The US Army wants to turn the legendary Mk19 40-mm belt-fed automatic grenade launchers, which have been widely used in Ukraine since 2022, into means of combating drones. To do this, they plan to equip them with new specialized ammunition.
According to the request of the US military, this involves equipping them with specialized integrated sensors that will detect a target in the air. After that, the ammunition will be remotely detonated at a distance that is optimal for causing maximum damage to the aircraft.
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It can be stated that this is about the creation of programmable ammunition. This is a typical method of countering unmanned aerial vehicles, which is actively implemented in various anti-aircraft artillery systems, such as Skynex or Skyranger, which have proven themselves well in Ukraine.
It is also about the creation or integration of appropriate means of detection and automation of their operation. However, there is currently no information about whether it will be an autonomous turret or the system will be used in manual mode.
In particular, it is specified that the new development should be easily integrated and used with existing fire control systems, weapons and remote controlled weapon stations (RCWS). Thus, the developers are trying to simplify the further adaptation of the system to existing means.
Regarding the choice of 40-mm grenade launchers for combating UAVs, it can be noted that similar proposals have been made for a long time. However, such a solution also has disadvantages due to the low velocity of the ammunition, which limits the range of air targets.
Mk19 is a legendary American weapon, adopted into service in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War. Currently, there are 28 countries in which the Mk 19 grenade launcher is in service with the armies. Among these countries is also Ukraine, which received these grenade launchers as part of military assistance from partners.
Given the widespread use of these systems as well as RCWSs based on them, the US Army's project makes some sense, including the fact that remote-detonated munitions can also be used against conventional targets, such as infantry in cover. However, for now this is just a request for proposals, so it remains to be seen what the Americans will come up with.
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