Popular Science: RPG Rocket Launcher

Composition\RPG-7 Style 40mm Rocket Launcher The rocket launcher can be considered a hybrid of a mortar and a rocket. It is generally composed of two separate parts: the rocket projectile and the launching device.\The launcher is usually placed on the shoulder of the operator, and pulling the trigger ignites the rocket motor. A short, powerful jet propels the rocket approximately 150-300 meters, which mainly depends on the distance to the target and the skill of the operator. A rocket launcher operator must be aware of the danger posed by the exhaust gases from the rocket projectile, as the high-temperature, high-speed hot gas flow can seriously injure anyone directly behind the operator.\Using a rocket launcher to shoot helicopters was invented by Afghan guerrillas to combat Soviet helicopters. Due to the slow speed, short range, and low accuracy of portable anti-tank rockets, it is not easy to hit helicopters, requiring rigorous training. Moreover, when the rocket is fired at a high angle, the exhaust flame reflecting off the ground can injure the shooter and nearby personnel (the area within 20 meters behind the RPG-7 tail nozzle during the Black Hawk crash was considered a danger zone), requiring some preparations such as digging a large hole in the ground or welding an angle iron on the tail nozzle to deflect the exhaust flame.\Usage\When using it, the operator first screws the slender booster into the rear of the warhead. At the same time, this also acts as a stabilizing tube, around which four stabilizing fins are gathered, with two additional fins at the very end. A cardboard propellant chamber filled with gunpowder is placed at the rear of the stabilizing tube.||Principle of Operation\Once the operator pulls the trigger, the rocket projectile operates as follows:\1. The gunpowder in the chamber ignites, pushing the rocket forward out of the launcher. The rocket's initial speed is about 117 meters per second.\2. After leaving the tube, the stabilizing fins open, and the rocket rotates in flight.\3. About 0.1 seconds into the flight, approximately 11 meters away, the rocket motor starts, accelerating the rocket to 294 meters per second until it reaches the target.\Applications\Equipped with armor-piercing high-explosive warheads, the RPG is very suitable for destroying lightly armored, poorly protected vehicles, such as high-mobility vehicles (the US military's Humvee is a typical example), transport trucks, armored personnel carriers, light tanks, and even helicopters. Additionally, RPGs modified with thermobaric warheads are suitable for eliminating enemies hiding in ground buildings, bunkers, or underground shelters. The RPG's high versatility and adaptability make it not just a purely single-soldier anti-tank weapon, but a clever and versatile 'infantry support cannon'.The RPG and the AK-47 are both considered kings of 20th-century infantry weapons. Due to their advantages such as reliability, simple construction, durability, ease of use, and low cost, the RPG is widely used by the military forces or rebel groups of many third world countries, and even some Western countries. The RPG not only poses a significant threat to land vehicles such as transport trucks, tanks, and armored personnel carriers, but it can also damage costly aircraft, such as helicopters and low-flying attack planes (a classic example is the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, in which the US military lost two Black Hawk helicopters in succession due to RPG attacks, as depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down"). Therefore, it is even more favored by insurgent groups or terrorists, who see it as a weapon with a very high return on investment. RPG-7.\In 1958, the Soviet Union established the State Specialized Design Bureau, dedicated to researching anti-tank rocket launchers. In the late 1950s, based on the RPG-2, the Soviet State Specialized Design Bureau, after complex and rigorous testing, successfully developed a revolutionary weapon: the RPG-7 rocket launcher, which is what we commonly refer to as the RPG rocket launcher today. There is essentially no difference between the RPG-7 and the RPG-2; the RPG-7 just underwent significant modifications. Compared to the RPG-2, the RPG-7 has a redesigned launcher tube structure (made of alloy steel, making the rocket launcher lighter and easier for infantry to carry), added an optical rangefinder sight (capable of effectively determining target distance and correcting for target speed and wind effects on the trajectory), and a rocket booster engine (increasing the range of the grenade), along with an improved warhead. It can also use a low-light scope and infrared night sights, allowing use under starlight or other low-light conditions, enhancing its night combat capability.