How Russian Grenade Launcher Doubles as Mini Artillery 

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Using an auto grenade launcher as "a mortar" with a small cheap consumer drone as your own personal "artillery spotter" is a wild combo! What a game changer for the squad level

You forgot to mention very important thing. That russian one has indirect fire optics. So it was designed for indirect fire from beginning

Drone + automatic grenade launcher looks like a very cheap an interesting combo.

As a former M203 grenade launcher shooter, I can tell you that even that piece of work can serve as mini-artillery. A better description might be mini-mortar, however. The M203 has a bore of 40mm, whereas the Russian AGS-17 is 30mm.

killing the inventor of weapon that would have liquidated the germans in ww2 because of stalin being a power hungry maniac is quite a dark twist of fate

This is one of the weapons that makes me question how the military in zombie movies gets destroyed so easily.

How could you NOT like an automatic grenade launcher?

I've seen lots of footage of how incredibly effective drone corrected AGS is. The MK19 can be used in a similar way

The US Army M101A1 howitzer(105mm) artillery piece developed in World War II is also in use in Ukraine. It has similarly been update for use in the current war with the addition of GPS and drone as a spotter. PS - It’s interesting to see how modern tech has made older gear good enough.

By the way, a poll of WWII historians considered Kulik. who cancelled the project, to be the WORST general of WWII. He was in charge of Soviet artillery manufacturing and apparently hated all good ideas, like building fast-firing, high velocity guns for tanks. So he sabotaged their development as much as he could. Soviets had great tank designs but lacked good guns for them and it plagued Soviet military till the late stages of the war.

Commissar: Comrade Stalin...we have found genius who invent new thing that actually work! Stalin: So. He has chosen death.

A pretty vicious weapon when under AI control in ARMA series.

We had one brought back from Desert Storm sitting in a display case until 2000 when after it was examined closer was found to be still fully intact and operational :)

One of the advantages of having this system in the unit is that in can be employed in the platoon level without having to request permisson from upper echelon.

Great vid as always, would just like to chime in I was trained as a gunner on our variant of the AGS. It is a specialized MOS in our military. (Been a while so don't @me if I get US military terminology wrong lol) We operated it in two-man teams, one person carried the launcher, while the other, called the Servicer/Server carried the legs (Stall?) and the ammo, 2X Cases) on a platoon level. The SOP was to deploy it, while an element from the platoon provided security. The Gunner operates the system, while the server maintains, brings ammunition and assists in directing the accuracy of fire/ almost like an artillery spotter, issued with a ractification sight. (Mind you our variant was significantly heavier, but from what I've heard the stand was a lot sturdier and didn't suffer the wobble that was common with Russian made ones). We've never really trained for "Human Wave" attacks. But instead, most of our training and firing was focused on support of maneuver elements within the platoon, suppression of positions or destruction of fortified position and light vehicles. Even during my time (I'm old we didn't have drones back then lol), the accuracy with which a trained operator can put one of these on you at 800+ meters is a humbling experience. A really understated weapon in Eastern European military doctrines. I'll just paraphrase the manual " Intended for destruction of covered and uncovered living force at distances up to 1700 m, and destruction of lightly armored combat means at distances up to 1000 m."

I think this is a sneak peek into the future of artilery; miniaturized to the point of becoming portable by one sordier, gaining incredible versatility on the battlefield.

1700 metres, thats pretty good! The grenade launcher I used was single shot with a range of only 350 metres, less than that if you fired into a head wind or fired uphill. The enemy usually opened fire at about 400 - 500 metres. It had very little recoil, so Inever understood why they didn't put more propellant into the cartridges.

I had training to this weapon in Finland's army. I was left in impression its somewhat short range, due to low muzzle velocity, is a hindrance that exposes these crews to frontline fire. And ammo was quite sensitive. I'm happy we ain't using it anymore.

@TaskAndPurpose I love the in-depth research and quality content on this channel. Just nit-picking, it should probably be "Plamya", not "Playma"?

The AGS-30 with its tripod mount and a drum of grenade belt weights only 30kg (while ags17 weights 30 kg with tripod mount and unloaded, both use 14 kg 29 round belt of 30mm grenades in belt drum) that means in emergency it can be moved by one person or be divided between two for long marches. It can be also used with battlefield radar for targeting which is also man portable. The newer ags40 is more analogous to mk47 and mk19 and is not as movable as the ags30, while also having similar performance to mk47 and other similar systems.

