noun
grenade launcher
Military term for a weapon that launches grenades. The kanji 擲弾 means 'grenade', 発射 means 'launch', and 筒 means 'tube' or 'cylinder'.
擲弾発射筒は歩兵の重要な装備の一つだ。
The grenade launcher is one of the important pieces of equipment for infantry.
Compound of 擲弾 (tekidan, 'grenade') + 発射 (hassha, 'launch') + 筒 (tō, 'tube'). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but the term follows standard Sino-Japanese word formation for military equipment.