RPG-7

The RPG-7 (Russian: РПГ-7) is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт - Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot, Hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher) and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company. The weapon has the GRAU index 6G3.

The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-tank weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the present day War in Afghanistan.

The most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D paratrooper model (able to 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 pistol grips, and a Commando variant.

The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed at a squad level. It replaced the RPG-2, having clearly out-performed the intermediate RPG-4 design during testing. The current model produced by Russia is the RPG-7V2, capable of firing standard and dual high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, high explosive/fragmentation, and thermobaric warheads (see below), with a UP-7V sighting device fitted (used in tandem with the standard 2.7x 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.

Description

The launcher is reloadable and based around a simple steel tube, 40 millimeters in diameter, 95.3 centimeters long, and weighing 7 kilograms. The middle of the tube is wood wrapped to protect the user from heat and the end is flared to assist in blast shielding and recoil reduction. Sighting is usually optical with a back-up iron sight, and passive infra-red and night sights are also available.

As with similar weapons, the grenade protrudes from the launch tubes. It is 40-105 millimeters in diameter and weighs between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms. It is launched by a gunpowder booster charge, giving it an initial speed of 115 meters per second, and creating a cloud of light grey-blue smoke. The rocket motor^[2] ignites after 10 meters and sustains flight out to 500 meters at a maximum velocity of 295 meters per second. 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 front set to induce rotation. The grenade can fly up to 1,100 meters; the fuze sets the maximum range, usually 920 meters.

Propulsion system

According to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Bulletin 3u (1977) Soviet RPG-7 Antitank Grenade Launcher—Capabilities and Countermeasures, the RPG-7 munition has 2 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 ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds, reaching a speed of 294 meters per second. The TRADOC bulletin provides anecdotal commentary that the RPG-7 has been fired from within buildings, which agrees with the two-stage design. It is stated that only a 2-meter 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 the stabilizing fins, causing the projectile to turn into the wind. 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.

Ammunition

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 a 4.5 second fuze. Armor penetration is warhead dependent and ranges from 30 to 60 centimeters of RHA; one warhead, the PG-7VR, is a 'tandem charge' device, used to defeat reactive armor with a single shot.

Current production ammunition for the RPG-7V2 consists of four types:

• PG-7VL standard HEAT warhead for most vehicles and fortified targets (93 mm)
• PG-7VR dual HEAT warhead for defeating modern heavily armored vehicles equipped with reactive armor (105mm)
• TBG-7V thermobaric warhead for anti-personnel and urban warfare (105 mm)
• OG-7V fragmentation warhead for anti-personnel warfare (within caliber due to limitations of international treaties)

Specifications

Manufacturer specifications for the RPG-7V1.^[3][4]

Hit probabilities

A US Army evaluation of the weapon gave the hit probabilities on a 5 meter wide (15 ft), 2.5 meter tall (7.5 ft) panel moving sideways at 4 meters per second (9 miles per hour).^[8] This probability decreases when firing into crosswind due to the unusual behaviour of the round; in a 7-mile (11 km) -per-hour wind, the gunner can not expect to get a first-round hit more than 50% of the time beyond 180m.^[9]

History of use

Accurate firing is difficult at ranges over 300 meters and with the RPG-7 the phrase "the closer the better" has always been true. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the mujahideen tended to use the weapon at ranges of less than 80 meters. They were used in the Vietnam war to counter the introduction of the lightly armored M113. This was countered by the mounting of barbed wire bundles or placing sections of chain link fence supported by 2 or 3 "U" shaped engineer stakes in front of the vehicle as a portable stand-off.^[10] Coalition armoured vehicles in Iraq have been fitted with "birdcage" slat armour to protect against RPGs.

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 was used against British Army observation posts and the towering military base at Kitchen Hill in the town.^[11] The IRA also used them in Catholic areas of West Belfast against British Army armoured personnel carriers and Army forward operating bases (FOB). Beechmount Avenue was renamed "RPG Avenue" because it was chosen many times by the IRA to mount rocket attacks.^[12]

Users

•  Afghanistan^[13]
•  Albania^[13]
•  Algeria^[13]
•  Angola^[13]
•  Armenia^[13]
•  Azerbaijan^[13]
•  Belarus^[13]
•  Benin^[13]
•  Botswana^[13]
•  Bulgaria: Produced locally by Arsenal Corporation as ATGL-L.^[14]
•  Cambodia^[13]
•  Cape Verde^[13]
•  Central African Republic^[13]
•  Chad^[13]
•  Congo-Brazzaville^[13]
•  Croatia^[13]
•  Cuba^[13]
•  Cyprus^[13]
•  Czech Republic^[13]
•  Democratic Republic of Congo^[13]
•  Djibouti^[13]
•  Egypt^[13]
•  Eritrea^[13]
•  Georgia^[13]
•  Ghana^[13]
•  Guinea^[13]
•  Guyana^[13]
•  Hungary^[15]
•  Iran^[13]
•  Iraq^[13]
•  Jordan^[13]
•  Kazakhstan^[13]
•  Kyrgyzstan^[13]
•  Laos^[13]
•  Latvia^[13]
•  Lebanon^[13]
•  Libya^[13] (also used by rebel forces in the 2011 Libyan civil war)
•  Lithuania^[13]
•  Macedonia^[13]
•  Madagascar^[13]
•  Malta^[13]
•  Mauritania^[13]
•  Moldova^[13]
•  Mongolia^[13]
•  Morocco^[13]
•  Nicaragua^[13]
•  Nigeria^[13]
•  North Korea^[13]
•  Palestinian Authority
•  Pakistan^[13]
•  People's Republic of China: Copied by the People's Liberation Army(PLA)as the Type 69 RPG.^[16]The RPG is the most popular RPG-7 copy used over the world.
•  Poland^[13]
•  Romania^[13] - Produced locally by SC Carfil SA from Brașov as AG-7 (Romanian: Aruncătorul de Grenade 7, Grenade Launcher 7).^[17]
•  Russia^[13]
•  Rwanda^[13]
•  Sao Tome and Principe^[13]
•  Senegal^[13]
•  Seychelles^[13]
•  Sierra Leone^[13]
•  Somalia^[13]
•  South Africa: South African National Defence Force.^[18]
•  Sudan: Made by Military Industry Corporation as the Sinar.^[19]
•  Syria^[13]
•  Tajikistan^[13]
•  Togo^[13]
•  Turkey^[20]
•  Turkmenistan^[13]
•  Ukraine^[13]
•  Uzbekistan^[13]
•  Venezuela^[21]
•  Vietnam^[13]
•  Yemen^[13]
•  Zambia^[13]
•  Zimbabwe^[13]

See also

• Rocket-propelled grenade (includes a description of tactics and history.)
• Panzerfaust
• RPG-2
• RPG-16
• RPG-18
• PG-7VR
• Type 69 RPG
• Yasin (RPG)
• AT4
• AT3
• M9A1 Bazooka
• M72 LAW
• Carl Gustaf M3 recoilless rifle

References

External links

• http://www.bazalt.ru/ manufacturer site
• Countering the RPG threat
• RPG a Weapon's Profile - Defense Update
• How Stuff Works - RPG(7)
• RPG-7 analysis and user´s manual
• Modern Firearms: RPG-7
• Ultimate Weapons Rpg 7 Military Channel on Youtube