AGS-17

AGS-17 Plamya
AGS-17 mounted on tripod.
Type	Automatic Grenade Launcher
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1970s-present
Used by	See Users
Wars	South African Border War Soviet War in Afghanistan First Chechen War Second Chechen War Syrian Civil War War in Donbass
Production history
Designer	KBP Instrument Design Bureau
Designed	1967
Manufacturer	Molot plant
Variants	AG-17A helicopter-mounted version
Specifications
Weight	31 kg
Length	840 mm
Cartridge	30×29mm grenade
Caliber	30 mm
Action	Blowback
Rate of fire	400 round/min
Muzzle velocity	185 m/s
Effective firing range	1,700 m
Feed system	29 grenades belt
Sights	Adjustable iron sights, optional mount required for optical sights

The AGS-17 Plamya (Russian: Пламя; Flame) is a Soviet-designed automatic grenade launcher in service worldwide.

The AGS-17 is a heavy infantry support weapon designed to operate from a tripod or mounted on an installation or vehicle. The AGS-17 fires 30 mm grenades in either direct or indirect fire to provide suppressive and lethal fire support against soft skinned or fortified targets.

The weapon uses a blowback mechanism to sustain operation. Rounds are fired through a removable (to reduce barrel stress) rifled barrel.

The standard metal ammunition box contains 30 linked rounds.

The tripod is equipped with fine levelling gear for indirect fire trajectories.

Development of the AGS-17 (Avtomaticheskiy Granatomyot Stankovyi - Automatic Grenade launcher, Mounted) started in the USSR in 1967 by the OKB-16 design bureau (now known as the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, located in the city of Tula). Most probably its development was inspired by the Sino-Soviet border conflict of the late 1960s, as well as initial experience with several US automatic grenade launchers, learned from Vietnamese troops who were often on the receiving end of these weapons.

It was thought that an automatic grenade launcher would be one of the most effective infantry support weapons against typical Chinese "human wave" attacks. This lightweight weapon was to provide infantry with close to medium range fire support against enemy personnel and unarmored targets. like trucks, half-tracks, jeeps and sandbag-protected machine-gun nests. The first prototypes of the new weapon entered trials in 1969, with mass production commencing in 1971. Never used against the Chinese, the AGS-17 was widely operated and well liked by Soviet troops in Afghanistan as a ground support weapon or as a vehicle weapon on improvised mounts installed on armored personnel carriers and trucks.

At the same time, a special airborne version of the AGS-17 was developed for installation on Mi-24 Hind gunship helicopters.

It is still in use with the Russian army as a direct fire support weapon for infantry troops; it is also installed in several vehicle mounts and turrets along with machine guns, guided rocket launchers and sighting equipment. A special airborne version, the AG-17A, was installed on the door mounts of several Mil Mi-8 Hip combat transport helicopters and on gun pods used in late model Mi-24 Hind gunships; this weapon had a thick aluminium jacket on the barrel and used a special mount and an electric remotely controlled trigger. It is being replaced by the AGS-30 launcher, (using the same ammunition, this weapon weighs only 16 kg unloaded on the tripod and has an upgraded blowback action).