Mourir pour le califat 116/" En vérité, ils seront noyés "-Wilayat al-Raqqa" (in French). 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ de Tessières, Savannah (April 2012). Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale (PDF) (Report). Special Report No. 14 (in French). UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey. p. 97. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-08-04. Retrieved 2018-08-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ US Department of Defense. "AGS-17 AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER" (PDF). North Korea Country Handbook 1997, Appendix A: Equipment Recognition. p. A-89. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
- ^ Small Arms Survey (2008). "Light Weapons: Products, Producers, and Proliferation". Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-521-88040-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone". 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
- ^ На границе Джобара и Замальки | At the border of Jobar and Zamalka. Archived 2017-04-06 at the Wayback Machine 16 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Vcvikov tde v Prpore vcviku Martin". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Turkey ags".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Vietnam made groove machine guns against the "wave people" (in Vietnamese) Archived October 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ https://www.tienphong.vn/hanh-trang-nguoi-linh/kham-pha-vu-khi-dac-trung-cua-quan-doi-viet-nam-878513.tpo
External links[]
Media related to AGS-17 at Wikimedia Commons
- Automatic grenade launchers
- Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union
- Grenade launchers of the Soviet Union
- KBP Instrument Design Bureau products
- Military equipment introduced in the 1970s