Turkey Gets a New Grenade Launcher
The Turkish firearms manufacturer ATA Arms have signed a contract with the Turkish Under-secretariat for Defence Industries (SSB) for the local production of a 40mm grenade launcher. ATA Arms will produce their BA 40 grenade launcher along with 40mm ammunition. The company has historically been known for producing sporting guns such as shotguns and hunting bolt action rifles.
The BA 40 has been under development at ATA Arms for a year and a half. The design was recently unveiled at Turkey’s 2018 SAHA Expo in Istanbul. The new launcher can be mounted to a rifle or used as a standalone launcher. It is 53cm or 20.8 inches long, weighs 1.3 kg or 2.8 lbs, has a double action trigger and a manual safety. The barrel, which is 24cm or 9.5 inches long, can pivot out to the right or left to load making it ambidextrous but slightly easier to load than the classic M203. Turkish military currently use the T-40 under barrel grenade launcher, an indigenously produced copy of the M203 with their G3 rifles.
The new grenade launcher will be paired with Turkey’s new 7.62x51mm infantry rifle, the MPT-76, which has been in production for several years. The MPT-76 was developed and is largely manufactured by MKEK, Turkey’s state-owned small arms manufacturer.
Daily Sabah, a Turkish national newspaper, reported that ATA Arms have also been producing component parts for the MPT-76 as well as working on various other projects. Turkish newspaper Haber Turk also notes that ATA Arms are currently producing a semi-automatic rifle for the Turkish Navy and a shotgun for the Turkish Army and have also been under contract to Georgia, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and Egypt.
ATA Arms hope the BA 40 will attract interest from the international market and have filed national and international patents protecting their ambidextrous loading barrel pivoting design. ATA Arms hope to begin delivering soon with initial deliveries now scheduled to begin before the end of the year.