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M111 Offensive Hand Grenade (OHG)
M67 Hand Grenade
Episode 3225 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the Army’s first new hand grenade since the Vietnam War. The featured story appeared on the army website and is titled: Army approves M111, first new lethal hand grenade since 1968. It was submitted by Michael Chambers.
Chambers reported that The U.S. Army has approved the M111 Offensive Hand Grenade (OHG) for Full Material Release, introducing the first new lethal hand grenade to reach this milestone since the Mk3A2 entered service in 1968. Developed by the Capabilities Program Executive Office for Ammunition and Energetics in collaboration with the DEVCOM Armaments Center at Picatinny Arsenal, the M111 will replace the aging Mk3A2 series. The older grenade’s asbestos body restricts its use, while the M111 features a modern plastic body that is fully consumed during detonation, eliminating hazardous materials.
The M111 is designed to improve both training and operational readiness while providing soldiers with a safer and more effective tool for close-quarters combat. Unlike the M67 fragmentation grenade, which disperses lethal fragments that can ricochet or pose risks to friendly forces in confined spaces, the M111 relies on blast overpressure (BOP) to neutralize enemy personnel. This approach is particularly effective in enclosed environments such as rooms, buildings, and narrow urban terrain, where fragmentation can be unpredictable or dangerous to nearby allies.
Lessons learned from urban combat in Iraq highlighted the need for such a capability. Military officials noted that fragmentation grenades were not always suitable for clearing rooms because fragments could penetrate walls and risk injuring friendly forces. The M111’s blast-based design can quickly incapacitate enemies in confined areas while reducing those risks.
In open terrain, soldiers will continue using the M67 to maximize fragmentation effects. The M111 complements it by providing a specialized option for restricted environments. The grenade also shares the same five-step arming process and fuze systems as the M67 and its training variant, simplifying training, reducing costs, and enabling more efficient production across the Army’s industrial base.
Listen to Episode 3225 and discover more about the Army’s first new hand grenade since the Vietnam War.
