Rheinmetall puts on live-fire demo with its new Squad Support Weapon 40

Rheinmetall organised a live firing event with its new Squad Support Weapon 40 (SSW40) in mid-June 2025 at the company’s test centre in Unterlüß, Germany, where defence media representatives were able to examine and fire prototypes of the weapon.

The SSW40 is designed offer infantry greater firepower by providing a versatile yet compact weapon that can be handled and operated in a similar fashion to an assault rifle. The SSW40’s airburst capability also makes it suitable for engaging targets behind cover and for countering drones.

As opposed to the 40×46 mm low-velocity (LV) ammunition typically used by soldier-carried grenade launchers, the SSW40 uses medium-velocity (MV) ammunition, which gives the weapon a longer range (up to 900 m) and increases the versatility of the 40 mm ammunition range, including the option of programmable airburst ammunition. The MV ammunition thus bridges the gap between 40 mm LV ammunition and 40×53 mm high-velocity ammunition, which can only be fired from crew-served automatic grenade launchers.

The SSW40 has an empty weight of around 4 kg, is around 80 cm long and is ambidextrous in operation. The combined safety and magazine release switch (a customer request) can be reached with the thumb or index finger of the shooting hand on both sides, while the bolt catch on the top of the receiver, the break barrel switch lever in front of the magazine as well as the cocking mechanism in the shoulder stock can be easily operated with either hand. There is also a disassembly switch at the rear of the receiver for fieldstripping and disassembly of the weapon.

For the demonstration at the Unterlüß test centre, steel plate targets were set up at distances of 100, 200, 300 and 500 m for test firing, along with a wrecked car at 250 m. Participants were first invited to fire a single shot from a 40× 6 mm low-velocity grenade launcher in order to later be able to better compare it with the SSW40. This was followed by two rounds of four shots with the new weapon. Target practice marker – tracer (TPM-T) ammunition was used in both calibres.

Rheinmetall reported that most shooters aimed at the car, although the other targets – including those at 500 m – also came under fire and were hit. The participants were impressed by the weapon. The participants, according to Rheinmetall, reported unanimously that, despite the higher pressure of the MV ammunition, there was no discernible difference between the two types of ammunition when firing, owing to the SSW40’s encapsulated, self-regulating hydro-pneumatic recoil damping system.

An Aimpoint red-dot sight was used for aiming, allowing shorter-range targets to easily be picked up. For longer distances the SSW40’s aim needs to be adjusted, which Rheinmetall noted “was easily achievable for an experienced shooter”.

The SSW40 should be fully qualified by Rheinmetall in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the first customer verification also expected to be completed by the end of the year.