Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
Compost: Why should a salvo of rifle grenades wreck the weapons? The rifle/carbine is largely unaffected by the use of rifle grenades..
First, “bullet-trap or –through designs” produce a pressure pulse that is higher than the normal pressure for which the rifle or carbine was primarily designed. For grenade launching to be approved that higher pressure must be within safety limits. Perhaps that also means there are no cumulative affects and my residual concern there is wrong.

Second, the user expects the recoil to be higher and anyway to achieve range a recommended method of firing is with the butt grounded. If/when the weapon is held down with inadequate pressure – especially against a hard surface – the butt is liable to damage together with any frangibles attached to the weapon. That is likely to occur due to haste and stress during operations and exercise and training. An expert is unlikely to make that mistake but in volley/salvo fire only some will be rifle grenade experts.

UBGLs and MGLs will typically not be together in a small unit. 40 mm medium velocity ammunition also puts a bold question mark behind a platoon ("commando", "light" or "patrol") mortar since it has ~700 m range and enough physical effect to achieve similar psychological effect.
Agree UGLs and MGLs and mortars will typically not all be together in a small sub-unit such as a section/squad but at least two of the three are on issue to some modern platoons. The USMC platoon now has one or more MGLs and its squads have UGLs able to fire LV and MV rounds.

However, a light mortar is longer ranged than 40mm MV weapons and can launch a significantly heavier and more damaging weight of ‘munitions’ particularly including HE, line, smoke and exotics such as para-cameras and micro-UAVs. If a light mortar is needed by a USMC platoon then a 60mm can be obtained from the company weapons platoon.

Hence my phrase: “when a modern platoon can have a 60mm handheld mortar (issued or attached) and also one or more 40mm MGLs “.

In line with that concept, the Br Army platoon has regained a light mortar and its sections have UGLs. I believe that 60mm mortar would be carefully kept on issue (although not invariably carried on light infantry operations) even if the platoon were to gain one or even two of the increasingly attractive 40mm MGLs.