thumb|RPG-7 rocket launcher (top) with PG-7 rocket-propelled grenade. For use, the thinner, cylindrical part of the rocket-propelled grenade is inserted into the muzzle of the launcher.

thumb|Soviet/Russian rocket launchers. From top to bottom: [[RPO-A Shmel, RPG-22, RPG-26, RPG-18. ]]

A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank grenade launcher that launches rockets equipped with a shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor which propels the RPG towards the target, stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable with new anti-tank grenades, while others are single-use. RPGs are generally loaded from the front.

The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was a common appearance in most armies. In order to penetrate armor they fired specialized ammunition from proportionally longer barrels to achieve a higher muzzle velocity than field guns. Most anti-tank guns were developed in the 1930s as improvements in tanks were noted, and nearly every major arms manufacturer produced one type or another.

United States

The United States Army developed a lightweight antitank weapon (LAW) in the middle 1950s. By 1961, the M72 LAW was in use. It is a shoulder-fired, disposable rocket launcher with HEAT warhead. It is a recoilless weapon, which is easy to use, and effective against armored vehicles. It was used during the Vietnam War, and is still in use today. It uses a fin-stabilized rocket. In response to the threat of thicker armor, this weapon was replaced by the AT4 recoilless gun, a larger & non-collapsible – albeit still single-shot weapon.

The United States Army and Marine Corps also use a different launcher, which is reloadable – the M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWs) derived from the 84mm Carl Gustav and the 83mm Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) derived from the Israeli B-300. Unlike the RPG, they are both reloaded from the breech-end rather than the muzzle.

  • Bazooka
  • M72 LAW
  • M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS)
  • Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (SMAW)
  • M141 Bunker Defeat Munition
  • PSRL-1

France

  • LRAC F1
  • RAC 112 (Apilas)

Germany

  • Raketenpanzerbüchse Panzerschreck
  • Panzerfaust 2
  • Panzerfaust 3

Israel

  • B-300 (SMAW)
  • IMI Shipon
  • MATADOR

Spain

  • C90-CR (M3)

Czechoslovakia

  • RPG-75

Poland

  • RPG-76 Komar

Serbia

  • M90 Stršljen

Yugoslavia

  • M79 Osa
  • M80 Zolja

China

  • Type 69 RPG
  • PF-89

Palestine

  • Al-Bana
  • Batar
  • Yasin

Ukraine

  • RK-4 Ingul

Tactics

thumb|upright|A Bulgarian soldier aims an RPG.

One of the first instances the weapon was used by militants was on January 13, 1975, at Orly Airport in France, when Carlos the Jackal, together with another member from the PFLP, used two Soviet RPG-7 grenades to attack an Israeli El Al airliner. Both missed the target, with one hitting a Yugoslav Airlines's DC-9 instead. An earlier anti-aircraft kill by the Taliban occurred during Operation Red Wings, on June 28, 2005, when a Chinook helicopter was destroyed by unguided RPG.

In the period following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the RPG-7 became a favorite weapon of the insurgent forces fighting U.S. troops. Since most of the readily available RPG-7 rounds cannot penetrate M1 Abrams tank armor from almost any angle, it is primarily effective against soft-skinned or lightly armored vehicles, and infantry. Even if the RPG hit does not completely disable the tank or kill the crew, it can still damage external equipment, lowering the tank's effectiveness or forcing the crew to abandon and destroy it. Newer RPG-7 rounds are more capable, and in August 2006, an RPG-29 round penetrated the frontal ERA of a Challenger 2 tank during an engagement in al-Amarah, Iraq, and wounded several crew members.

it also can reach speeds p to 100 miles a minute and can take out ant tank in one shoot.

  • Most Valuable Weapon: the RPG , Gary Brecher on the history and use of the RPG