Developments in Non-Lethal Payloads for 12-Gauge Shotguns and 40mm Grenade Launchers

The increasing trend towards US soldiers being engaged in peacekeeping operations has inevitably focused attention on the need to provide the infantryman with a wider range of non-lethal munitions to supplement existing lethal ordnance. Although non-lethal perhaps better described as less lethal ordnance is still in its infancy, non-lethal ordnance items have now been fielded, or are in development, in all the major gun calibers available to the infantryman including 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 12-gauge and 40mm grenade launchers. In this context, 12-gauge shotguns and 40mm high and low velocity grenade launchers MK19 and M203M79 respectively are probably the most versatile weapons for infantrymen to launch non-lethal ordnance from a standoff position. One reason for this is the wide range of distances that can be covered by 12-gauge and 40mm ordnance, another being the relatively large volume, particularly in 40mm projectiles, for incorporating non-lethal payloads.