In the second half of the 60s, Soviet motorized riflemen had at their disposal fairly effective anti-tank defense means. Each rifle squad included a grenade launcher with an RPG-2 or RPG-7. The battalion's anti-tank defense was provided by the calculations of the LNG-9 easel grenade launchers and the Malyutka portable ATGM system. However, individual infantrymen, left alone with enemy armored vehicles, as in the years of the Great Patriotic War, could fight enemy tanks only with anti-tank hand grenades. The RKG-3EM manual cumulative grenade could normally penetrate 220 mm armor, but despite several degrees of protection, the cumulative ammunition thrown manually posed a huge danger to those who used them. According to the instructions, the fighter, after throwing a grenade, had to immediately take cover in a trench, or behind an obstacle protecting from shrapnel. But even so, an explosion of about 500 g of TNT at a distance of less than 10 m from the grenade launcher could lead to a shell shock. In the course of real hostilities, when repelling attacks by enemy armored vehicles, the soldiers thought about personal safety as the last thing, and the use of powerful hand-held anti-tank grenades, which had to be used shortly, inevitably led to large losses among personnel.
To increase the anti-tank capabilities of the infantry in the immediate vicinity of the forward edge, in 1967 specialists from TsKIB SOO and GSKBP "Basalt" began developing a new individual anti-tank weapon, which was to replace the manually thrown RKG-3 cumulative grenades. In 1972, the RPG-18 "Fly" disposable anti-tank grenade was officially adopted.
Although the RPG-18 is actually a disposable grenade launcher, it has been called a "rocket-propelled grenade" - that is, a consumable ammunition. This is done in order to facilitate the accounting and write-off process, since it is much easier and faster to write off an anti-tank grenade used or lost during combat operations or exercises than a grenade launcher.
A number of sources say that work on the RPG-18 began after the American M72 LAW disposable grenade launchers, captured in Southeast Asia, were at the disposal of Soviet specialists. It is difficult to say how much this is true, but the Soviet rocket-propelled grenade uses some of the technical solutions previously used in the American M72 LAW.
The smooth-walled "trunk" of the "Fly" is a telescopic sliding structure made of outer and inner pipes. Detailed instructions for the use of RPG-18 are printed on the surface of the outer pipe. But this, of course, does not mean that practical skills are not needed to effectively use a rocket-propelled grenade.
The outer tube, made of fiberglass, protects the shooter from the effects of powder gases during the shot. In the rear upper part of the inner tube, made of high-strength aluminum alloy, there are a firing mechanism with a locking device and a grenade primer assembled in one case. The length of the RPG-18 in the stowed position is 705 mm, in the cocked combat position - 1050 mm.
Even before the 64-mm rocket-propelled grenade leaves the barrel, the complete combustion of the starting powder charge occurs in the barrel of the disposable launcher. In contrast to the previously adopted rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades PG-7 and PG-9, the cumulative RPG-18 grenade, after leaving the barrel, flies further only by inertia, without acceleration by a sustainer jet engine. The initial speed of the cumulative grenade is 115 m / s. In flight, the grenade is stabilized by four feather stabilizers that unfold after it leaves the barrel. To make the grenade rotate at a speed of 10-12 r / s, the stabilizer blades have a slight inclination. The rotation of the grenade is necessary to eliminate errors made in the manufacturing process and increase the accuracy of shooting.
Sights include a spring-loaded front sight and a diopter. The front sight is a transparent glass with marked firing ranges of 50, 100, 150 and 200 meters. At the level of the top of the aiming mark, corresponding to a range of 150 m, horizontal strokes are applied on both sides, which can be used to determine the distance to the tank. The effective firing range of the "Fly" does not exceed 150 meters, but this is approximately 7-8 times more than the maximum throwing range of the RKG-3 cumulative hand grenade. Although the 64-mm RPG-18 grenade contains a smaller charge of explosives, the thickness of the penetrated homogeneous armor is 300 mm, the "Fly" surpassed the hand-held anti-tank grenade. This is due to the fact that the developers used a more powerful explosive - "okfol" (phlegmatized HMX) weighing 312 g and carefully selected the facing material and the geometry of the cumulative funnel. The detonation of the warhead when it hits the target is made by an instantaneous piezoelectric fuse. In the event of a miss or failure of the main fuse, the grenade is detonated by a self-destructor. The disadvantage of the RPG-18 is that the rocket-propelled grenade, after being transferred to a combat position, cannot be returned to its original safe state. Cocked rocket-propelled grenades not used for their intended purpose must be fired towards the enemy or detonated at a safe distance.
