Lanciatoregranate LG-21
| Lanciatoregranate LG-21 | |
|---|---|
 Standalone LG-21 | |
| Type | Grenade launcher |
| Place of origin |  Luminerra |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2019 - |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Royal Defense Research Agency |
| Designed | 2014 |
| Manufacturer | Arsenale Reale e Ordinanza S.p.A |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) |
| Length | 500 mm (19.6 in) |
| Barrel length | 407 mm (15.6 in) |
| Cartridge | 40x42 mm caseless grenades |
| Action | Electrically fired |
| Rate of fire | 21 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 95 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 150 - 300 m against point or area targets |
| Maximum firing range | 400 m |
| Feed system | Breach loading for 3 grenade rounds |
| Sights | standard ladder sight, standard powered top rail for optical devices, advanced electronic fire control system in development. |
The Lanciatoregranate LG-21 is a three round, breech loaded grenade launcher designed by the Royal Defense Research Agency and produced by Arsenale Reale e Ordinanza S.p.A as part of the Lumenic Legion's Forza Futura modernization and future weapons systems project. The Lanciatoregranate LG-21 offers a unique advantage of being the only 40 mm launcher which is light and compact enough to attach as an accessory to an assault rifle, while also providing a three-shot, semi-automatic firing capability. The system can, in theory, fire upwards of 720 grenades per minute, but is significantly reduced by the ability of the operator to load and fire the weapon.
The Lanciatoregranate LG-21's designation does not currently fit within the Lumenic Legion's usual designation system, as equipment is generally designated with its prefix denoting its purpose or function and the given model number being the year of acceptance into full service. The named as it is currently because of its attachment to the armed force's Forza Futura program. However, the rifle-attachment version of the LG-21 was accepted into service in June of 2020, though the Lumenic Legion choose to retain the LG-21 designation. It is believed, therefore, that the other Forza Futura weapons will retain their current designations if accepted into service.
History and development
The Forza Futura program was initiated by the Lumenic Legion in 1999 with the intention of developing next generation equipment for the Lumenic Army, specifically its infantry forces. The Forza Futura projects emphasis lies in three areas;
- Personal protection including;
- Next-generation ballistic armor and helmets
- Small arms development including;
- A next generation rifle likely utilizing caseless ammunition.
- A modern squad automatic weapon also utilizing caseless ammunition to replace FC-7FA light machine gun.
- A modern precision rifle utilizing a new high-performance round for long-range engagements
- A next generation stand-alone and rifle mounted grenade launcher
- Development of high-tech integration for developed small arms and electric equipment as well as facilitating communications and command and control at the individual infantrymen's level.
Development of the Lanciatoregranate LG-21 began in 2014 by the Royal Defense Research Agency. The first prototype was produced by RDRA in 2016 and was tested thoroughly. According to reports, the single weapon used continuous throughout the testing phase and was not "thoroughly cleaned or serviced" or the entirety of the testing phase. According to the design team "the ammunition and weapon maintained a constant velocity for 200 firings without any negative effects on performance and no failures of the device.” Since then, the team has reported firing "thousands" of rounds from the prototype with no faults or failures.
In 2017, RDRA commissioned Arsenale Reale e Ordinanza S.p.A to produce 6 versions of the rifle attachment version for testing with the Lumenic Army's FC-7 assault rifles as well as the FC-18 6.5x39 mm caseless rifle that was in its final testing phase. Capitano generale Antonio Albani, current commander of Army Special Forces Command oversaw the weapons trials and commented in a 2018 interview with Armed Forces Today magazine "in the first few seconds a squad equipped with LG-21's can unleash three times the number of grenades on the enemy. Whether in a planned attack, or in response to an ambush, this firepower can be the decisive element in winning the firefight and saving our soldiers lives.” Following the demonstration, Albani pushed for immediate production of the Lanciatoregranate LG-21.
In May of 2019, RDRA declared that the initial design of the Lanciatoregranate LG-21.was completed and commissioned ARO with a further order for 150,000 units, a mixture of rifle attachments and standalone launchers, with follow on orders for more likely.
Design
The Lanciatoregranate LG-21 is a 3-shot semi-automatic grenade launcher utilizing a unique breech-loading system that allows the heads of the second and third loaded rounds to slot into the base of the one in front of them, thus creating the stacked rounds without using a preloaded barrel Ammunition is simply loaded from the breech, via a forward-sliding barrel, directly into a combined barrel/magazine array where three rounds are held in-battery stacked nose-to-tail, or superposed, inline from the breech face along the length of the barrel. Any combination of rounds-types can be loaded and the weapon can be reloaded between shots. The caseless grenade rounds have a hollow base with two cavities: a high-pressure chamber for burning propellant until a separating blow-out disc ruptures to allow hot gas to vent into a low-pressure chamber that produces the force to drive the grenade from the barrel.
These grenades are a unique 40x42 mm design and can not be used interchangeably with the more common 40x46 mm grenades in service with the Lumenic Army. Therefore, the 40x42 mm grenade will not function in the Lanciatoregranate 07 grenade launchers currently in service.
Ammunition types include;
- G16AE High explosive round
- G16DSAE High explosive dual purpose able to penetrate up to 50 mm of RHA or 63 mm of standard steel with a secondary blast fragmentation effect.
- G16TM canister loaded with 320 x 0.25 g tungsten ball fragments
- G16GL CS gas
- G16LB illumination round in various colors, including white, red and green.
- G16FO obscuring smoke round
- G16MF marking smoke round in various colors
- G16F Plastic practice and training rounds
In addition, RDRA has developed a high-explosive round with a programmable fuse that will allow for programable point impact, variable time delay and air bursting modes. The fuses are powered by a battery and receive encoded programming signals from the muzzle induction coil. A fuse programmer attached to the launcher transmits the signal, taking range data from an the fire control system with laser rangefinder to compute firing solutions. This round, introduced in 2022, is know as the Programmabile ad alto Potenziale Esplosivo and is designated G22PPE.
The weapon is fired electronically, with induction coils around the barrel used to ignite the rounds. Electricity for the system is provided by two standard batteries which are guaranteed to provide energy for the life of the barrel but can be changed in the field if necessary.
The Lanciatoregranate LG-21 features a monolithic powered top rail integration system designed to provide electrical power to various electronic attachments, including weapons lights, designation devices and optical/electro-optical sights. Power is provided by a small 3 V coin-shaped battery which can operate under extreme conditions, including in temperatures ranging from -22 to +140 F (-30 to 60C) and has a self-life of over ten years.
