Grenadier Certification

Introduction
Leading SME: Guyan

Grenadiers are competent in the use of 40mm underbarrel and standalone grenade launchers, and are able to deploy fragmentation, smoke, flare or other 40mm payloads from these launchers in an effective manner. They may additionally be required to utilize these skills in marking landing zones or friendly positions, or to launch HuntIR reconnaissance.

Easy enough? You'd be surprised at the complexity of such a simple role. So how do we best employ the use of a 40mm Grenade Launcher system? Grenade launchers are best used in tandem with area suppression or for solving problems the average rifle cannot do. For example, if you were to have an enemy machine gun in a well entrenched area and the only visible portion of your target is the barrel of his weapon--this, is the exact moment a grenade launcher or "Grenadier", as you would refer to him, comes in perfectly for the situation. You would range your target, via a rangefinder or your weapon's reticule, and make the necessary adjustments to your leaf sight and lay a 40mm HE(High Explosive) grenade directly on his position. Additionally, something to remember, is that 40mm HE has a circular kill radius of 5 meters.

There are some flaws in using this system and some things to note as you bring this tool into operations. One of the drawbacks being that 40mm HE has a tendency to splash its shrapnel forward. So while it does in fact have a circular kill radius, you may find that some targets may occasionally not sustain any shrapnel damage or will occasionally show no signs of effective damage. It is a rarity, but it does happen. Another thing to observe when using a 40mm GL is that projectiles launched from it have an arming distance at which the projectile will  not  go live until it makes a certain number of spins after leaving the weapons barrel. This is both a safety feature for the shooter, and as result, its arming distance is roughly 16 meters.

GL Ranging
As it stands currently, the M320EGLM(Standalone/Under-slung) has an effective ranging system of 50m upwards to 350m. The M203(Under-slung) launcher ranges from 50m upwards to 250m. This is the max range the leaf sight of both Grenade Launcher Systems will extend out to. To range your weapon's grenade launcher, simply press "F" to select it, and press "Page Up" to range up, and "Page Down", to range down. This will allow you to find the range of your target, and put accurate colored smoke or HE on the enemies position quickly and accurately. Whilst your launcher may be able to engage 350m targets, you will find that beyond 300 meters shells may drift due to wind deflection. This is a noticeable drawback all Grenadiers should note, as your projectiles, while deadly, are slow, and can get heavily influenced by strong crosswinds.

So how do we counter this problem? Well, we can start by gauging our wind. By pressing "Shift + K" you will see a small arrow pop up in the top left corner of your screen. This is a feature designed by the ACE3 team, that I like to call "Kentucky Windage". This allows you to lick the tip of your finger and gauge the wind deflection of where you might be at the moment. There are multiple ways to circumvent a strong wind as the shooter. Lowering your stance, finding a new position, or keeping the wind against your back, are all alternatives to keep your shell on your target. A strategy I use is to seek a new position if possible, lower my stance-- and if I am still not confident that my shell will not hit my target, is to employ the use of a smoke marker on the enemies' position to make sure that my weapon is ranged correctly. I will then send the desired shell-type onto the enemy once I have confirmed that my weapon is sighted in and wind deflection is no longer an issue. Another important flaw of the M320EGLM, and M203, is that projectiles have a high carry-over distance and/or point of impact shift on targets 300m and beyond.

HE & HEDP
As a Grenadier, you will notice a plethora of ammo types to select for your weapon that provides a multitude of different forms of both marking targets or areas, and engaging hostiles both armored or unarmored. Firstly we will discuss the difference between HE, and HEDP. HE is used for engaging groups of armed targets and may also be used against soft-skinned or "unarmored" vehicles or ''"Technicals"(vehicles mounted with MGs/GPMGs/or HMGS). HEDP or "High Explosive Dual-Purpose"'' shells are designed to engage light armored vehicles or technicals and can perform "mobility kills" on said targets. Thus rendering either the vehicle's weapons systems or wheels/tracks disabled, which in turn may lower the vehicle's threat level to your team. Alternatively, another great selection made available to the M320EGLM from Arma 3's vanilla content is the 40mm 3rd HE or 3rnd 'Smoke' . These shells, whilst notably heavier, allow you to fire three grenades at a time before having to load a new shell.

Smoke Markers & Flare Shells
When it comes to both white and colored smokes, you have yet another smorgasbord(if you will) of markers to choose from. You will also find you have access to Flare Rounds that may be fired from your launcher to illuminate a target or target area as well. As this role It is extremely important to be as well rounded for your mission as possible. Keeping a mix of HE, White Smoke, Colored Smokes, and Flare Rounds will allow you to marks LZs, engage unarmored targets and blanket a target area with concealment for your team to move or suppress the enemy. Another thing to note about the smoke markers you have access to, is the fact that there is a notably different effect between the  Vanilla 40mm Smoke Rounds  and the  3CB 40mm Smoke Rounds . The Vanilla smoke rounds have a smaller marking area, but may have some trouble being seen from above. The 3CB smoke rounds have a larger marking radius but have a tendency to mask your target. If you are in a situation where you need to provide smoke cover for your team via White Smoke, I highly implore you to select the 3CB "L123 White Smoke Round". Below you will find some unique ammo types that you will have access to.
 * M992 Illumination IR Flare - The M992 Illumination IR Flare is a parachuting flare that--once fired, allows you to blanket an area with "Infrared Light" and allows other shooters in your team to better identify targets under night vision or thermal displays.
 * M583 Illumination Flare - The M583 Illumination Flare does almost the exact same thing as the M992, only, it illuminates via "phosphorescent" light. For better observation in situations where you or your team do not have access to night vision.


 * 40mm White Smoke (L123) - This is the white smoke that you should always have access to if you are intending to provide smoke cover to either decrease your targets visibility on your position, or mask the movement of friendlies in your vicinity.
 * 40mm Smoke Round Red/Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple - These are just a few of the different colored markers you will have access to mark enemies or target areas with.

HuntIR & HuntIR Monitor
Now we arrive at the pièce de résistance, the crème de la crème, if you will, of 40mm Arial Reconnaissance. The HuntIR round is-- in essence, a 40mm parachuting camera round that can offer you birds eye view over a target or target area. It has two settings, the "daytime perspective" and the night vision setting. This is your most powerful asset as Grenadier, something you should always have access to on command. When paired with a HuntIR Monitor, it allows you to connect to the parachuting camera once deployed by using your self interact key, and selecting the "Activate HuntIR Monitor". You can control this camera's perspective and pan it in any direction by pressing your arrow keys. You can also zoom in or out by pressing "D" to zoom in, and "A", to zoom out. Additionally, you can also switch between perspectives on multiple cameras that are actively deployed by pressing "W" or "S". To exit the HuntIR monitor, simply press "ESC".

Something to take into account about the HuntIR camera system, is that it is in fact heavily influenced by Wind Deflection as are all projectiles.

Certification Grade
All operators attending the certification will be expected to engage targets at distances upwards to 300m and below, with the MX3GL, so long as they have a minimum of six HE. All shooters will have two rounds of HE per target area. Should the shooter miss both rounds on the target area, that WILL be tallied as a FAILURE, and the shooter will in turn have to retake the certification at a later date.