Great content as always! Minor point, "Molot" (the Russian word for "hammer") Machine Building plant is pretty well known with a long history. Among other things, they produce the RPK light machine guns which are heavily used throughout the world, including on both sides of the Ukraine conflict. They also produced a commercial version of the RPK called the Vepr (Boar), which was very popular in the United States in the 2010's.

They have used the soviet 2B9 belt fed 82mm fully automatic mortar for years as a standard tactic so using this as a lightweight version makes sense, It would be interesting to know if this and the 2b9 are used together very often

Cappy levelled up with all the fancy graphics.

Very informative Cappy, good stuff 👏 👍

AGs -17 is only 16kg unloaded, means it becomes similar weight class to a squad light machine gun :) ... making it feel up a niche position as it can be used as single person weapon...However AS-40 again falls back to 30 kg range , making it a crew served weapon. Probably both of them will be used but in different unit level. Infantry Squad will have the AGS-17 and paltoon or mechanized infantry will have the ags-40.

I love these videos

There was some good footage from 2014 in the battle for the Donetsk airport with Ukrainian SF ‘cyborgs’ using the AGS-17 in an indirect fire role. No drones tho, just a spotter with a radio

haven't Ukrainian forces reported that using DJI drones is risky because Russia appears to have a backdoor into these PRC manufactured drones?

I was hoping you were going to talk about the ammunition aswell... For the simplistic design, point detonating with on board self-destruct function in later variations, the safety of rotation fuse bock... Simple enough (after modification)that a number of folk using these for targeted drone drop attacks, are building adapters for all sorts of drones... Experiences with these are getting folks interested into tinkering with the western 40mm grenad fuse types and doing the same... If anything this weapon system and ammunition has been used in a fundamental turning point for the modern battlefield today...

Nice posting, Cappy. I see you are also about to crack the symbolic 1 million level. Keep up the good work.

Most informative! Thanks

Thanks for the great videos!!!! ✌️from 🇨🇦

These are clearly the best videos you do !!! They’re always well researched and organized. I demand more !!! 😊

Great info as always.

Just joined the squad, former 11B P, love your work.

10:45 you also missed the indirect fire sight, that even without the drone, and just a forward observers with a radio. Indirect MACHINE GUN fire is still taught in the Australian Army, using GPMG (Mag58) 7.62NATO machine guns. These are called DFSW soldiers, they use the C2A2 sight used on mortars, with a GPMG mounted in an adjustable locking tripod mount (or mounted Infantry using a RWS) turning the guns into ERMG

11:30 I talked to many guys who served and fought, they call it aiming by firing. Basically you fire and see where it goes, then you adjust, once you get to that target/perfect point you just continue on working on their positions

Great thorough analysis!😎

Nice one Cappy, at ease.

wow, an eye in the sky makes these a terrifying weapon. You didn't mention ammo cost but I'm guessing using just a couple range finding rounds makes it pretty low compared to mortars for similar affect. I can see countries making drone manufacturing a key part of their ground defense budget. The tactical advantage of a drone that only weighs a few pounds is huge.

I'm eager to see in the near future the further investment of the Wagnerian combat shovels. Those SoB's are the modern warfare deadliest things according to both British and US MoD's. Since the past 2 month the Russian and Wagnerian forces using those weapons achieved a pretty significant territory gain in Bakhmut.

Great report

Nice as usually CC.

12:26 mmm yes, the tactical Jack o stance

Ukraine actually produces it's own automatic grenade launcher called UAG-40 (УАГ-40). It's lighter and more comfortable than soviet AGS. Sadly there is a little information about usage of this systems, but it occasionally pops up on different photos and videos, like recent post from Ukrainian General Staff, where UAG-40 is being used by 46th aerial assault brigade alongside different western systems, like VAB apc.

Well laid out Cappie

Such a Great Show !

This system with airburst ammo and a longer barrel with a better muzzle break, in combination with the needed electronics to be more accurate at aiming in coordination with a drone would be quite insane.

The airplane, machine gun and tank all changed the nature of warfare, Now the drones will make their mark in history

Absolutely love this weapons system!

I love this idea of a middle men between MG/HMG and a grenade launcher

bro said Russian use of the AGS with this tactic is rare... bruh

Being able to get rounds on target is paramount. An SF guy taught us that. He would carry an M203 with training rounds and every time they took contact all he would do was mark the enemies location with that orange powdery shit. Great for urban combat.

Great Stuff

Knowing that your team is running with a Mk-19 is a serious morale boost, no doubt.

