A model of Poly Defence's automated production facility for handheld grenades was displayed at DSA 2022. (Janes/Shivanand BM)
An official from Chinese state-owned company Poly Defence told Janes at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2022 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 28 to 31 March that an automated grenade facility has been established to meet an increase in demand from the Chinese armed forces for handheld grenades.
He said the new facility has the capacity to produce up to 8,000 handheld grenades per day over an eight-hour shift. Poly Defence's manufacturing facilities are based near Beijing.
According to the official, the entire production line requires the involvement of no more than 15 personnel, instead of the previous working team of 60 people.
Operational personnel are physically separated from the machinery line for maximum safety and precision, said the official.
The body of grenades produced at the facility feature ‘special plastic' embedded with approximately 1,600 steel balls. The grenades have a diameter of 92–96 mm and a total weight of 260 g. The net explosive weight is 40 g, with delay before detonation of 3.5– 4.5 s.
The official said the grenades have an effective lethal radius of more than 6 m, and a critical safety distance of 25 m. The service life of the grenades is 10 years.
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