PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F41

F41F - Apparatus FOR Launching Projectiles OR Missiles FROM Barrels

Apparatus for launching projectiles or missiles from barrels, e.g. cannons ; launchers for rockets or torpedoes; harpoon guns. 306 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

306
US patents granted
F41
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+10%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Apparatus FOR Launching Projectiles OR Missiles FROM Barrels ranks #582 of 670 CPC technology areas - 306 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 10% over five years.

#582
of 670 CPC technology areas
306
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Raytheon
leading assignee (29)
+10%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Raytheon Company (29 patents)

CPC subclass F41F - APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING PROJECTILES OR MISSILES FROM BARRELS, e.g. CANNONS ; LAUNCHERS FOR ROCKETS OR TORPEDOES; HARPOON GUNS - covers 306 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F41 (WEAPONS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F41F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Raytheon Company leads with 29 patents, followed by Aerovironment, Inc. at 12 grants and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Gmbh at 6.

Filing activity in F41F is up 10% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F41F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F41F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 10% versus 2015–2019.

1520253035 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 24

Who leads F41F?

The 12 most active assignees in APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING PROJECTILES OR MISSILES FROM BARRELS, e.g. CANNONS ; LAUNCHERS FOR ROCKETS OR TORPEDOES; HARPOON GUNS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Raytheon is the most active filer in F41F, holding 29 of the 306 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass F41F
Rank Company Patents in F41F
#1 SAAB AB 16
#2 Aerovironment, Inc. 12
#3 Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Gmbh 6
#4 Naval Group 6
#5 Excalibur Crossbow, Llc 5
#6 Profense, Llc 5
#7 MBDA France 4
#8 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. 4
#9 MBDA UK Limited 4
#10 Wilcox Industries Corp. 3
#11 Science Applications International Corporation 3
#12 Digital Ally, Inc. 3
#13 Tusas—turk Havacilik VE UZAY Sanayii Anonim Sirketi 3
#14 MBDA Deutschland Gmbh 3
#15 Corvid Technologies Llc 3
#16 TMP Weapons, Llc 3
#17 Quicklaunch, Inc. 3
#18 Crimson Trace Corporation 2
#19 BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.p. 2
#20 Krauss-maffei Wegmann Gmbh & Co. KG 2

About This Class

CPC subclass F41F belongs to class F41.

306 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F41F assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 F41F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F41F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F41F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F41F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 05101520 Patents in F41F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Saab AbAerovironmentRheinmetall Waffe Mun…Naval GroupExcalibur CrossbowProfenseMbda FranceRafael Advanced Defen…Mbda UkWilcox IndustriesScience Applications…Digital AllyTusas—Turk Havacilik…Mbda Deutschland
Top 14 F41F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F41F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F41F?
CPC subclass F41F covers APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING PROJECTILES OR MISSILES FROM BARRELS, e.g. CANNONS ; LAUNCHERS FOR ROCKETS OR TORPEDOES; HARPOON GUNS. It belongs to CPC class F41 (WEAPONS), with 306 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F41F?
306 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F41F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F41F?
Raytheon Company leads F41F with 29 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F41F collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., F41) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F41F provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.