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32-699: The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched , anti-tank , rocket launcher . The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2 , were designed by the Soviet Union , and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt . The weapon has the GRAU index (Russian armed forces index) 6G3 . The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in

64-724: A 4.5 second fuze . Armor penetration is warhead dependent and ranges from 300–600 mm (12–24 in) of RHA ; one warhead, the PG-7VR, is a 'tandem charge' device, used to defeat reactive armor with a single shot. The Russian Ministry of Defense said in December 2023 that it has modified the RPG-7V grenade launcher in order to shoot 82-mm mines. Current production ammunition for the RPG-7V2 consists of four main types: Other warhead variants include: Manufacturer specifications for

96-524: A UP-7V sighting device fitted (used in tandem with the standard 2.7× PGO-7 optical sight ) to allow the use of extended range ammunition. The RPG-7D3 is the equivalent paratrooper model. Both the RPG-7V2 and RPG-7D3 were adopted by the Russian Ground Forces in 2001. The launcher is reloadable and based around a steel tube, 40 mm (1.6 in) in diameter, 950 mm (37 in) long, and weighing 7 kg (15 lb). The middle of

128-665: A commando variant. The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed at the squad level. It replaced the RPG-2, having clearly out-performed the intermediate RPG-4 design during testing. The current model produced by the Russian Federation is the RPG-7V2 , capable of firing standard and dual high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds , high explosive / fragmentation , and thermobaric warheads , with

160-450: A favored anti-technical weapon. They permit otherwise lightly or poorly armed troops (e.g. militias ) to destroy modern sophisticated equipment such as close air-support aircraft, helicopters, and lightly armored vehicles. Attacks come from ambush for the element of surprise and attempt to immobilize a convoy of vehicles, then destroy its defenders, then destroy its contents, then escape before air or artillery support can arrive. Normally,

192-417: A fixed container on singe-use systems, it is generally called a man-portable or shoulder-launched/fired recoilless rifle or recoilless gun , depending on if it uses a rifled or smoothbore barrel, essentially open- breech cannons . Smoothbore systems generally fire fin-stabilised munitions. If the weapon fires rocket-propelled or rocket-assisted projectiles (booster launched), it is generally called

224-405: A launch tube. In order to prevent the user from being burned by the exhaust, the rocket (or at least its first stage) must burn out before it leaves the tube, and if present the second stage must fire once the rocket is well clear of the launcher. Even if the operator is safe, there is a sizeable blast effect to the rear. Also, the rocket must have a reliable ignition system. In modern systems, this

256-567: A long history, from the black powder fire arrows used by the ancient Chinese to the Congreve rocket referenced in " The Star-Spangled Banner ," the national anthem of the United States . They have always been prized for the portability of their launch systems. The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China launched fire arrows with launchers constructed of wood, basketry, and bamboo tubes. The rocket launchers divided

288-406: A man-portable or shoulder-launched/fired rocket launcher or missile-system, depending on, depending on whether the ammunition is unguided or guided. Such systems typically use a small recoilless charge (a so-called booster charge) or compressed gas system to get the projectile out of the barrel and to a distance where the operator will not be hurt by the rocket's backblast; when the rocket ignites at

320-602: A maximum velocity of 295 m/s (970 ft/s). The grenade is stabilized by two sets of fins that deploy in-flight: one large set on the stabilizer pipe to maintain direction and a smaller rear set to induce rotation. The grenade can fly up to 1,100 m (3,600 ft); the fuze sets the maximum range, usually 920 m (3,020 ft). According to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Bulletin 3u (1977) Soviet RPG-7 Antitank Grenade Launcher—Capabilities and Countermeasures ,

352-433: A plane through the main landing gear contact points [disregarding the effects of toe in / toe out of the main gear]. As most of the side area of an aircraft will typically be behind this pivoting point, any crosswind will create a yawing moment tending to turn the nose of the aircraft into the wind. It is not to be confused with directional stability , as experienced by aircraft in flight. The term also refers to

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384-1044: A safe distance, it further accelerates the projectile or at least keeps it from decelerating in its trajectory. Shoulder-launched weapons typically fire at one of two main target types—ground targets or air targets. Weapons for use against ground targets come in a wide variety of types and sizes, with smaller, unguided weapons generally used for close range combat and larger, guided systems for longer ranges. Most of these weapons are designed mainly for anti-tank warfare , as anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and carry one or two (a tandem-charge ) high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge warheads. However, they are also effective against structures, and many such weapons have been designed specifically for such targets. Anti-aircraft weapons, known as man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), are small surface-to-air missiles . They usually have infrared homing and are used against helicopters , unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other low-flying fixed-wing aircraft . Rocket-based weapons have

416-451: A weapon effective against armored vehicles and fortified structures. The power of the shaped charge meant that the effectiveness of the weapon was not limited by a gun barrel bore nor size of weapon as for example a conventional armor-piercing shell from an artillery piece. As such these man-portable weapons could be used to equip infantry units with their own anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. Shoulder-launched rockets or recoilless guns are

448-559: Is almost always a percussion cap . This system was not fully developed until the German Panzerfaust of World War II , an early one-shot design that also was the first practical recoilless antitank gun and thus used no rocket. The bazooka was an early rocket-propelled development which could be reloaded. From their first conception during the First World War, many portable missiles have been used to give infantry

480-404: Is more economical than area-denial. Protecting as little as 20% of the convoys rapidly depletes an area of active insurgents. Weapons below are listed in alphabetical order: Weathervane effect Weathervaning or weathercocking is a phenomenon experienced by aircraft on the ground and rotorcraft on the ground and when hovering. Aircraft on the ground have a natural pivoting point on

512-599: Is regularly used as an informal name for man-portable unguided rocket-launcher systems, a backronym from the Russian acronym РПГ (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot ), meaning "handheld anti-tank grenade launcher", the Russian term for infantry-carried anti-tank weapons, not only encompassing rocket-systems (see the RPG-2 for example). There are many types of shoulder-launched missile-weapons. Some systems are reloadable or semi-reusable, while others are single-use disposable systems, much in

544-555: The Panzerfaust 2 , Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle , RPG-7 , etc. Some systems are classified as semi-disposable, such as the Panzerfaust 3 . In many instances, the name bazooka is regularly used as an informal name for shoulder mounted "tube-like" launchers, stemming from the actual historical shoulder-fired missile-systems named such, the famous M1 Bazooka and M20 Super Bazooka man-portable rocket launchers of World War II . The name rocket-propelled grenade ( RPG )

576-522: The first and second Chechen wars , the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria used RPG-7s which they had captured from Soviet bases and used them against Russian armored columns. During the first war, Russians may have lost 100 tanks and 250 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) in Grozny. The Chechens were able to knock out T-72s with three or four RPG-7 hits. Against T-72s with explosive reactive armor ,

608-456: The Chechens fired an RPG in close range (within 50 m (160 ft)) to detonate the armor and then followed this with RPG hits on the now exposed point of the tank, also from close range. The RPG-7 was also effective against AFVs, buildings and personnel. The PG-7VR has been used by Iraqi insurgents . On 28 August 2003, it achieved a mobility kill against an American M1 Abrams hitting

640-475: The RPG-7 has been fired from within buildings, which agrees with the two-stage design. It is stated that only a 2 metres (6.6 feet) standoff to a rear obstruction is needed for use inside rooms or fortifications. The fins not only provide drag stabilization, but are designed to impart a slow rotation to the grenade. Due to the configuration of the RPG-7 sustainer/warhead section, it responds counter-intuitively to crosswinds. A crosswind will tend to exert pressure on

672-458: The RPG-7 munition has two sections: a "booster" section and a "warhead and sustainer motor" section. These must be assembled into the ready-to-use grenade. The booster consists of a "small strip powder charge" that serves to propel the grenade out of the launcher; the sustainer motor then ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds, giving it a top speed of 294 m/s (960 ft/s). The TRADOC bulletin provides anecdotal commentary that

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704-458: The RPG-7V1. 750 mm (30 in) RHA (without reactive armor ) A 1976 U.S. Army evaluation of the weapon gave the hit probabilities on a 5-by-2.5-metre (16.4 ft × 8.2 ft) panel moving sideways at 4 m/s (13 ft/s). Crosswinds cause additional issues as the round steers into the wind; in an 11 km/h (6.8 mph) wind, firing at a stationary tank sized target,

736-408: The fire arrows with frames meant to keep the arrows separated, and were capable of firing multiple arrow rockets at once. Textual evidence and illustrations of various early rocket launchers are found in the 11th-century Southern Song dynasty text Wujing Zongyao . The Wujing Zongyao describes a portable rocket arrow carrier consisting of a sling and a bamboo tube. Shoulder-launched rockets have

768-484: The grenade protrudes from the launch tubes. It is 40–105 mm (1.6–4.1 in) in diameter and weighs between 2 kg (4.4 lb) and 4.5 kg (9.9 lb). It is launched by a gunpowder booster charge, giving it an initial speed of 115 m/s (380 ft/s), and creating a cloud of light grey-blue smoke that can give away the position of the shooter. The rocket motor ignites after 10 m (33 ft) and sustains flight out to 500 m (1,600 ft) at

800-885: The gunner cannot expect to get a first-round hit more than 50% of the time at 180 m (590 ft). The RPG-7 was first used in 1967 by Egypt during the Six-Day War , and by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War , but it did not see widespread usage in Vietnam until the following year. The RPG-7 was used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2005, most notably in Lurgan , County Armagh, where it

832-509: The left side hull next to the forward section of the engine compartment. During the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) , several M1A2 Abrams were temporarily disabled by RPG-7 hits. Shoulder-launched missile weapon Shoulder-launched weapons may be guided or unguided , and the systems can either be disposable, such as the Panzerfaust 1 , M72 LAW , AT4 , etc., or reusable, such as

864-792: The militia will plan to have two to four shooters per attacked vehicle. Reliable attack ranges are 50 to 100 m, although attacks can succeed out to 300 m. Self-destruct ranges of common rocket weapons such as RPG-7s are about 900 m. The usual response to such attacks is to suppress the shooters, with saturation anti-personnel fire, artillery or aerial barrages in area-denial attacks. Submunition and thermobaric weapons are often used to clear landing zones (LZ) for helicopters. In modern counter-insurgency operations in misty, dusty or night-time situations, advanced optics such as infrared telescopes permit helicopter gunships to observe convoys from beyond human-visible range and still attack insurgents with inexpensive anti-personnel fire. This approach

896-400: The same manner as a hand grenade . Ammunition traditionally use the backblast principle for propulsion, meaning that when fired, the propellant gases are expelled out of the back of the weapon to alleviate the reactional force exerted from the projectile moving forward. If the weapon fires ammunition using fixed propellant charges, such as through cartridge cases on reloadable systems or

928-500: The stabilizing fins, causing the projectile to turn into the wind ( see Weathervane effect ). While the rocket motor is still burning, this will cause the flight path to curve into the wind. The TRADOC bulletin explains aiming difficulties for more distant moving targets in crosswinds at some length. The RPG-7 can fire a variety of warheads for anti-armor (HEAT, PG-Protivotankovaya Granata) or anti-personnel ( HE , OG-Oskolochnaya Granata) purposes, usually fitting with an impact (PIBD) and

960-435: The tube is wood wrapped to protect the user from heat and the end is flared. Sighting is usually optical with a back-up iron sight , and passive infrared and night sights are also available. The launchers designated RPG-7N1 and RPG-7DN1 can thus mount the multi-purpose night vision scope 1PN51 and the launchers designated RPG-7N2 and RPG-7DN2 can mount the multi-purpose night vision scope 1PN58 . As with similar weapons,

992-538: The world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon; it is manufactured in several variants by nine countries. It is popular with irregular and guerrilla forces . Widely produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D (десантник – desantnik – paratrooper ) model, which can be broken into two parts for easier carrying; and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG . DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K style pistol grips, and

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1024-576: Was used against British Army observation posts and the towering military base at Kitchen Hill in the town. The IRA also used them in Catholic areas of West Belfast against British Army armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and Army forward operating bases (FOBs). Beechmount Avenue in Belfast became known as "RPG Avenue" after attacks on British troops. In Mogadishu, Somalia, RPG-7s were used to down two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters in 1993. During

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