Milkor (Pty) Ltd

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South Africa

Milkor (Pty) Ltd

Milkor MGL

Milkor's original 40x46mm six-shot revolver-cylinder Multiple Grenade Launcher, in continuous production since 1983 and adopted by more than 50 armed forces and law-enforcement agencies worldwide, the base weapon of the wider MGL family.

In service since 1983 · 50 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗

Data confidence Last verified 2026-08-22 ·

Stub · 10%

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

National export licensing

Subject to South Africa export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Widely fielded · 50 operators

In service since 1983. Status: active · ~50,000 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from. Why so few systems publish one →

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Competitive field

1 comparable system from 1 other manufacturer

Counted in the WeaponSpecs database: systems in its class built by another manufacturer that share at least one published role with this system. A count of what this catalog holds, not a survey of the whole market. See the alternatives →

Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Overview

The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher, factory designation Mk1) is a lightweight, shoulder-fired, low-velocity 40x46mm grenade launcher built around a spring-driven, six-round revolver-type cylinder that fires most standard 40x46mm grenades. Introduced in South Africa in 1983, it consists of a progressively rifled steel barrel, a folding stock, and a double-action firing mechanism with an ambidextrous safety selector; the cylinder is hand-wound after reloading and an experienced operator can fire all six rounds in around three seconds. Since introduction, more than 50,000 units have been produced and the weapon has been adopted by over 50 countries' armed forces and police services, making it the best-known and most widely fielded multi-shot grenade launcher in the world. It forms the base platform of Milkor's wider MGL family, which includes the extended-cylinder MGL-140 variant for longer-range medium-velocity ammunition.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Performance specifications
Effective range Distance at which the weapon reliably hits point targets. Higher extends engagement envelope.	400 m
Rate of fire Rounds per minute (cyclic). Higher increases suppression and hit probability.	18 rpm
Muzzle velocity Projectile speed leaving the barrel. Higher means flatter trajectory and better armor penetration.	75 m/s

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
Caliber Bore diameter of the main gun or rifle. Larger throws heavier projectiles; not simply better, ammunition commonality matters.	40 mm
Ammunition Rounds carried (main gun) or standard magazine capacity.	6

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Physical specifications
Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.	0.78 m
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.	5 kg

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Program specifications
Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.	50,000 Stronger than 86% of systems in its class
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.	50 Top 5% of systems in its class

Specifications compiled from public Milkor (Pty) Ltd and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-08-22.

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