RPG-18

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[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
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

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

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria[13]
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda[6]
Donetsk People's Republic:[14] 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)[12]
East Germany
Nicaragua: Sandinista Popular Army[12]
Soviet Union: Passed on to successor states.

References

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. 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.
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.
"Маленькая и малобоеспособная | Еженедельник «Военно-промышленный курьер»". vpk-news.ru. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
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.
Babchenko, Arkady (2006). One Soldier's War. New York, NY: Publisher's 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.

General

Jones, Richard. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005–06. Coulsdon: Jane's, 2005. ISBN 0-7106-2694-0.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[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.

[FDLR-6] 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.

[SAS_2003_263-7] 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.

[SAS_1998_4-8] 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.

[SAS_2012_10-10] 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.

[Central_American-12] 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] Babchenko, Arkady (2006). One Soldier's War. New York, NY: Publisher's Group West. pp. 9, 101, 157. ISBN 978-0-8021-4403-4. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[Ukraine-14] 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.