RPG-18
RPG-18 | |
---|---|
RPG-18 rocket launcher with PG-18 rocket | |
Type | Rocket-propelled grenade |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1972– present |
Wars |
Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Laotian Civil War Sino-Vietnamese War Cambodian–Vietnamese War Third Indochina War Soviet–Afghan War Gulf War Nagorno-Karabakh War Tajikistan Civil War First Chechen War Congo Civil War Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan Iraq War 2008 South Ossetian War Kivu conflict Syrian Civil War |
Specifications | |
Weight |
1.4 kg (unarmed) 2.6 kg (ready to fire) |
Length |
705 mm (unarmed) 1,050 mm (ready to fire) |
Crew | 1 |
| |
Shell | HEAT with a penetration of 300 mm of RHA |
Caliber | 64 mm |
Action |
By using VP-18 impact fuze: 1,000 mm: Brick 500 mm: Concrete with VP-18 impact fuze. |
Muzzle velocity | 115 m/s |
Effective firing range | 200 m |
The RPG-18 Mukha (Russian: Муха, translit. Fly) is a Soviet short-range, disposable light anti-tank rocket launcher.
History
The RPG-18 is very similar to the US M72-series LAW anti-tank rocket launcher.[1] The RPG-18 has been succeeded by the RPG-22, a very similar design with a larger warhead.
Description
The RPG-18 fires a 64 mm PG-18 HEAT warhead mounted on a small rocket capable of engaging any target within 200 meters. The warhead self-destructs 6 seconds after launch, placing definite limits on range even if a sight was used that was effective with targets beyond 200 meters. The RPG-18 itself can penetrate up to 375 mm of conventional armor. However, performance is significantly diminished when the RPG-18 is employed against targets protected by HEAT-resistant ERA or composite armor.
Unlike better known weapons, the RPG-18 requires only one operator because it is not reloadable. Assistant grenadiers are used to help reload the RPG-2, RPG-7 and RPG-16 systems.
Users
Afghanistan[2] Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Chad[3] Republic of the Congo[4] Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda[3] Georgia[5] Greece Hamas Iraq Iraqi insurgents[6] Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Syria Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan
Former Users
Similar weapons
See also
References
- ↑ https://books.google.pl/books?id=NDa1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=m72+law+rpg&source=bl&ots=xJh_B6DnhS&sig=7RFBFrolqiItISzIjEj__SW4pz8&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjb4e_Wg-DXAhWoHpoKHXTaD-E4ChDoAQhAMAQ#v=onepage&q=m72%20law%20rpg&f=false
- ↑ Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey, ed. Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-415-45308-0.
- 1 2 Small Arms Survey (2015). "Waning Cohesion: The Rise and Fall of the FDLR–FOCA" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 203.
- ↑ Small Arms Survey (2003). "Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied. Oxford University Press. p. 267. ISBN 0199251754.
- ↑ Small Arms Survey (1998). Politics From The Barrel of a Gun: (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 40.
- ↑ Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4.
- ↑ Ferguson, Jonathan; Jenzen-Jones, N.R. (November 2014). Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014 (PDF). Research Report 3. Armament Research Services. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-9924624-3-7.
- Jones, Richard. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005–06. Coulsdon: Jane's, 2005. ISBN 0-7106-2694-0.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RPG-18. |
- RPG-18 (in Russian)
- Modern Firearms
- Military-Today
- Weapon Systems
- Military Factory