The backblast area is a

cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines co ...

-shaped area behind a rocket launcher, rocket-assisted takeoff unit or

recoilless rifle 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 ...

, where hot gases are expelled when the rocket or rifle is discharged. The backblast area is dangerous to ground personnel, who may be burned by the gases or exposed to

overpressure Overpressure (or blast overpressure) is the pressure caused by a shock wave over and above normal atmospheric pressure. The shock wave may be caused by sonic boom or by explosion, and the resulting overpressure receives particular attention when m ...

caused by the explosion. In confined spaces, common in

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and city, cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban war ...

, even the operators themselves may be at risk due to deflection of backblast by

walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places *Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States *Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, Ca ...

or sturdier civilian vehicles behind them.

Soft launch A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely ...

methods diminish backblast by ejecting the projectile some distance before its main rocket motor ignites. Backblast can also be reduced by adding a countermass that is expelled out the rear of the weapon. For example, the

AT4 The AT4 is a Swedish unguided, man-portable, disposable, shoulder-fired recoilless anti-tank weapon built by Saab Bofors Dynamics (previously Bofors Anti-Armour Systems and before that FFV Ordance). The AT4 is not considered a rocket lau ...

-CS (confined space variant) uses saltwater, along with a lower-velocity projectile. File:M72A2 LAW 1969.jpg, Packing crates are used to demonstrate the danger of the

M72 LAW The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in t ...

back blast File:A-1 Backblast area and surface danger zone.PNG, Backblast area for

FGM-148 Javelin The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made portable anti-tank missile system in service since 1996, and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fi ...

File:Firing an AT4.jpg, A US Army soldier firing the M136 AT4 (2007) File:US Army AT4 CS live-fire training.jpg, A US Army soldier firing the AT4-CS (2020)

References

{{missile-stub Anti-tank rockets