Although the RPG-18 weighing 2, 6 kg is about twice as heavy as the RKG-3, the rocket-propelled grenade has many times higher efficiency. In the hands of an experienced soldier, this weapon in the 70-80s posed a serious danger to all types of armored vehicles. At a distance of 150 m, in the absence of a crosswind, more than half of the grenades fit into a circle with a diameter of 1.5 m. The greatest probability of hitting tanks is achieved when firing at the side from a distance of no more than 100 m. When firing at moving objects, it is very important to correctly determine the optimal distance for opening fire and choose anticipation. Although the RPG-18 grenade does not have an active area on the flight path, a powerful jet stream of a shot can lead to the formation of a dust or snow cloud, which unmasks the arrow. As with firing from other anti-tank grenade launchers, when firing from an RPG-18, a dangerous zone is formed behind the shooter, in which there should be no other military personnel, obstacles and flammable objects.
Comparing the RPG-18 with the American disposable 66-mm M72 LAW grenade launcher, it can be noted that the Soviet model with a smaller caliber is 150 g heavier. With a higher initial speed - 140 m / s, the aiming range of the M72 LAW is the same - 200 m. The length of the American grenade launcher in the firing position is 880 mm, folded -670 mm, which is less than that of the "Fly". The armor penetration of the M72 LAW cumulative grenade containing 300 g of octol, according to American data, is 350 mm. Thus, it can be stated that with slightly smaller dimensions, the American model practically does not differ in combat characteristics from the Soviet one.
Like the Fly, the M72 LAW disposable grenade launcher can no longer be considered an effective means of dealing with modern tanks, and therefore is used mainly for the destruction of light field fortifications and against manpower.
During the Soviet era, the RPG-18 was produced in huge numbers. In a motorized rifle squad on the defensive, a rocket-propelled grenade could be issued to each soldier. In addition to the Soviet Army, "Fly" rocket-propelled grenades were supplied to the allies under the Warsaw Pact and to a number of countries friendly to the USSR. Licensed production of the RPG-18 was also carried out in the GDR. Although the RPG-18 in the 80s no longer provided penetration of the frontal armor of the latest Western tanks, the production of the "Fly" lasted until 1993. In total, approximately 1.5 million RPG-18s were produced.
Soviet-made rocket-propelled grenades were distributed throughout the world and were actively used in many regional conflicts. However, most often they were used not for armored vehicles, but for manpower and for the destruction of light field fortifications. Based on the service, operational and combat characteristics, the RPG-18 can no longer be considered a modern anti-tank weapon, and although the Fly is still formally in service with the Russian Army, this rocket-propelled grenade in constant combat readiness units has been replaced by more advanced models.
Already in the mid-70s, it became clear that the RPG-18 was not capable of penetrating the multi-layered frontal armor of promising West German, British and American tanks. And the widespread American M48 and M60, after installing additional screens and dynamic armor, dramatically added to the security. In this regard, simultaneously with the saturation of the troops with RPG-18 rocket-propelled grenades, a more powerful anti-tank infantry ammunition was being developed. In 1980, the RPG-22 "Net" anti-tank rocket grenade entered service with the Soviet Army. In fact, this was a variant of the development of the RPG-18 with a caliber increased to 73 mm. A larger and heavier cumulative grenade was loaded with 340 g of explosives, which, in turn, increased the armor penetration. When hit at a right angle, the cumulative warhead could penetrate 400 mm of homogeneous armor, and at an angle of 60 ° from the normal - 200 mm. However, it is wrong to consider the RPG-22 simply an enlarged RPG-18. The designers of TsKIB SOO have creatively redesigned the design of the disposable rocket-propelled grenade, significantly increasing the characteristics of the new product. In the RPG-22, instead of the outer pipe, a retractable nozzle is used, which increases the length of the launch device by only 100 mm, in the RPG-18, after the pipes are expanded, the length increases by 345 mm. Instead of the VP-18 fuse, the more reliable VP-22 is used with cocking at 15 m from the muzzle and self-destruction 5-6 seconds after the shot.
The development of a new powder charge formulation with an increased burning rate made it possible to shorten the engine operation time. This, in turn, increased the muzzle velocity to 130 m / s while shortening the barrel length. In turn, the range of a direct shot reached 160 m, and the aiming range of fire increased to 250 meters. The modified firing mechanism has the ability to re-cocking in the event of a misfire. The length of the RPG-22 in the firing position was reduced to 850 mm, which made handling more convenient. At the same time, the mass of the RPG-22 became the most by 100 g.
There is also detailed instructions for use on the external plastic pipe of the RPG-22. As in the case of the RPG-18, after bringing the RPG-22 into a combat position, unspent grenades must be fired towards the enemy or blown up in a safe place.
The release of the RPG-22 in our country continued until 1993. In the mid-80s, licensed production of RPG-22 "Net" was mastered in Bulgaria at the "Arsenal" plant in the city of Kazanlak. Subsequently, Bulgaria offered these anti-tank ammunition to the world arms market.
