Belt-fed Mk 19 Grenade Launcher in action on full auto [VIDEO]

The Mark 19 grenade launcher is an American made 40 mm belt-fed automatic tool of destruction.

Developed during the Vietnam War, the first version of the Mark 19 (Mod 0) was considered too unsafe and unreliable in 1966. By 1972 the Navy had improved the weapon significantly with the Mod 1. By 1983 the US Army adopted the Mod 3, which remains in service even today.

The practical fire rate of the Mk 19 is about 60 rounds per minute for rapid fire, or 40 rounds per minute for sustained fire with a maximum distance over 2,400 yards.

The US Army is rolling out a variety of new features for the Mk 19 that could be introduced as early as the end of this year. Those features included faster muzzle velocity, increased cyclic rate, a redesigned round-positioning block that will reduce misfires, improved durability, and more.