German defence manufacturer presents "world's first automatic grenade launcher"

The German defence manufacturer Rheinmetall has introduced the Squad Support Weapon 40 (SSW40) hand grenade launcher, which can be handled like a conventional assault rifle.

What Rheinmetall has managed to do with the SSW40 is to make the grenade launcher even smaller and easier to operate, while at the same time accommodating more damage to the enemy in a smaller weapon, per Building TECH.

Rheinmetall claims to have reduced the weapon's recoil and uses a self-adjusting recoil system to fire any type of 40mm low velocity (LV) ammunition.

The SSW40 is a portable grenade launcher, but with a magazine for reloading grenades; it acts like an assault rifle. The company also claims it is the "world's first automatic" grenade launcher, meaning the weapon will continue to fire grenades until the magazine is empty.

The kit includes ammunition with a range of up to 900 metres, capable of penetrating armour or exploding in the air. The SSW40 also works with medium velocity (MV) ammunition developed by Rheinmetall. The company noted that this includes warheads with lighting/fog, sound and flash, door-breaking, anti-tank, and high-explosive fragmentation capabilities.

Rheinmetall is confident that this ammunition will be effective even against medium-weight armoured vehicles. In the event of an asymmetric conflict, the magazine on the weapon can be quickly replaced and used also for close combat.

The SSW40 is designed to include additional modules such as laser light modules, fire control sights, and infrared programmers for aerial munitions.