Rifle grenades are a broad family of grenades projected from service rifles by rod, cup, spigot, muzzle-device, bullet-trap, or shoot-through launch methods. World War I examples extended infantry grenade reach with explosive, smoke, signal, message, and emerging anti-tank payloads, while postwar HEAT designs such as the British No. 94 Energa and U.S. M31 used shaped charges for short-range anti-armor fire. The cataloged conflict record spans rifle-launched use, recovered ammunition, and modern reuse of rifle-grenade munitions as drone payloads in Myanmar and Ukraine.
A U.S. Marine Corps history reproduces the Medal of Honor citation for Corporal Larry Smedley, describing Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops near Happy Valley in December 1967 and an enemy rifle grenade exploding nearby during the action.
During July 2008 anti-insurgent operations around Baghdad, U.S. soldiers seized weapons caches that included rifle grenades, hand grenades, mortars, explosives, AK-pattern rifles, and other materiel linked to insurgent and militia activity.
Role detailsConflict Armament Research documented Islamic State ammunition in Iraq and Syria and counted seven rifle grenades in Iraq, making the row a captured or documented-materiel claim rather than confirmed firing.
Specialist reporting documented Polish PGN-60 and KGN rifle grenades with Ukrainian units, including a Ukrainian Marines consignment in Kherson and examples prepared or used as FPV-drone warheads rather than fired from rifles.
Role detailsPhilippine Joint Task Force marines, army, and police tactical units were described using rifle-grenade fire with mortars and small arms while advancing through Marawi's built-up districts; a Philippine News Agency report separately documented recovered rifle grenades in the main battle area believed to have come from Maute-group materiel.
Myanmar reporting and regional analysis described local defence or People's Defense Force units dropping M9 rifle grenades from commercial drones onto junta troops or checkpoints in 2022, using the rifle-grenade munition as an aerial payload rather than a rifle-launched round.
Rifle grenades are grouped less by one manufacturer than by how the rifle launches them and what cartridge the firer must use.
Rodded, cup, and many postwar projector systems used special blank or ballistite cartridges, including the British No. 94 Energa.
Cup dischargers and spigot-style projectors let the grenade sit outside the bore, reducing the barrel wear associated with early rodded grenades.
Modern bullet-trap grenades such as the Instalaza FTV are designed for standard ball ammunition and 22 mm muzzle interfaces.
Sources: Grenades; Grenade, hand and rifle, No 36 M Mk 1 (Sectioned); The Anti-Tank Grenade No. 94 (Energa); FTV rifle grenade.
Rifle grenades are best treated as a design family rather than a single model: the useful distinctions are launch interface, cartridge requirement, and payload role.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rodded rifle grenades | Early barrel-insert launch format | World War I examples inserted a rod down the rifle barrel and used a special blank cartridge; later cup systems reduced rifle wear problems associated with rodded firing. Sources: Grenades, Grenade, hand and rifle, No 36 M Mk 1 (Sectioned) |
| Cup-discharge rifle grenades | Cup launcher fitted to rifle muzzle | British World War I gas-check Mills grenade adaptations illustrate cup-launched hand/rifle grenade use. |
| No. 94 Energa | Postwar HEAT rifle grenade | British training material identifies the Energa as the Anti-Tank Grenade No. 94, fired from a No. 4 rifle projector with a special .303-inch rifle-grenade cartridge. |
| M31 HEAT | U.S. postwar HEAT rifle grenade | U.S. Army ammunition data describes the M31 as a point-initiated, base-detonated HEAT rifle grenade with a shaped charge, Comp B fill, M211 fuze, and M3 rifle-grenade cartridges in packaging. Sources: TM 43-0001-29 Army Ammunition Data Sheets for Grenades |
 | Linked U.S. HEAT rifle-grenade record | The catalog has a separate M9 record for the U.S. World War II anti-tank rifle grenade family, including later Myanmar drone-drop reporting. Sources: Drone drops M9 grenade on junta checkpoint in Sagaing's Monywa Town, Commentary: Drones are changing the state of play for Myanmar resistance forces |
| Bullet-trap 22 mm rifle grenades | Modern ball-ammunition launch format | Instalaza's FTV illustrates a current 22 mm muzzle, 5.56 mm, bullet-trap rifle grenade with anti-armor and fragmentation effects. Sources: FTV rifle grenade |
National WWI Museum material describes wartime rifle grenades carrying high explosive, smoke, signals, messages, and late-war anti-tank payloads.
Sources: Grenades
Imperial War Museums notes that a spring 1918 No. 36 Mills grenade adaptation used a gas-check disc in a discharger cup and replaced rodded grenades that caused excessive rifle wear.
Sources: Grenade, hand and rifle, No 36 M Mk 1 (Sectioned)
War Office training material identified the Energa as an infantry section anti-tank weapon fired from a No. 4 rifle projector with a dedicated rifle-grenade cartridge.
Sources: The Anti-Tank Grenade No. 94 (Energa)
A Marine Corps history reproduces a Medal of Honor citation describing a rifle grenade exploding near Corporal Larry Smedley during a fight with Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops near Happy Valley.
Sources: U.S. Marines in Vietnam: Fighting the North Vietnamese, 1967
Mizzima reported local defence forces dropping an M9 rifle grenade from a drone onto a junta checkpoint in Sagaing Region.
Sources: Drone drops M9 grenade on junta checkpoint in Sagaing's Monywa Town
The Armourer's Bench documented a July 2024 Ukrainian Marines consignment that included Polish PGN-60 and KGN rifle grenades, with some later prepared as FPV-drone payloads.
Sources: Polish Rifle Grenades for Ukrainian Drones