Not only drones, but also aiming with special software. Operator choose weapon and ammo. Specify its coords. Drone operator send target coords. Ballistic calculator specify angles for weapon. Next step is to correct wind, elevation, etc by drone observation. UA have tables for most of weapons, even RPG7. Yes, you can fire RPG as ballistic rocket in some cases.

How is he able to make so much content, always surprised when I see another upload.

wow i just learn more from this

Which mic do you use? The lapel or the desk? I'm guessing the lapel, as the blu mic on the desk is facing the wrong way. Audio is pretty good either way.

Hey Cappy, AGS 17 & 30 is a standard infantry grenade Launcher in Indian Army inventory.. thank you for making it..❤ Love from India 🇮🇳

Excellent weapon for a sidecar on a motorcycle.

Drone technology is impacting the battlefield in ways that were not initially perceived. It must be terrifying for both sides. A masterful explanation.

I remember playing the Bridge map in the early America's Army game, and some of us figured how to use the M203 as a mortar on the enemy spawn point to score some first-minute kills

We used to do this all the time in the field with a mk19. Just swap one of the rear tripod legs and the front. Mini mortar!! IMGLC 0331!!

I remember when Russian military bloggers at the onset of the war were talking about this weapon as if it was a top-secret new doomsday death machine... And I was like, are you talkin about that fifty-year-old automatic grenade launcher? XD

Impressive

The AGS-17, unless it has been seriously modified, has a minor flaw. A misfeed strikes the feed plate and explodes, generally taking the remaining ammunition and the crew with it. (Learned during Afghanistan.)

Mom can we have a mk19? No, we have a mk19 at home. "Mk19 at home"

There is a spelling mistake in the name of AGS-17 (in the very first seconds of the clip) - it's "Plamya" (Пламя), not "Playma" (which would be written in Russian as "Плайма", but there is no such word).

The mark 19 can be used the same way and has been, its almost a lost method but actually works pretty well.

🎉very nice job

A friend and I used a drone and an m203 in ArmA 3, interesting to see that it's not just a game-thing.

would be interesting to see how it stacks against the mk19.

I gotta hand it to you. You quoted Russian Company sales figures with a straight face. I couldn't have pulled that off so convincingly.

nice.. thks

Correct me if I'm wrong, the soviets made the first automatic grenade launcher, but they still copied the American military's homework.

US has MK19, but brass wont allows anything fun with it.

Pretty amazing.

"Tool factory number two". How catchy. Where do they come up with such inspiring names? 😭 lol

The fact that you attribute this tactic mainly to Ukrainian forces shows some bias. This tactic wasn't invented by the Ukrainians, nor the Russians. As matter of facts Russians have been using the AGS-17 as a mortar with the help of drones for years now. This tactic was used a lot by Spetsnazs in Syria, and I believe to have seen some US SF use it before too. The fact that this tactic isn't written in any military handbook, doesn't mean it's new or inexistent. Russians nor Ukrainians aren't catching on to this. They have been doing it for a long time, and you can actually see it being portrayed in the Wagner movie "The Best In Hell" which comes to show that the tactic is widely used by both sides.

What keeps surprising me is how they keep telling us Russia ran out of ammunition yet they're still here.

Thanks for making these videos without so much rudiculusness as before with those puns, irony, sarcasm and introAmerican jokings. This is very informative and appreciated.

Great episode ❤🎉 I am waiting for a episode about Moroccan army transformation and the wars it happens

One thing that the Ukrainians have taught us is that everything is artillery if you try hard enough

Good content as always, but try stay clear of bias towards Ukraine, be neutral and keep more subscribers.

8:51 MK-19 kill radius is 5m; casualty radius is 15m.

Thanks Cappy, I’m trying to avoid the dumpster fire in NYC.

Give free access to your content on youtube or lose this subscriber.

So the Russians just don’t use this grenade launcher only the Ukrainian right ok lol

Dude you rock 😊

I love this weapon system

I'm surprised you didn't mention the Ukrainians' new use of the grenades, as dropped directly from small hovering drones.

Russia: Mom, can we have MK 19 Grenade Launcher? Mother Russia: No son, we have MK 19 Grenade Launcher at home

rofl the guy at 7:58 is lovin life at that moment!

you can do this with the mk19 also. shit was fun for COP defense

Lmao, Russia has been short on everything since April last year, right? But isn't it Elensky-Clown who is begging for ever more weapons and money? Thx for the weapon review but pls keep Propaganda out.

🪖🎖️🫡🇷🇺

my man using metric system he evolved

AGS - legendary system