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| 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[1] Salvadoran Civil War Gulf War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Tajikistani Civil War First Chechen War Congo Civil War Second Chechen War War in Afghanistan Iraq War Russo-Georgian War Kivu conflict Syrian civil war Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1.4 kg (projectile) 2.6 kg (loaded) |
| Length | 705 mm (unarmed) 1,050 mm (ready to fire) |
| Crew | 1 |
| Shell | HEAT |
| Caliber | 64 mm |
| Action | 300 mm: RHA 500 mm: Reinforced concrete 1000 mm: Brickwork |
| Muzzle velocity | 115 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 200 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
[edit]
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
[edit]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
[edit]
Afghanistan[5]
Armenia[citation needed]
Azerbaijan[citation needed]
Belarus[citation needed]
Chad[6]
Congo[7]
Georgia[8]
Greece[9]
Hamas[citation needed]
Iraqi insurgents[10]
Islamic State[11]
Kazakhstan[citation needed]
Kyrgyzstan[citation needed]
Moldova[citation needed] 
Panama[13]
Russia
Syria[citation needed] 
Tajikistan[citation needed]
Turkmenistan[citation needed]
Ukraine[14]
Uzbekistan[citation needed]
Former users
[edit]
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria[15]
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda[6]
Donetsk People's Republic:[16] Used by DPR forces during the War in Donbas and the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine before their annexation by Russia in November 2022.- Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)[13]
East Germany
Nicaragua: Sandinista Popular Army[13]
Soviet Union: Passed on to successor states.- Real Irish Republican Army[17]
See also
[edit]- RPG-76 Komar – (Polish People's Republic, Poland)
- M80 Zolja – (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
References
[edit]- ^ Campbell, David (30 Nov 2017). Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89. Combat 29. Osprey Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 9781472817648.
- ^ "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ Rottman, Gordon L. (2011-03-15). The Rocket Propelled Grenade. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781849081542.
- ^ "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Α-Τ RPG-18". army.gr.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Weapons of the Islamic State (PDF). London: Conflict Armament Research. 2017. p. 184. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Маленькая и малобоеспособная | Еженедельник «Военно-промышленный курьер»". vpk-news.ru. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Special Operations Forces Soldiers hit enemy BMP-2 with RPG". Militarnyi. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Real IRA arms purchasing in Croatia indicates a change of tactics - Jane's Security News". 2006-06-24. Archived from the original on 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
General
[edit]- Jones, Richard. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005–06. Coulsdon: Jane's, 2005. ISBN 0-7106-2694-0.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RPG-18.
- RPG-18 (in Russian)
- Modern Firearms
- Military-Today
- Weapon Systems
- Military Factory