\RPG-7 ammunition mainly includes standard armor-piercing grenades, tandem warhead armor-piercing grenades, and fragmentation grenades. The fuses of RPG-7 rockets are generally impact fuses, but most are equipped with timers. The rocket detonates after leaving the target, with this time controlled to 4.5 seconds, which also limits the maximum flight distance of the RPG-7 rocket to 1000 meters to prevent accidental injury. The armor-piercing grenades of the RPG-7 have very good penetration ability, with a penetration thickness of 350-400 mm on rolled homogeneous armor and a direct-fire range exceeding 400 meters. In addition, fragmentation grenades (with a lethal radius of 15 meters, effectively killing enemy personnel) are included, allowing attacks on infantry and other living targets.This weapon, whose performance is far superior to the RPG-2, was put into use by Soviet forces and quickly became very popular among soldiers. The RPG-7 rocket launcher began mass production in 1961, and by 1966 it had completely replaced all RPG-2 models in the Soviet military, becoming the standard anti-tank weapon for infantry squads. The RPG-7 rocket launcher is lighter, more powerful, has a longer range, produces less backblast (preventing injury to the shooter and making it harder for the enemy to detect), and can be fired from either shoulder.||According to the U.S. military, the RPG-7 is roughly three times as effective as the Type 2, posing a significant threat to U.S. armored vehicles. At that time, even the most advanced M60 main battle tank of the U.S. military could not withstand RPG-7 attacks at close range (the M60's gun mantlet armor thickness was 170 mm, and the front armor thickness of the turret and hull was 110 mm). As for the much more widely equipped M1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (armor thickness 152 mm) and M113 armored personnel carrier (armor thickness only 38 mm), they could not withstand a single hit. The RPG-7 was mass-produced in the Soviet Union and exported to many countries, including the Warsaw Pact nations. Some other countries, such as Bulgaria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan, were licensed to produce the RPG-7. Due to its low cost, the quantity of RPG-7s produced in various countries is extremely impressive.\According to U.S. statistics, by 2007 a total of 110 countries possessed 5 million RPG launchers (official records show 5 million, with many unrecorded 'black' RPGs), and the number of rocket ammunition was countless. RPG-7s have been sold worldwide in large numbers, and since the 1960s, they have appeared in almost every military conflict. However, it should also be noted that it is not an invincible weapon; it generally requires close-range engagement, large-scale firing to achieve a hit, and cannot counter reactive armor unless equipped with tandem warheads. Its early fuses were quite unreliable—for example, in the Hue City campaign, one M48 was hit by 120 RPGs, yet the crew, despite suffering hearing loss, continued fighting in shifts, and during the Iraq War, there are records of a Challenger 2 tank being hit by more than 70 RPGs in a single encounter battle yet escaping unharmed. By the 1980s, the RPG had developed the capability to detonate on a horizontal plane with a 20-degree angle, but it still could not cope with greater inclinations, such as the glacis angle of the Merkava.In any case, as a highly practical and low-cost individual weapon, the RPG, like the AK series of automatic rifles, has played an irreplaceable role in international armed conflicts and asymmetric wars since its inception.||●PIII-22 Rocket Launcher — Equipped to Russian mechanized infantry, single-use, one of the lightest anti-tank rocket launchers in the world. Entered service in the mid-1980s, and the Soviet army used this weapon on the Afghan battlefield. The rocket launcher uses a telescopic sleeve structure, with the rocket pre-loaded inside the tube. By pulling out the inner tube, it can be launched. In marching state, it is 500 mm long, weighs less than 3 kg, has an effective range of 250 meters, and can penetrate 400 mm thick tank armor.\●RPG-7V1 40mm Rocket Launcher — A portable individual weapon capable of engaging tanks and self-propelled artillery, armor penetration 325 mm.\●RPG-7D1 40mm Rocket Launcher — (same as above) equipped with Russian airborne troops.