Rocket-propelled grenade
man-portable weapon designed to attack tanks and armored targets firing an unguided rocket
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.
RPGs with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads are very effective against lightly armored vehicles such as armored personnel carriers (APCs) and armored cars. However, modern, heavily-armored vehicles, such as upgraded APCs and main battle tanks, are generally too well-protected (with thick composite or reactive armor) to be penetrated by an RPG, unless less armored sections of the vehicle are exploited. Various warheads are also capable of causing secondary damage to vulnerable systems (especially sights, tracks, rear and roof of turrets) and other unarmored targets.
The term "rocket-propelled grenade" is a backronym from the Russian acronym РПГ (ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, tr. ruchnoy protivotankovy granatomyot), meaning 'hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher', the name given to early Soviet designs.
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