RPG-7 is a
reloadable, shoulder-fired,
muzzle-loaded, recoilless antitank and antipersonnel rocket
propelled grenade launcher that
launches fin-stabilized, oversized
rocket - assisted HEAT
grenade
(85-mm
in the PG-7 version, 70-mm in the PG-7M)
from a smooth bore 40mm tube. The
launcher with optical sights weighs 6.9 kilograms (15.9 pounds)
and has a maximum, effective range of 300 meters against moving
point targets and 500 meters against stationary point targets. 500
meters is also the maximum range of rocket assisted flight, which
enables a flatter trajectory and more accurate aiming.
The RPG-7V is light
enough to be carried and fired by a single operator. An assistant
grenadier deploys with the shooter, to the left of the gunner to
provide cover with his personal weapon and reload after fire.
The
shooter normally carries two additional rounds of ammunition, and
his team member three more rounds.
The
use of the weapon is fairly simple. Without much practice, a user
can hit a vehicle sized target most of the time at ranges of
50-100 meters. More practice enable engagement of targets at
extended range, which also provide relative safety to the user. At
the maximum range of 920 meters, RPGs self explodes (4.5 seconds
from firing) and that's how the weapon is sometime used as a form
of "artillery", spraying shrapnel over military installations,
or slow, low flying or hovering helicopters. The antipersonnel
grenades reach over 1100 meters. Following the conflict in
Afghanistan, new anti-personnel grenades were added. A modified
version, PG-7BR (VR for the RPG-7V1) is also designed to defeat reactive armor. It uses
a precursor charge to eliminate the reactive armor and a main
charge to penetrate the main armor. Basalt, the original RPG
manufacturer currently offer the RPG-7V1 40mm launcher, which
weighs 6.3 kg. It is available in two versions, the standard
unitary tube at a length of 950mm and the RPG-7D which can be
split into two sections, measuring 630 mm when packed for
transportation or airdrop. The PRG-7V1 can fire 4 - 6 rounds per
minute, and can be equipped with PG-7V shaped charge, PG-7VR
tandem shaped charge, both are designed to penetrate over 500 mm
of steel (600 mm behind ERA in PG-7VR, which can also penetrate
two meters of brickwork, 1.5 meters of reinforced concrete and 3.7
meters of log or sand). The RPG-7V1 can also fire the TBG-7V
thermobaric or OG-7V fragmentation charges.
Basalt has also designed further advanced versions,
including RPG-26 and RPG-27, with effective range of 200-250
meters for anti-tank, anti-personnel and anti-material missions. Thermobaric warheads were also adapted for RPGs
with the RShG-1 and the RShG-2. Both are optimized for operations
in enclosures of up to 200 cubic meters and can create a
devastating effect in a trench or within a bunker or building even
when they explode at a range of 1.5 - 2 meters from the target.
For the RPG-7V1 the TBG-7V thermobaric round uses a 4.5kg 105mm
warhead effective at a range of 200 meters (maximum 700 m'). The
kill radius of this rocket is 10 meters.
The current RPG-7V
model can mount a telescope and both infrared and passive night
sights. All RPG-7 models have optical sights which can be
illuminated for night sighting.
Among the production grenades are the PG-7, PG-7M,
PG-7N, The PG-7V rocket has a penetration capability of 330mm of
steel armor. PG-7VL antitank grenades with armor penetrability of up
to 600 mm of rolled homogeneous steel. The PG-7VR is a tandem
warhead designed to penetrate explosive reactive armor and the
armor underneath. The OG-7 and OG-7M are high-explosive
antipersonnel grenades. OG7V is a 2 kg, 40mm fragmentation warhead
effective at a range of 350m with a kill radius of 150 m.
The
RPG-18 is another derivative of the original RPG. It was designed
as a short-range weapon, The tube-launched, disposable launcher
contain a single 64mm PG-18 rocket, similar in principle to the US
LAW system. The operator carries the launcher in a collapsed
position and extends the inner tube to make the weapon ready to
fire. The weapon has an effective range of 200 meters, with a HEAT
warhead which is capable of penetrating up to 375 millimeters of
steel armor. The fuse of the HEAT grenade activates 2 to 15 meters
after leaving the tube and self-destructs after a flight time of 4
to 6 seconds. The folding sight at the forward end of the tube is
calibrated for ranges of 50, 100, 150, and 200 meters.
|