While the Mk19 40×53 mm automatic grenade launcher has become increasingly ubiquitous in Ukraine, alongside familiar Soviet-era AGLs like the AGS-17, but there are other automatic grenade launchers in use. In this video we’ll look at the use of the comparatively rare Heckler & Koch GMG.
Developed in the early 1990s the GMG (grenade machine gun) or Granatmaschinenwaffe (GMW) uses an advanced primer ignition blowback action. Gun, mount and tripod combined weighs in at around 47.5kgs and has a maximum range of 2,500m. It feeds from 32-round disintegrating belts and is used by over twenty countries.
On 23 May 2023, the German government confirmed that 100 GMGs were to be transferred to Ukraine. The first back of 30 GMGs were confirmed to have reached Ukraine by the German government on 8 December. A subsequent batch of 70 guns were reportedly delivered in March 2024. On 23 December 2024, the German government announced that an additional 120 GMGs had be transferred to Ukraine bringing the total number provided by Germany to 220.
Additionally, it is likely that a small number of HK GMGs may have been provided along with vehicles provided by various countries including the Netherlands and Slovenia. While it is difficult to confirm if a vehicle has simply been mounted with a GMG, rather than being delivered with it, some of the vehicles appeared in Ukraine before Germany pledged the GMGs as aid.
The first HK GMG’s appeared in Ukraine long before the German government began providing them as aid. The first gun was seen in October 2022, appearing in a short clip of a KNDS Fennek reconnaissance vehicle. It should be noted that while confirming if this video was filmed in Ukraine is difficult, the delivery of the vehicles has been confirmed by the Dutch government. Fenneks can either mount a GMG, an M2 Browning or a GPMG. An unknown number of Fenneks are confirmed to have been provided by the Netherlands.
It’s worth noting the Ukrainian troops who have been trained in the UK as part of Operation Interflex may also have been familiarised with the HK GMG which is in UK service as the L134A1, the UK is not known to have provided any of the guns to Ukraine. Ukrainian troops training in the UK in November 2022 were seen familiarising with the GMG, but this may simply have been to familiarise with Western 40mm grenade launchers rather than with the GMG specifically.
There is a considerable gap between sightings with the next appearance coming in February 2024, when a Slovenian Valuk 6×6 armoured personnel carrier equipped with one appeared in a video from Ukrainian journalist Ramina Eshakza. The vehicles gunner discusses using the GMG and close ups show that it is loaded with a belt of M430A1 High Explosive Dual Purpose. The gunner notes that he liked the assistance in aiming that the GMG’s shoulder rest provides.
Following the arrival of the first batches of GMGs donated by Germany in the first half of 2024, the weapons began to appear more regularly throughout the second half of 2024. On 12 July, the 115th Territorial Defense Brigade shared a series of photographs of troops training. In two of the photos men can be seen training with an HK GMG, noteably the gun has an interesting set of markings on its feed tray cover – which read: “Not like Mk19! Male link first!” in English and accompanied by pictograms indicating the link orientation. These markings were added in December 2023, ostensibly to avoid confusion for operators who might be more familiar with the Mk19 and assume the loading procedure is the same. Given HK’s production workflow it is possible that these markings were added specifically for the Ukraine contract, why the text wasn’t rendered in Ukrainian is unclear.
Two months later, on 10 September, a Russian drone team claimed to have have suppressed a Ukrainian position, specifically naming the weapon as a GMG. The footage’s low resolution makes this difficult to confirm. Later in September a photo was shared of a Ukrainian combatant sat next to a GMG, the date, location and the combatant’s unit is unknown.
On 8 October, a team from the GUR’s 2nd Special Operations Detachment KORD, which is a part of the Tymur Special Unit, shared a photograph of a GMG in the rear pedestal mount of a ridged inflatable boat. The mount features an armoured shield to protect the gunner.
A week later the 44th Mechanised Brigade shared several photos of a Valuk APC mounted with a GMG. In one of the photographs the gun’s serial number is visible, ‘57000483’ which would place it’s manufacture in the early 2000s. This confirms that the GMGs seen mounted on the Valuks came with the vehicles and not from German aid.
In early November the Kalinoŭski Regiment shared a video, said to show an engagement
near Liptsi in the Kharkiv region. An HK GMG engages Russian infantry in the open and uses a drone feed to correct the fall of shot. This is the only footage we have of a GMG actually operating in Ukraine.
Several weeks later, on 19 November, the 44th Mechanised Brigade shared another image of one of their GMG-armed Valuk APCs in a post commemorating the 1,000th day since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
On 27 November, the GUR’s Aratta Battalion used a photo of an HK GMG mounted on a Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle on the thumbnail of a social media video. The vehicle and GMG, however, don’t appear in the video. A member Med Team Alpha, an element of the GUR’s International Legion, posted a photograph on 21 December, with a tripod-mounted GMG in the background.
On the 22 December a member of another GUR International Legion team, the Delta Knights, posted a series of photos with an HK GMG in a fighting position. The location of the position is unknown, notably he’s also holding an HK MG4, keep an eye out for our article/video on those.
The Aratta Battalion’s GMG mounted on an Polaris ATV does appear in the background of a photo posted on 1 January 2025. On the 9 January 2025, another photograph, possibly from a member of the Aratta Battalion, also showed an HK GMG mounted on the back of a Polaris ATV.
On 10 January, MTAC, a Ukrainian military clothing and gear manufacturer, shared a photograph of a combatant posing with a pintle mounted GMG on a Polaris. Notably the GMG’s reflex sight is not fitted. This Polaris may be one of those previously seen with Aratta Battalion.
Thank you to Matthias, Dikobraz and DEaidUA for their invaluable help with this article/video.
Update: 1/2/25: The GUR’s Artan Unit were featured in a CBS report which showed them setting up an HK GMG during training. Artan shared this on Telegram on 31/1/25.
Update 11/2/25: An automatic grenade launcher team from the GUR’s Artan Unit were seen in action with an HK GMG in a video shared on 5/2/25. The team do not appear to be using the weapon’s sights suggesting they are correcting fall of shot by observation and are firing on pre-ordained coordinates.
Update 11/2/25: A support team from the Belarussian Volunteer Corps operating an HK GMG during an operation near Vovchansk. No reflex sight or other optic is used, instead the team utilises the ladder sight. This also appears to be the first occasion we have seen a GMG painted. (Source)
Update – 18/11/25:
Recent image of a HK GMG with collimator sight, as well as an HK MG5.
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The Armourers Bench 