“Once developed and implemented, this weapon system could radically change future battlefield strategies,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO of FN America. That dream now falls on the Multi-purpose Tactical Launcher 30mm (MTL-30), a semi-automatic grenade launcher designed to satisfy the U.S. Army’s Precision Grenadier System (PGS) requirement.
The MTL-30 is a major departure from previous efforts at soldier-portable grenade launchers, most famously the doomed XM25. Weighing just more than 10 pounds and 35 inches long, it reduces the XM25’s weight by almost four pounds while taking ergonomics and ambidextrous controls from the M4 carbine. The familiar design is meant to reduce training time and facilitate integration with existing infantry tactics. Firing from 3- or 5-round box magazines, the gun provides modular 30mm medium-velocity ammunition with 500 meters, effective range, reaching farther and more precisely than the Army’s existing 40mm systems.
FN’s design features a Picatinny rail and M-LOK attachment points for optics and sensors, making it ready to integrate with next-generation fire control systems. Although the Army has yet to release the selected optic, compatibility with Vortex XM157 “smart optic” is within reach, which allows for laser rangefinding, ballistic calculation, and target monitoring. Equivalents, like Barrett and MARS Inc.’s Squad Support Rifle System (SSRS), already utilize Precision Targeting LLC’s DFC-PT suite that combines weather sensors, a laser range finder, and a disturbed reticle for quick, accurate engagements.
The ammunition family conceptualized for PGS is as varied as the threats it will counter. AMTEC’s 30x42mm rounds at 203 m/s for flatter trajectory consist of High Explosive Air Burst (HEAB), Proximity Fuzed, Close Quarters Battle (CQBR) “shotgun-like” loads, Counter-Drone rounds, and Armor-Piercing rounds against lightly armored vehicles. These technologies respond to the increasing threat from small unmanned aerial systems, with the Army’s Project Flytrap layered defense concept calling for combining detection, jamming, and kinetic kill capabilities at the squad level.
The MTL-30’s flat trajectory provides significant advantages over traditional M203 and M320 grenade launchers, whose 40x46mm rounds trace a steep arc and top out at 350–400 meters. A linear flight path lowers time-to-target and provides better accuracy on moving or airborne targets. Low-felt recoil also improves control, enabling quick follow-up shots in close proximity or counter-defilade engagements.
But the weapon’s promise is accompanied by logistics challenges. NATO does not have a standard for 30mm grenade ammunition, so the MTL-30’s cartridges cannot be openly transferred between alliance forces. This is similar to the problem with the Next Generation Squad Weapon program, wherein the 6.8x51mm round brought supply chain complication. As laid out in NATO’s ammunition interoperability studies, these kinds of mismatches technical, legal, or policy-related can complicate multinational operations. Without standardization, spare parts, ammunition manufacturing, and distribution networks have to be created anew, adding expense and making coalition logistics more difficult.
The Army plans to award the PGS to one grenadier per squad, similar to the M79 during Vietnam but with much higher utility. A grenadier would be able to carry seven magazines forty-five rounds depending on mission needs, from opening doors to taking out drones. FN America’s John Bungard noted that the MTL-30 would also be networked with remote weapon stations, generating multi-layered defense against unmanned aerial systems.
The origins of the PGS program go back at least 2020, with several industry participants bidding for contracts. In addition to FN and Barrett/MARS, American Rheinmetall’s HAMMR and Northrop Grumman-Colt’s 25mm design are under development. The competition is part of an increased shift in infantry armament philosophy: away from under-barrel grenade launchers toward specialized, precision systems that provide overmatch across varied terrains urban, jungle, woodland, subterranean, and desert day and night.
For the MTL-30, the road forward is to improve reliability, manufacturability, and integration into Army systems. If FN can overcome the twin hurdles of technical performance and logistic adoption, the MTL-30 can very well meet Cherpes’s vision, revolutionizing squad-level fire power for the battlefield.