RPG-22 rocket-propelled grenades were actively used in hostilities in the post-Soviet space. They have established themselves as an effective and reliable means of engaging lightly armored vehicles and firing points. At the same time, when firing at modern main battle tanks, the RPG-22 demonstrated that it is capable of hitting tanks only at the side, stern, or from above, when firing from the upper floors or roofs of buildings. During the First Chechen Campaign, there were cases when T-72 and T-80 tanks withstood 8-10 hits from RPG-18 and RPG-22. According to the reviews of the military personnel who participated in the hostilities, the RPG-22 is a more effective weapon when firing at enemy personnel than the RPG-18. Rocket-propelled grenades proved to be good in street battles, for example, they could hit militants hiding behind the walls of city buildings.
In 1985, the RPG-26 Aglen rocket-propelled grenade entered service. When developing this ammunition, the specialists of NPO Bazalt took into account the operating experience of the RPG-18 and RPG-22 troops. In particular, in addition to increasing the armor penetration, the transfer of the grenade to the firing position was facilitated, it became possible to transfer from the firing position to the marching position, the length of the ammunition in the firing position was reduced. The time for transferring a rocket-propelled grenade from a traveling to a combat position was halved.
Although the caliber of the RPG-26 remained the same as in the RPG-22 - 73 mm, thanks to the use of a more advanced jet engine, the initial speed of the grenade was 145 m / s. In this regard, the accuracy of shooting increased, and the range of a direct shot increased to 170 m. Improving the design of the cumulative warhead while maintaining the same caliber made it possible to bring the armor penetration up to 440 mm. The RPG-26 weighs 2.9 kg - just 200 g more than the RPG-22.
The new infantry anti-tank ammunition has become simpler in design and much more technologically advanced in production. The RPG-26 launcher is a monoblock fiberglass pipe impregnated with epoxy resin. From the ends, the pipe is closed with rubber plugs that are dropped when fired. To transfer the RPG-26 into a firing position, a safety check is removed. After bringing the sighting devices into a firing position, the firing mechanism is cocked. The shot is fired by pressing the trigger. If it is necessary to remove the firing mechanism from the combat platoon, lower the rear sight to a horizontal position and fix it with a pin.
Despite the fact that the RPG-26 "Aglen" rocket-propelled grenade is capable of penetrating only the side armor of modern tanks, this ammunition is in service with the motorized rifle and airborne units of the Russian army. With the help of the RPG-26, you can hit lightly armored vehicles, destroy manpower and light field fortifications of the enemy.
In the 80s, the competition between armor and anti-tank weapons continued. In 1989, the RPG-27 "Tavolga" rocket-propelled grenade entered service, which differed from the RPG-26 mainly in the tandem 105-mm warhead, unified with the warhead of the PG-7VR rocket-propelled grenade for the RPG-7 reusable grenade launcher.
This ammunition is capable of normalizing 600 mm armor covered with reactive armor. The initial speed of the RPG-27 grenade is about 120 m / s. The range of a direct shot is 140 m. The transfer of the grenade launcher from the traveling position to the combat position and vice versa is carried out in the same manner as in the RPG-26.
RPG-27 compared to RPG-26 has become 365 mm longer. At the same time, the mass of the 105-mm anti-tank ammunition has increased almost 3 times and is 8.3 kg. It is believed that the increase in the cost, weight and dimensions of a disposable rocket-propelled grenade, with a slight decrease in the direct-fire range, is an acceptable price to pay for the ability to fight modern tanks covered with multi-layer combined armor and reactive armor. However, since the appearance of the RPG-27, the protection of the Leopard-2, Challenger-2 and M1A2 SEP Abrams tanks has grown significantly. According to information published in open sources, the armor in the frontal projections of these vehicles with a high degree of probability can resist when hit by an RPG-27.
Simultaneously with the creation of disposable rocket-propelled grenades of increased armor penetration, ammunition for reusable grenade launchers was improved. As already mentioned in the second part of the review, in 1988, a shot with a tandem warhead PG-7VR was taken to the RPG-7 grenade launcher. This ammunition was developed as part of the ROC "Resume" after a sharp decline in the effectiveness of the use of hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers against Israeli tanks equipped with Blazer reactive armor was revealed during the fighting in Lebanon in 1982. The warhead of the PG-7VR grenade, consisting of two cumulative warheads - a front (precharge) with a 64 mm caliber and a main 105 mm caliber, provides penetration of 600 mm of armor after overcoming dynamic protection. With an increase in the mass of the PG-7VR grenade launcher shot to 4.5 kg, the aimed shot range was only 200 m. It is quite natural that the leadership of the Ministry of Defense wanted to have a powerful anti-tank weapon with a greater effective firing range, while maintaining the relatively low cost characteristic of reusable grenade launchers and unguided rocket-propelled grenades. In this regard, shortly before the collapse of the USSR, NPO Basalt created a reusable RPG-29 Vampire grenade launcher. This weapon with a loaded barrel is conceptually close to the Airborne RPG-16. For firing from the RPG-29, a shot with a tandem warhead is used, which was previously used in the PG-7VR.
