The RPG-16 is a
handheld anti-tank grenade launcher for
anti-tank warfare. It was developed in 1968 and adopted by the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
in 1970 for special operation teams and the Soviet airborne troops (
VDV). These were deployed during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...
in 1979-1989, and saw service in several battles in that theatre.
Description
The RPG-16 has a 58 mm barrel with a
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
warhead and a
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
recoilless
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
launch using a
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
booster. Its overall length is 1,104 mm when ready to fire and 645 mm long when taken apart for carry or
airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tr ...
. Weight is 9.4 kilograms unloaded, and 12.4 kilograms when loaded and ready to fire with its
optical sight
A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...
. The RPG-16 is triggered to launch by an electric current activated by a trigger on the pistol grip; armor penetration is 300 mm of
rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World ...
and effective range is up to 800 meters (about 2,500 ft). Once fired, the rocket booster engages as soon as the warhead is propelled safely away from the operator.
Compared to its main counterpart, the
RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
, the RPG-16 has a smaller calibre warhead and a more powerful rocket booster, which made it more accurate over long ranges. Unlike the RPG-7, the warhead does not stick out of the launcher since it has exactly the same diameter as the tube and fits entirely inside it. The smaller warhead does, however, sacrifice firepower when compared to the PG-7VL round used in the RPG-7 (which has 500 mm
RHA penetration, as opposed to the 300 mm penetration the RPG-16 provides). In Soviet service, the launcher was issued to special operation teams in pairs: one man, the grenadier, carried the launcher and two PG-16 HEAT warheads; another man, the assistant, carried three more warheads.
Externally, the RPG-16 resembles the RPG-7; it is distinguished mainly by its single handgrip under the tube and its folding bipod, but its round is quite different from the RPG-7. The RPG-16 round is of smaller calibre but offers better performance, having what is believed to be a doubled
shaped-charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, init ...
warhead. It is a one-piece design, although a cartridge must be attached before use. The RPG-16 is reported to have a HE-Frag round.
The RPG-16 was widely used during Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, mostly against hardened fire positions and buildings from stand-off ranges. When it was first introduced it was considered superior to the RPG-7, but the RPG-7's ability to accommodate oversized rockets gave it growth potential the RPG-16's undercaliber projectile couldn't compete with. Beginning in the 1980s, it was replaced by the older RPG-7D equipped with newer and more powerful rockets. Low-rate production was maintained by Russia until the 1990s, when it was removed from service after about 120,000 units being produced. The RPG-16 was not widely exported.
RPG-16
- Weaponsystems.net
Users
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*
* (unconfirmed)
* (unconfirmed)
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* (unconfirmed)
* : Iraqi insurgents
References
Bibliography
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{{Russian RPG series
Rocket-propelled grenade launchers of the Soviet Union
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s