The TKB-0249 (Cyrillic: ТКБ-0249), codenamed Arbalet (Cyrillic: Арбалет, lit. "crossbow") is a magazine-fed, 30mm caliber grenade launcher of Russian origin.
History[]
The weapon's development began in the late 1980s, and was introduced in the late 1990s.
Design Details[]
The TKB-0249 is a semi-automatic grenade launcher distinguished by an elongated receiver. The reason for the length of the receiver is to accommodate a powerful compensator system to reduce recoil to something similar to that of a machine gun. Ammunition is fed into the weapon from either a 5-round box magazine or a 10-round drum. The shock-trigger mechanism is placed in an area above the pistol grip.
The weapon also features a bipod for long-distance shooting from a stationary position, with ranges of up to 1,700 meters. For a sighting system, it can be used with either the PSO-1 telescopic sight (as used in the Dragunov sniper rifle), or the more modern and accurate Hyperion sight.
Ammunition[]
The TKB-0249 uses the same belted 30×29mmB grenades as used in other Russian-developed 30mm grenade launchers, such as the AGS-17.