SIMON breach grenade

IDF soldier with a SIMON rifle grenade

SIMON rifle grenade close up (bottom)

The SIMON is a rifle grenade designed to breach through doors, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is intended for use with 5.56 mm rifles such as the M4 carbine.

Overview

The system consists of a bullet-trap tail section which slides over the muzzle of the rifle, an explosive midsection and a front standoff rod. The grenade is propelled by a normal ball or tracer round to a maximum range of thirty meters and is detonated by the impact of the standoff rod against the door to be breached, the standoff distance allowing the blast wave to affect as much of the door surface as possible, negating any need to aim for hinges or locks.

A version which is manually attached to the door is also available, known as "static SIMON".^[1]

Specifications

• Weight: 640 g (including standoff rod)
• Length:
  • Standoff rod: 400 mm
  • Overall: 730 mm
• Warhead diameter: 100 mm
• Explosive fill:
  • SIMON 150: 150 g ^[2]
  • SIMON 120: 120 g
• Range: 15 – 30 meters

Operators

Map with SIMON operators in blue

Current operators

•  Israel
•  United States - A variant of the SIMON 120 is in service with the U.S. Army as the M100 Grenade Rifle Entry Munition (GREM). Changes from the original specification involved fuzing and reliability issues.^[3] An inert round, the M101 GREM-Target Practice (GREM-TP) allows training for accuracy without the explosive hazard. The system was given a U.S. Army award as one of the top ten best inventions of 2005.^[4]

References

External links

• Strategy Page article
• M100 Grenade Rifle Entry Munition(GREM)
• Soldier Armed - M100 Grenade Rifle Entry Munition
• Video of GREM training and soldiers' views of the new weapon - liveleak.com
• Future Weapons video

Military equipment produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Missiles, rockets, and projectiles	Barak 1[1] Derby Luz MATADOR[2] Popeye Python Shafrir SIMON Spike Sparrow
Remote weapon stations	Rafael Samson Typhoon
Air-defense systems	Barak 1[1] David's Sling[3] Iron Beam Iron Dome SPYDER
Surface vehicles	Golan Armored Vehicle Protector USV Wolf Armoured Vehicle[4]
Miscellaneous	LITENING (targeting pod)[5] Spice (guidance kit) Trophy (countermeasure) Sky Shield (jammer)
[1] Joint venture with IAI. [2] Joint venture with DSTA. [3] Joint venture with Raytheon. [4] Joint venture with Hatehof. [5] Joint venture with Northrop Grumman.