One of the intriguing, if rarely seen, weapons seen in Ukraine are rifle grenade launchers that are able to launch standard RDG-5 hand grenades. Historically, this is an idea that has been around for a long time. Emerging during the First World War and continuing to be used during the Second World War, a detachable metal cup could be fitted to the muzzle of a rifle which would hold the grenade and allow expanding gases from the firing of a blank round to throw the grenade downrange. In British military parlance, they were described as cup dischargers and could be used to launch No.36 Mills Bombs. British Army also issued the No.68 anti-tank grenade which could be fired from a cup discharger. During more recent conflicts after the collapse of the USSR and later in the middle east, designs capable of being fitted to AK-pattern rifles have been used.
During my research I’ve come across just a handful of videos of these cup dischargers in use in Ukraine, there may be more, and they are essentially demonstrations of the device rather than evidence of combat use. The first was shared by Ukraine’s Office of Strategic Communications on 14 November 2022. The caption notes that the discharger has a range of around 150m
The second video surfaced around 30 March 2023. The body of the cup is in the white, unpainted. Both of the videos show small cups made of machined metal which threaded directly onto the rifle’s barrel (once the standard muzzle device has been detached). They have differing external dimensions and profiles but they both feature a metal band into which the grenade’s safety lever can be slid. This holds the arm in place and prevents the grenade’s UZRGM fuze from arming before it’s fired and airborne. It appears that the cups are locally manufactured perhaps by different workshops and manufacturers.
The grenades appear to have a press-fit gas seal in the cup. The grenades are launched using blank cartridges, rather than ball ammunition. The blank creates enough pressure in the barrel, behind the base of the grenade, to launch it out of the cup.
A video shared in 2021, long before the Russian invasion in February 2022, shows a very similar design and suggests that the idea has been around for a while in the region.
Most recently, on 11 August, the Russian Ministry of Defence shared a short video featuring a Russian Army engineers who are manufacturing 82mm Mortar round conversions for launching from RPG-7s and also cup dischargers for AK-74 pattern rifles. The design is identical to those seen previously. The engineer explains they are made on a lathe and the grenades are launched by a blank cartridge. In the clip we can clearly see that again there is a metal band which the grenade’s safety lever is slid.
Gauging the angle at which to aim the rifle for the grenade to reach its target appears to be largely intuitive. In both videos, the grenade detonates in the air. Theoretically, the user should be able to deliver grenades both onto targets and above them in air bursts.
While the cup discharger would certainly be useful in a trench or urban fighting situation, allowing supplies of grenades to be used up one reason the cup dischargers are rarely seen is that under-barrel grenade launchers are in ample supply. These likely offer greater range, accuracy, and flexibility.
Update 4/9/23: Russia’s Channel One news shared a report featuring a cup dischargers in use on the frontline.
Video reportedly features a Russian Spetsnaz unit from the Southern military district and was filmed on 31 August in the Artemovsky/Bakhmut region. A pair of cup dischargers can be seen.
Update – 30/10/23: A short video showing a failed launch of an RDG-5 grenade.
Update 23/4/24: A video showing how a Russian improvised rifle grenade discharger cup for VOG-pattern grenades is loaded and operated.
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The Armourers Bench 