M111 Grenade Approved, Replacing Vietnam-Era Design

Michael Chambers of U.S. Army News reports that the Army has approved the M111 Offensive Hand Grenade (OHG) for full release, marking the first new lethal hand grenade fielded since the Vietnam-era Mk3A2. Developed at Picatinny Arsenal, the M111 replaces an aging system long hamstrung by safety concerns, including its asbestos-based body. The new grenade uses a plastic casing “that is fully consumed during detonation,” eliminating hazardous residue while improving operational safety and training flexibility.

Army officials say that the M111 reflects a shift in how soldiers fight in dense urban terrain. Rather than relying on fragmentation, the grenade delivers lethality through blast overpressure (BOP), which proves more effective in enclosed spaces. “When used in grenades, BOP delivers devastating effects to enemy personnel and equipment without fragmentation,” the Army noted, highlighting its advantage in rooms and structures where fragments may deflect unpredictably. The design directly addresses lessons learned in Iraq, where, as one program manager explained, “the M67 grenade wasn’t always the right tool… The risk of fratricide on the other side of the wall was too high.” The M111 instead “can clear a room of enemy combatants quickly… while ensuring the safety of friendly forces.”

The introduction of the M111 continues a long evolution in grenade warfare, from Byzantine “Greek Fire” and early gunpowder bombs to the trench-clearing weapons of the 20th century. Historically, grenades became decisive in close combat because they allowed infantry to deliver explosive effects where artillery could not—“just like carrying artillery right into the enemy’s positions,” as one early observer of the Russo-Japanese War described their use.

Today’s M111 reflects that same battlefield logic, but refined for modern urban combat. By pairing it with the legacy M67, Army leaders now give soldiers the flexibility to match effects to terrain—fragmentation for open ground, blast overpressure for confined spaces, while standardizing fuses and training procedures to reduce cost and improve readiness.

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