The RPG-30 "Kryuk" ("Hook"; russian: РПГ-30 «Крюк») is a Russian hand-held disposable

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...

History

The RPG-30 was unveiled in 2008 by the State Research and Production Enterprise,

Bazalt NPO Bazalt (russian: НПО «Базальт») is a weapons manufacturing company in Russia that took over (or continued) the production of weapons such as the RPG-7 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. NPO Bazalt manufactures the RPG-7V2 ...

, as a modern

designed to address the challenge of

reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...

and

active protection system An active protection system is a system designed to actively prevent certain anti-tank weapons from destroying a vehicle. Countermeasures that either conceal the vehicle from, or disrupt the guidance of an incoming guided missile threat are design ...

s (APS) on tanks. Active protection systems such as ARENA-E,

Drozd Drozd ( rus, Дрозд, , ˈdrost, Ru-дрозд.ogg, thrush) is an active protection system (APS) developed in the Soviet Union, designed for increasing tanks' protection against anti-tank missiles and RPGs. It is considered the world's first ...

and

Trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...

defeat anti-armor munitions by destroying them before they reach their target. The RPG-30 is an intended response to the introduction of these systems. The RPG-30 cleared its testing program and entered service in 2012–2013 and was immediately put on the Pentagon's list of "asymmetrical threats to the US armed forces."

2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

The RPG-30 has been used by the Russian military during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, with some of them being captured by the Ukrainian military.

Description

The RPG-30, like the RPG-27, is a man-portable, disposable anti-tank rocket launcher with a single shot capacity. Unlike the RPG-27 however, there is a smaller diameter precursor round in a side tube, in addition to the main round in the main tube. The precursor round is fired shortly before the main round and acts as a decoy, tricking the target's

(APS) into engaging it. The APS is not ready to engage again until 0.2–0.4 seconds later, allowing the main round time to hit the target. The PG-30 is the main round of the RPG-30. The round is a 105 mm

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

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, ini ...

with a mass of 10.3 kg (22.7 lb) and has a range of 200 meters and a stated penetration capability in excess of 600 mm (24-in) of

rolled homogeneous armor 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 ...

(RHA), 1,500 mm of reinforced concrete, 2,000 mm of brick and 3,700 mm of soil.

Defenses

In 2012 Israel Defense reported that the Rafael military-industrial corporation has developed a defense system, "Trench Coat", against the RPG-30, to supplement the existing

. It consists of a 360-degree radar that detects all threats and launches 17 projectiles, of which one should strike the incoming missile.

Users

* *: Captured, Limited Use *: Produces a copy * Taliban militants (during 2013-2015) * : develops an indigenous copy, likely designated as the SCT-30

References

External links

News article announcing the RPG-30.The Firearm Blog
Diagram, photo and video. {{Russian RPG series Anti-tank rockets Modern anti-tank rockets of Russia Products introduced in 2012 Rocket-propelled grenade launchers Bazalt products Military equipment introduced in the 2010s