China Debuts Next-Gen 25 mm Smart Grenade Launcher as New PLA Squad Precision Tool.

China is testing a handheld 25 mm programmable airburst grenade launcher that appears aimed at creating a dedicated smart grenadier inside PLA squads. The system signals a broader push to push sensors and precision firepower down to the lowest tactical levels, a trend that directly intersects with U.S. close combat modernization.

On November 23, 2025, based on an article in China’s Ordnance Knowledge magazine and imagery circulating on Chinese social media, China is testing a new handheld 25 mm grenade launcher with programmable airburst ammunition for individual soldiers. The system combines a compact electronic fire control unit, modular weapon architecture, and high-velocity grenades in a package clearly intended to create a dedicated smart grenadier within PLA squads. Although official PLA statements remain absent, the consistency of the magazine spread and multiple online screenshots suggests a deliberate, managed reveal of a new infantry capability.
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China's new 25 mm smart grenade launcher features a modular bullpup design, a fully integrated fire control system, and programmable airburst munitions capable of engaging targets behind cover or small drones out to more than 2,000 meters, giving PLA infantry a true dedicated smart-grenadier capability (Picture source: social media).

The launcher is described as a bullpup, magazine-fed weapon built from modular components that include an optical sighting unit, main body, automated firing group, ammunition feed module, and fire selector. The fire control system is mounted on the top rail and integrates laser rangefinding, infrared temperature sensing, environmental data inputs, and a ballistic computer, which together calculate the firing solution and program the fuze electronically before each shot. The operator selects ammunition and target type through the interface, and the FCS then adjusts aim and sets the burst point, turning a complex ballistic problem into a point-and-click procedure for the grenadier.

The weapon fires high-speed 25 mm grenades with muzzle velocity above 200 meters per second and a flight range reported to exceed 2,000 meters, supported by a multi-stage recoil absorption mechanism designed to keep the system controllable from standing or kneeling positions. Ammunition families include fragmentation rounds for exposed infantry, shaped charge or high frag types for light armor and structures, and fully programmable airburst grenades timed to detonate above or just beyond cover. In practice, this allows a grenadier to rake trench lines, rooftop parapets, window openings, or alley corners and to engage small drones with a three-dimensional fragmentation cloud, increasing hit probability compared to direct impact munitions.

On the ground, a PLA section equipped with one of these launchers gains an organic tool for non-contact and non-linear fires that Chinese doctrine increasingly emphasizes. In an urban fight, for example, a squad could fix an opposing force behind a masonry wall while the grenadier uses airburst rounds to detonate just over the defilade line, then switch to a shaped charge setting against a light armored vehicle blocking a street, and finally employ proximity programmed rounds to neutralize quadcopters attempting to spot for enemy indirect fire. That combination of counter-defilade and counter-UAS utility aligns with broader Western trends in close combat modernization.

Inside the PLA weapons portfolio, the new system sits above the QTS 11 integrated rifle and 20 mm airburst launcher, which is limited to shorter engagement distances, and below heavy systems like the LG5 or QLU 11 that use 35 or 40 mm rounds for long-range suppression. The 25 mm launcher provides a middle-tier option, trading the greater payload of 40 mm grenades for a higher carried ammunition load, improved ergonomics, and an agile, sensor-driven fire control system tailored for individual soldiers.

Externally, the closest Western analogue remains the XM25 airburst launcher, a 25 mm bullpup system with a five-round magazine, integrated thermal and optical fire control unit, and an effective range envelope extending to 1,000 meters. Although highly effective against covered positions in Afghanistan, it was ultimately canceled due to weight, complexity, and ammunition cost. The U.S. Army has since renewed its effort under the Precision Grenadier System, where Colt and Northrop Grumman are developing a semi-automatic 25 mm launcher with a modern optic suite and programmable grenades designed for counter-defilade, breaching, and drone defeat missions. One Northrop representative described their approach as minimizing soldier burden while maximizing engagement range, a philosophy that China appears to be mirroring in this new design.

Publicly available materials do not yet provide reliable data for weight, magazine capacity, basic load, or per-round cost, all decisive factors that contributed to earlier Western program failures. The durability of the fire control electronics in extreme climates and the training burden for conscript units also remain open questions. Even so, its appearance fits into a wider PLA effort to push sensors and precision firepower down to the lowest tactical levels.

For export markets already purchasing Chinese small arms, a mature 25 mm programmable launcher would represent a comparatively low-cost entry point into capabilities Western armies have pursued for two decades without achieving broad fielding. For the United States and its allies, the message is equally clear: China is advancing aggressively in the smart grenadier domain and is positioning its infantry to reclaim overmatch at the squad level. Whether the system proves rugged and affordable enough for mass adoption, it marks China’s commitment to dominating the close-range precision fires environment of future conflicts.