Armes mgs3 015

A Soviet-made chaff grenade.

Chaff grenades are a miniature chaff dispenser.

Operation and function

Chaff consists of small aluminium strips that are specifically designed to confuse radar frequencies, and normally used by aircraft to fool missile radar. The individual strips are cut in such a way that they wreak havoc with radar's transmitted frequencies. The chaff grenade is a combination of a wide-dispersal system for such strips and an electronic jamming system similar in effect to a magnetic pulse; it fools most electronic devices in the current room, including security cameras, radios, and some types of UAV.


Big Boss

By the 1960s, the Soviets managed to design chaff grenades. FOX operative Naked Snake procured some during both the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater. FOX member Sigint was the first to use the term "chaff grenade" when describing them during the latter mission.


During the San Hieronymo Incident, Big Boss's resistance unit procured some chaff grenades.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

During the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, the Militaires Sans Frontières managed to procure some design specs for the chaff grenade after meeting up with Huey Emmerich.

Solid Snake and Raiden

During the Shadow Moses Incident, Solid Snake used chaff grenades to disrupt an M1 tank and Metal Gear REX's targeting abilities, opening a window of opportunity in which to attack them.

Solid Snake managed to procure some chaff grenades while sneaking on board the dummy tanker USS Discovery to take photographs of the Metal Gear RAY prototype. Two years later, Raiden managed to procure some and used them to fight the Metal Gear RAYs guarding Arsenal Gear, as their weapons systems were not adapted to be anti-personnel.

Behind the scenes

Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, and The Twin Snakes

"Chaff Grenade
EM inteferer.
B to throw.
Blinds equipment.
―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
"Chaff Grenade
Grenade that temporarily neutralizes electronic devices. Press A button to aim, release to throw.
―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

The Chaff Grenade first appeared in Metal Gear Solid. It can be used to temporarily disable surveillance cameras and gun cameras, allowing the player character to pass in front of them without triggering the alert status. The Chaff Grenade can also be used during boss battles, either to disrupt the weapons guidance systems of various armored fighting vehicles, or to stun the Cyborg Ninja.

Along with disabling electronic equipment, the Chaff Grenade in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty can also interfere with radio signals, temporarily preventing enemy soldiers from calling in reinforcements. This feature was carried over to the 2004 remake of the original game, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Portable Ops

In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the Chaff Grenade's primary role is to jam enemy radio communication, given the lack of security cameras in the game's setting. It weighs 0.8 kg in the Backpack. The technology is implied to be of Soviet origin, and it can be used to disrupt Colonel Volgin's electrical forcefield during the boss battle against him. If the Chaff Grenade is detonated in the presence of TNT or radios, the red lights on each of them will start to flash in multiple colors. Something similar occurs in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

MPO Chaff G

Chaff G icon in Portable Ops.

―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
"A non-lethal grenade that temporarily disables any electronic devices in the area by releasing a cloud of signal-jamming metal fragments upon detonation."
―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

The Chaff Grenade is a very limited and a hard-to-find weapon in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It can be found in 5 locations in the game:

  • Act 1, Advent Palace escape. During a continued play, equip a Chaff Grenade and stand in front of Johnny. He will throw out two of them.
  • Act 2, Confinement Facility, in the middle house. A tip is to take the left road after blowing up the Power Station, then go back to the right after you reach the Salt Hills. This will save you some time and effort.
  • Act 2, Marketplace. Equip rations, then stand in front of the last Gekko at the fence. Head directly left behind a stall (you can shoot down the Gekko first).
  • Act 3, When you get to the area with the searchlights (above the sewers) turn north and open up the map. The grenades are in the top-left area between a bench and a plant.
  • Act 4, Helipad. In an act of nostalgia, they are located at the center of the helipad, the same spot where they were found when Snake first infiltrated the Shadow Moses facility.

The Chaff Grenade can be used to confuse Scarab unmanned weapons, though it is less effective against Gekko. The design of the Chaff Grenade in Metal Gear Solid 4 is based on a grenade-shaped gas bottle for Airsoft guns. The "M363" marking is actually the code for an obsolete canister round for tank cannons.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker


Chaff grenade in Peace Walker.

"A non-lethal weapon that scatters a cloud of metal strips when detonated, scrambling nearby electronic devices. When surrounded by unmanned weapons, a chaff grenade can turn the tables in an instant. The chaff can also temporarily block the user's own radio and sensor signals, so these grenades are best saved for when the time is right."
―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Metal Gear Solid Mobile '

"Grenade that temporarily neutralizes electronic devices. Press the Action key to throw."
―Chaff Grenade description in Metal Gear Solid Mobile'

