Rocket Propelled Grenade

An RPG-7. The large green protrusion on the left of the picture is the actual grenade.

The RPG-7 is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, from the Soviet Union. It is the most widely produced grenade launcher in history, with several million made. RPG means Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet literally: "a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher". It is based upon a modified and upgraded design of the World War II German Panzerfaust.

The RPG-7 has seen much use since 1961. It is used by both terrorists and (para)military forces.

It has a range of 900 yards, but is quite inaccurate. It is notable for the way the operator uses their hands the wrong way around from other weapons. Warheads are usually a shaped charge anti-tank round, although many variants exist. It weighs about 15 lbs.

Originally designed as a tank killer, two American Blackhawk helicopters were taken down in the Battle of Mogadishu (Somalia, 1993) by RPG-7s.

Ammunition

• PG-7VL - 93mm HEAT warhead; used against vehicles and fortified targets

• PG-7VR - Dual 64mm/105mm HEAT warhead for defeating modern armored vehicles with reactive armor blocks.

• TBG-7V Tanin - 105mm thermobaric warhead for use against personnel and urban warfare

• OG-7V

See also

• M72 LAW - the Light Antitank Weapon used by the American military, which replaced the bazooka
• AT4 - the replacement for the M72 LAW
• Stugna-P