\RPG-18\Russia's RPG-18 (Russian: РПГ-18) Mukha (Russian for 'fly') is a disposable lightweight anti-tank rocket launcher developed in the late 1970s during the Soviet era. It is a non-standard, single-use anti-tank weapon used to attack armored vehicles, military equipment, and field fortifications. The RPG-18 began to be equipped with Soviet mechanized infantry, airborne units, and other Warsaw Pact forces in the late 1970s, and was used on the Afghan battlefield.\The development of the RPG-18 was based on a copy of the captured M72 LAW provided by the North Vietnamese. As such, the RPG-18 is structurally and operationally very similar to the M72 LAW, using a rear-pulled sleeve structure, made from cold-extruded light metal tubing, with a bayonet locking device to secure the inner and outer tubes. The outer tube houses the launching mechanism, firing mechanism, safety device, sight, sealed end cap, and sling assembly. The launching and firing mechanisms consist of a trigger, trigger spring, trigger housing, and firing pin assembly. The ignition system is a fuse type, including a primer, transfer tube, and detonator.\The operation is also generally the same: simply remove the front and rear end caps, pull out the inner tube, and raise the sight to make it ready to fire. However, for the M72, after opening the rear cover and removing the retaining pin, the inner tube can be pulled out directly, whereas the RPG-18 requires loosening by rotating before pulling out the inner tube.||The mechanical sight of the RPG-18 is normally folded down on the launcher and raised for use. The rear sight assembly is located at the tail of the outer tube, with an aperture; the front sight is a framed plastic piece.There are three horizontal distance division lines on the central vertical axis, corresponding to mounting distances of 200m, 250m, and 300m.\The biggest difference between the RPG-18 and M72 is the caliber. The RPG-18 launches the 64mm PG-18 anti-tank round with an armor penetration depth of 375mm. However, the structure of the rockets is generally similar; the rocket motor contains high burn rate propellant in a brush-type charge, ensuring that the propellant finishes burning before the projectile leaves the barrel. The piezoelectric fuse has a self-destruction mechanism; if the rocket has not hit a target or other obstacles after 4–5 seconds of flight, it will self-destruct. The muzzle safety distance is 2–15m.\●RPG-27 105mm Rocket Launcher (Tavolga) --- a single-shot anti-tank weapon used to fire 105mm anti-armor rockets, capable of engaging tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, and other armored targets. Armor penetration is 650mm. Projectile weight is 7.6kg.\●RPG-29 105.2mm Rocket Launcher (Vampir) --- a light anti-tank weapon. It fires tandem-charge anti-armor rockets used to destroy tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, and other armored vehicles. Armor penetration is 650mm. Projectile weight is 11.5kg.\The RPG-30 anti-tank rocket launcher weighs 10.3 kg and is divided into two parts: the upper part is a large-caliber launcher that can fire PG-30 105mm shaped charge anti-tank rockets with a tandem warhead; the lower part is a small-caliber launcher that can fire decoy rounds to counter active protection systems. The reaction time of an active protection system before it adjusts to intercept a second threat is 0.2–0.4 seconds, and the PG-30 rocket can take advantage of the system intercepting the decoy round to destroy the vehicle's armor. After evading the active protection system, the PG-30 can penetrate explosive reactive armor modules, rolled homogeneous armor over 600mm thick, reinforced concrete over 1500mm thick, and brick over 2000mm thick.||The testing of the RPG-30 anti-tank rocket launcher has been completed, and it is currently awaiting deployment in the Russian Army, followed by approval for export.\In the game\It first appeared in Resident Evil 4, priced at 30,000, capable of killing all enemies with one shot except for the right-hand enemy in the sewer of 4-1, and in the final stage, the red-headed RPG used against the final boss can also be obtained.The RPG in Resident Evil 5 isn't that glamorous, because aiming and shooting take some time, during which you could be ambushed, and the RPG disappears when moving to the next scene. Currently, in the game CrossFire (CF), the newly added battlefield mode includes the Rocket Soldier class, which uses the RPG-7 rocket launcher. Its power is less than the C4 bomb used by the C4 Soldier, but it can be launched from a distance. At the beginning, a level-five Rocket Soldier can easily kill enemies who haven't reached level five. This unit is indispensable in a battle and is currently one of the three most popular classes.