The MK285 is an airburst grenade that can be fired from certain 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launchers.[1][2]
The grenade was designed for the Mk 47 Striker.[1] The Mk 47 is a candidate for replacing the Mk 19 grenade launcher, first fielded in 1968, and still in widespread service, around the world. The Mk 47 is considerably lighter than the Mk 19, is designed to fire all the same suites of grenades as the Mk 19, together with more modern grenades the Mk 19 could not fire with full functionality, like the MK285 grenade.[2]
The MK285 contains a programmable fuse, initially designed by Bofors but finalized by Nammo, that sets the distance at which the grenade will explode, when the weapon's trigger is pulled.[1][3] The weapon's computerized sight will have measured the distance to the target the gunner was aiming at, and that distance will be transferred to the grenade's fuse. The munition spins, on its way to the target, and the fuse counts rotations to measure the distance travelled.
This airburst capability means that the grenade can damage or disable soft targets, like trucks, with a near miss.[1] It also means the grenade can injure or kill soldiers who are behind walls or in trenches, through indirect fire, who could not be hurt by more conventional grenades that exploded when hitting those walls. The manufacturer characterizes the grenade as a weapon that can hit around corners.
As of 2015 the Mk 19 remained the frontline grenade launcher used by the US military.[4] Limited numbers of Mk 47 weapons had been issued to special forces units.[5]
The grenade is manufactured by the Norwegian firm Nammo Raufoss.[4]
The explosive in the grenade is classed as "insensitive" - ie. less likely to sympathetically explode due to the nearby explosion of other munitions.[5]
References
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"MK285 40mm High Velocity Ammunition". Global Security. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
The electronic fuse is based on the Bofors 3P programmable fuse, minus the proximity part. The programming takes place before firing inside the barrel which is all based on a Bofors patent.
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Harold C. Hutchinson (2017-10-16). "Say hello to America's newest 40mm grenade machine gun". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
Perhaps the deadliest accessory for the Mk-47 is the Mk-285 grenade. This is airburst ammunition, much like the 25mm rounds fired by the XM25 Punisher. How does it know when to airburst? It's programmed with data from the advanced sight.
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Dennis Lambrecht (2006-05-18). "Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher (MK47 Weapon System and Ammunition)" (PDF). Navsea Warfare Centers. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
Fuze set in chamber as hammer falls
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"Automatic Grenade Launchers" (PDF). Small Arms Survey Research Notes. No. 48. February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
The first successfully fielded ABM for an AGL was the Nammo MK 285 Programmable Pre-fragmented High Explosive (PPHE),10 developed at Nammo Raufoss in Norway as part of the MK 47 Mod 0 Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher (ALGL)11 system (Jenzen-Jones, 2014).
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"Which lightweight automatic grenade launcher for the Australian Defence Force?". Small Arms Defence Journal. 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
This has been in use with United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) forces since 2004, with over 100,000 rounds of MK285 having been fired in combat zones to date, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq.