RPG-29

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RPG-29

RPG-29 launcher with PG-29V rocket
Type Rocket propelled grenade
Place of origin Flag of the Soviet Union USSR
Service history
In service 1989 - Present
Used by Russia, Hezbollah, Iran
Production history
Manufacturer Bazalt
Specifications
Weight 12.1 kg unloaded (with optical sight)
18.8 kg loaded (ready to fire)
Length 1,000 mm (disassembled for transportation)
1,850 mm (ready to fire)
Shell PG-29V tandem rocket
TBG-29V thermobaric rounds
Caliber 105 mm barrel
65/105mm warheads
Action 750 mm: Rolled homogeneous armor (after reactive armor effects)
1,500 mm: Reinforced concrete or brick
3,700 mm: Log and earth fortification
Muzzle velocity 280 m/s
Effective range 500m
Sights Iron, optical, and night sights available with ranges up to 450 m

The RPG-29 Vampir is a Russian hand held anti-tank grenade launcher.

Contents

[edit] Description

The RPG-29 is a tube-style rocket launcher designed to be carried and used by a single soldier. On the top of the launch tube is the x 2.7 1P38 optical sight. On the bottom of the tube is a shoulder brace for proper positioning along with a pistol grip trigger mechanism. A 1PN51-2 night sight can be fitted.

Two projectiles are available for the weapon; the PG-29V anti-tank/anti-bunker round and the TBG-29V thermobaric anti-personnel round. The PG-29V round has a tandem-charge HEAT warhead for defeating explosive reactive armour (ERA). Eight fins pop out as the rocket leaves the launch tube and stabilize the missile in flight.

The warhead is extremely powerful, and in tests conducted against T-80 and T-90 tanks it penetrated the tanks over their frontal arcs.[1]

[edit] History

The RPG-29 entered service with the Soviet army in 1989.

Claims were made by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that significant numbers of the RPG-29 were passed on from Syria to Hezbollah and were reportedly a major source of IDF casualties in the 2006 Lebanon War.[2] A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry denied that Russia had supplied arms directly to Hezbollah, saying that "such insinuations are a source of bewilderment in Moscow, to say the least".[3] After talks between the two countries, then Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov stated "in my view, the subject in general is closed." According to the Kommersant, unidentified Russian sources involved in the talks acknowledged the possibility of a weapons transfer between Syrian officers and Hezbollah during the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.[4]

In 2007, British officials confirmed that an RPG-29 round penetrated the frontal ERA and hull of a Challenger 2 tank during an engagement in al-Amarah, Iraq, injuring a crew member.[5]

In May 2008, the New York Times disclosed that an American M1 tank had also been damaged by an RPG-29 in Iraq. [6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 20.10.1999 T-80U and T-90 Protection Trials. Vasiliy Fofanov's Modern Russian Armour Page.
  2. ^ "Hezbollah anti-tank fire causing most IDF casualties in Lebanon", Haaretz, 2006-08-06
  3. ^ "Russia denies sending anti-tank weapons to Hizbollah - ministry","RIA Novosti", 2006-08-10
  4. ^ "Russian Minister says Russia, Israel have settled differences over Hezbollah arms", International Herald Tribune, 2006-10-20
  5. ^ Sean Rayment. "MoD kept failure of best tank quiet", Sunday Telegraph, May 12, 2007. 
  6. ^ cite news|title=Operation in Sadr City Is an Iraqi Success, So Far |author=MICHAEL R. GORDON |publisher=New York Times|date=May 21, 2008|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/world/middleeast/21sadr.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin}}

[edit] External links