The GP-25/GP-30 followed conventional design wisdom by making use of the widely-accepted 40mm grenade projectile firing from a single-shot format. Unlike the American M79 and M203 launchers, however, the Soviet/Russian GP-25 / GP-30 was completed as a muzzle-loading weapon (as opposed to the American breech-loading approach). The basic design included a tubular barrel coupled with a short, slab-sided receiver-type assembly which integrated the trigger loop and pistol-type grip containing a thumbhole. The GP series fit under the handguard of AK-style weapon systems with the assault rifle body acting as the host system for the launcher, allowing the infantryman to fire the grenade launcher from the shoulder utilizing a traditional three-point hold.
The GP family of grenade launchers has seen widespread use around the globe, particularly in national armies whose political ties were once (or are still) aligned with the Soviet Union/Russia. Rebel fighters in the Middle East and Southern Asia have been known to favor the type when its availability was made possible. The GP launcher still maintains a presence in the modern Russian Army and has also been issued to forces of Georgia, Lithuania, North Korea, Pakistan, Ukraine and Vietnam. Georgia produces the type under license.
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