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RPG-18
RPG-18 rocket launcher with PG-18 rocket
TypeRocket-propelled grenade
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1972–present
WarsVietnam War
Cambodian Civil War
Laotian Civil War
Sino-Vietnamese War
Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Third Indochina War
Soviet–Afghan War[1]
Salvadoran Civil War
Gulf War
First 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
Russo-Ukrainian War
Specifications
Mass1.4 kg (projectile)
2.6 kg (loaded)
Length705 mm (unarmed)
1,050 mm (ready to fire)
Crew1
ShellHEAT
Caliber64 mm
Action300 mm: RHA
500 mm: Reinforced concrete
1000 mm: Brickwork
Muzzle velocity115 m/s
Effective firing range200 m

The RPG-18 Mukha (Russian: Муха, romanized: Fly) is a Soviet short-range, disposable light anti-tank rocket launcher designed in 1972. It was based on the M72 LAW.[2]

History

RPG-18 (bottom) with comparable Soviet/Russian rocket launchers
Airbased modification

The RPG-18 is very similar to the US M72-series LAW anti-tank rocket launcher, with captured examples during the Vietnam War likely being sent to the Soviet Union.[3][4] 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 high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead mounted on a small rocket able to engage targets within 200 meters. The warhead self-destructs six seconds after launch, placing a limit on range even if a sight was used that was effective with targets beyond 200 meters. The RPG-18 can penetrate up to 300 mm of conventional armor. However, performance is significantly lessened when the RPG-18 is used against targets protected by HEAT-resistant explosive reactive armour (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

Former users

See also

References

  1. ^ Campbell, David (30 Nov 2017). Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89. Combat 29. Osprey Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 9781472817648.
  2. ^ "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  3. ^ Rottman, Gordon L. (2011-03-15). The Rocket Propelled Grenade. ISBN 9781849081542.
  4. ^ "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Small Arms Survey (2003). "Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo". Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied. Oxford University Press. p. 267. ISBN 0199251754. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2010.
  8. ^ Small Arms Survey (1998). Politics From The Barrel of a Gun (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2011.
  9. ^ "Α-Τ RPG-18". army.gr.
  10. ^ Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
  11. ^ "Маленькая и малобоеспособная | Еженедельник «Военно-промышленный курьер»". vpk-news.ru. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  12. ^ a b c Montes, Julio A. (8 May 2015). "Portable Anti-Tank Weapons in Mexico & the Northern Central American Triangle". Small Arms Defense Journal. Vol. 7, no. 1. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Special Operations Forces Soldiers hit enemy BMP-2 with RPG". Militarnyi. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ^ Babchenko, Arkady (2006). One Soldier's War. New York, NY: Publishers Group West. pp. 9, 101, 157. ISBN 978-0-8021-4403-4. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  15. ^ 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.

General

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RPG-18.
Soviet and Russian rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) series
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