In October 2019, the Turkish military announced that the first 500 units of the new 40×46SRmm Akdaş AK-40GL grenade launchers had completed delivery. A total of 8,000 units were ordered, with 2,500 additional launchers slated to be delivered very soon, according to the manufacturer. As with many contemporary, single-shot grenade launchers, AK-40GLs can be configured as a standalone unit with a stock and pistol grip. However, these launchers are primarily intended for use in conjunction the MPT-76 (7.62×51mm) and MPT-55 (5.56×45mm) series of self-loading rifles, produced for the Turkish military by MKEK, as an under barrel mounted system.
Akdaş Arms Company was contracted to produce the grenade launcher system. The company was established in 1948, in Konya and specialises in producing hunting shotguns and rifles with many of those weapons being sold for export. In 1987, they expanded their operations and acquired more tooling to produce spare parts for other companies in the weapons industry and take on larger contracts for the military. In 2017, Akdaş Arms Company was given a contract to produce the new MPT-76 rifles by MKEK, and 50,000 units were ordered for production between 2017 and 2018.
The AK-40GL is fully ambidextrous, and capable of being loaded from both sides as the barrel swivels left or right and has a release button located on either side, with a similar placement to that of the M203’s. The safety lever is also ambidextrous, just behind the trigger group. It fires the NATO standard 40×46SRmm grenade and weighs in at 1.5 kg. The launcher has a maximum effective range of 400 meters and a service life of 5,000 rounds.
Turkish military forces currently utilize the T-40 R5 grenade launcher, which is an M203-inspired 40×46SRmm launcher that is designed to attach to the older 7.62×51mm G3 and 5.56×45mm HK 33E A2/A3 self-loading rifles. The T-40 attaches to the weapon in place of the standard handguard. MKEK copies of the six shot, South African-made Milkor MGL-Mk1 are also issued to Turkish troops designated as grenadiers. There were previous attempts by MKEK to integrate the T-40 under barrel grenade launcher with the new MPT series of rifles, however, these are believed to have been shelved due to them being too bulky and unwieldy for soldiers to use effectively. At this time both grenade launchers are currently in service with the Turkish military with the new AK-40GLs and MPT-76 and MPT-55 rifles set to gradually phase out G3s and HK33s with the T-40.
Another Turkish firearm component manufacturing company, MERTSAV Defense, introduced an M320 Grenade Launcher Module-influenced launcher, the TAR-40, in 2018. It appears, however, that the Akdaş Arms Company’s AK-40GL won out over this design.
In this video, Akdaş Arms Company had an AK-40GL unit undergo a torture test, in order to assess the durability and reliability of their grenade launcher system. A launcher was put inside a chamber and blasted with dust. Then it was subject to a rain simulation using running water. Afterwards, the launcher was attached to an MPT-76 and put inside a violently shaking platform to simulate a soldier moving and running with the weapon, then fired to ensure that its components are unharmed and operational. The launcher was heated in a chamber to 55-degrees Celsius (131-degrees Fahrenheit), test fired, then was put in the same chamber, this time frozen to -40-degrees Celsius (-40-degrees Fahrenheit) and was taken to the range to test fire once again with no issues.
In the second battery of tests, the same launcher was subjected to a salt bath, and then ensured no cracks or damage were present, followed by being put through rigorous drop tests before being taken out to the range once more with exceptional results. A target at 200 meters was hit accurately in the last potion of the video. From the looks of Akdaş’ test footage, the grenade launcher held up well and appears very reliable and robust.
Bibliography:
Sav Turk. (2019). AKDAŞ SİLAH’tan TSK envanterine yerli ve milli üretim bomba atar “AKDAŞ AK40-GL”
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Sav Turk. (2019). AKDAŞ SİLAH 3’üncü kez Milli Piyade Tüfeği (MPT-76) imalatında görev alacak
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Doğan Abdullah, Anadolu Agency. (2019) Yerli ‘bomba atarlar’ kışlada.
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Akdas Arms Co. 2019, GRENADE LAUNCHER QUALIFICATION TESTS.
<https://youtu.be/5SK_ygB8p-U>
Vinning, Miles, The Firearm Blog, 2018. Turkish MERTSAV Defense Unveils TAR-40 Grenade Launcher.
<https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/07/16/turkish-mertsav-defense-unveils-tar-40-grenade-launcher/>
This is a guest article by Djiego Emmanuel Cura-Igama. Djiego is a university student studying criminal justice and a part-time animal docent at a zoo. He studies modern military arms and equipment, particularly those found in the Philippines, where he lived for a part of his youth.