The complete combustion of the pyroxylin powder charge ends before the grenade leaves the barrel. In this case, the PG-29V grenade accelerates to 255 m / s. The aiming range of the RPG-29 reaches 500 meters, which is twice as high as when firing the PG-7VR tandem grenade from the RPG-7. After the powder charge burns out, the stabilizers are released, which open after leaving the bore. The absence of a jet engine operating in flight makes it possible to simplify the design of the grenade launcher and ammunition, as well as reduce the impact of the shot products on the calculation.
For a clearer visual observation of the flight of the grenade, it has a tracer. In addition to the cumulative grenade for the RPG-29, a TBG-29V shot with a thermobaric warhead equipped with a charge weighing 1, 8 kg was accepted. In terms of its striking effect, the TBG-29V is comparable to a 122-mm artillery shell. This ammunition is ideal for destroying enemy personnel located in trenches, bunkers, rooms with a volume of up to 300 cubic meters. The radius of continuous destruction of manpower in open areas is 8-10 m. In the event of a direct hit, the power of the charge is sufficient to break through a 25 mm steel armor plate. However, a shot at a modern tank with thermobaric ammunition is unlikely to pass without a trace for him. In the event of a TBG-29V grenade detonating on the frontal armor, sights, observation devices and tank armament will be damaged.
The smooth caliber barrel of the grenade launcher is detachable for easy transportation. In the process of firing, an electric igniter is used to ignite the reactive charge. It is triggered by an electrical impulse that is generated by the firing mechanism located in the grenade launcher itself. Similar schemes for the production of shots are used in the SPG-9 and RPG-16 grenade launchers. During military trials, a well-coordinated calculation of three people made four aimed shots per minute.
The grenade launcher is loaded from the rear breech. The grenade launcher has an open mechanical sight, but the main one is a PGO-29 (1P38) optical sight with an increase of 2, 7 krat. For shooting in the dark on the RPG-29N modification, the 1PN51-2 night sight is used. For the convenience of shooting from a prone position, there is a rear bipod.
After the completion of the tests, the RPG-29 was put into service in 1989. However, the grenade launcher never entered the troops. With a mass with an optical sight of 12 kg and a length in the combat position of 1850 mm, the RPG-29 was too heavy for the anti-tank weapons of the platoon link. At the company and battalion level, he lost to the existing ATGM. The heavy and bulky "Vampire" did not fit into the concept of using anti-tank weapons in a global war, with the massive use of tanks, artillery and ATGMs. In addition, the saturation of Soviet motorized rifle subunits with the most various types of anti-tank weapons was already high.
Despite this, the RPG-29 is in demand among foreign buyers. In 1993, at the IDEX-93 arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the grenade launcher was first demonstrated to the general public. Official deliveries of RPG-29s were carried out to Syria, Mexico and Kazakhstan. After the successful use of "Vampires" in 2006 in Lebanon against Israeli armored vehicles, a small number of modernized RPG-29s were purchased by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In addition to some changes designed to improve ease of handling and reliability, a combined optical-electronic sight 2Ts35 was installed on the grenade launcher. This electronic device is mounted instead of a standard optical sight. The firing efficiency of the RPG-29 is significantly increased when, simultaneously with the use of the new sight, the weapon is installed on a tripod machine.
The built-in laser rangefinder can measure the distance to the target with high accuracy day and night and calculate the necessary corrections when shooting at a distance of up to 1000 meters. In this case, the RPG-29 occupies the niche of a light recoilless gun.
It so happened that a significant part of the "Vampires" delivered from Syria fell into the hands of various kinds of terrorist groups. These weapons created many problems not only for Israeli tank crews, but also for the military of the Syrian and Iraqi government forces. Between 2014 and 2016, videos of Syrian tanks burning and exploding flooded the internet. Regularly, militants armed with captured RPG-29s flashed in the shots. However, to date, the emergence of new video materials with the participation of "Vampires" has practically ceased. The fact is that the stocks of rocket-propelled grenades captured from the government forces ran out, and the experienced grenade launchers were mostly knocked out.
Although the RPG-29 "Vampire" was not produced in noticeable volumes during the Soviet era, it became the last anti-tank grenade launcher formally adopted in the USSR. But this does not mean that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, work on promising reusable grenade launchers and rocket-propelled grenades in our country stopped. You can read more about Russian rocket-propelled grenade launchers here: Russian anti-tank grenade launchers and disposable rocket-propelled grenades.
