• The ammunition has so far been imported by Army and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Units

• Strengthening self-reliance in Defence need was felt to indigenize the design and manufacturing of 40 mm UBGL ammunition

• Ammunition Factory, Khadki designed and manufactured the 40 mm UBGL ammunition for the first time

Pune: (Defence News) Inspired by the Prime Minister's clarion call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, Ammunition Factory Khadki, Pune, wrote a new chapter on self-reliance and indigenization of 40 mm UBGL Ammunition production on 11 August 2020 by sending the first consignment to Border Security Force. This ammunition is fired from a launcher fitted under the barrel of 5.56 mm Rifle (INSAS). 40 mm UBGL ammunition has been imported by Army and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Units so far. Thus, there was a perceived need to indigenize the design and manufacture it. Ammunition Factory, Khadki took the challenge and now 40 mm UBGL AMMUNITION is being designed and manufactured by Ammunition factory with the components sourced from Indian Industries.

The 40 mm UBGL ammunition is way advantageous vis-a-vis traditional hand grenade. One, it is lightweight and its range is 400 Meters in place of 30 Meters of a hand grenade. This ammunition can be fired by the same equipment by the Soldier. Also, the said ammunition is very safe ammunition for carrying by the Soldiers.

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There are four variants of this ammunition, a) 40 mm UBGL (Practice), b) 40 mm UBGL (HEAP), c) 40 mm UBGL (HEDP) and d) 40 mm UBGL (RP). On August 4, 2020 M K Mohapatra, Sr General Manager, Ammunition Factory, Khadki had handed over the Inspection Note of the 40 mm UBGL (Practice) manufactured at AFK to BSF DIG Ashok Kumar Jha. After seven days on August 11, Hari Mohan, DGOF & Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board and M K Mohapatra, Sr GM  Ammunition Factory, Khadki flagged off the First Consignment of 40 mm UBGL (Practice) to BSF in the presence of Senior Officers of OFB, AFK and Members of JCM, Works Committee and Unions & Associations. 

With this event, Ammunition Factory Khadki joined the national endeavour to make India self-reliant in direction of defence production and save valuable foreign exchanges by way of import substitution.

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