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 grant trajectory.

306
US patents granted
#7/7
in F41
2.3%
F41 class share
-6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Apparatus For Launching Projectiles Or Missiles From Barrels ranks #583 of 670 CPC technology areas - 306 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 6% over five years.

#583
of 670 CPC technology areas
306
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Raytheon
leading assignee (29)
-6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F41F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F41F recorded 134 grants versus 143 in 2015–2019 (-6% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 34 grants and bottomed in 2022 at 20 (+70% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Saab AB holds 5.2% of the class ; the top three share 11.1%.

Leaderboard read

F41F concentration, lead at 5.2%

Saab AB leads this historical grant record at 5.2% of F41F - foreign corporation assignees hold 55% of class grants (71 of 129). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
5.2%

16 of 306 grants

Top three share
11.1%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
4

more grants than AeroVironment, Inc.

Where F41F sits inside F41

Among 7 subclasses in F41 (Weapons), F41F ranks #7 and holds 2.3% of the parent class's 13,338 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F41A 3,993 F41H 2,723 F41G 2,623 F41C 1,639 F41B 1,581 F41J 473

Rising assignees active in F41F

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Naval Group 2.17x 6 → 13 company-wide · 6 in F41F
  2. #2 Excalibur Crossbow, LLC 1.33x 3 → 4 company-wide · 5 in F41F
  3. #3 Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH 1.09x 32 → 35 company-wide · 6 in F41F
  4. #4 AeroVironment, Inc. 1.08x 77 → 83 company-wide · 12 in F41F
  5. #5 Profense, LLC 1.00x 0 → 1 company-wide · 5 in F41F

F41F grants by year, peak 2024 (34)

US utility-patent grants per year in F41F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 6% 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

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). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 05101520 Patents in F41F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Saab AbAerovironmentRheinmetall Waffe…Naval GroupExcalibur CrossbowProfenseMbda FranceRafael Advanced…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).

Questions about F41F

Which company holds the most patents in F41F?
Raytheon Company leads F41F with 29 patents (5.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 55% of class grants.
Which F41F assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F41F, Naval Group shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (2.17x: 6 grants in 2019–2021 → 13 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F41F compare inside parent class F41?
Inside F41 (Weapons), F41F ranks #7 of 7 subclasses by grant volume and holds 2.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F41A (3,993 grants).

What to do with this data

F41F in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - F41F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (306 grants in the tracked window).

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.