Rocket-Propelled Grenade-29 (RPG-29)

The world-wide success of the RPG-7 led to a succession of developments, but no weapon that emerged was clearly superior to the RPG-7, as updated. The main capability gap with the RPG-7 was with heavy armor where even advanced versions did not have the punch necessary to defeat a Main Battle Tank such as the Israeli IDF Merkava.

PG-29V tandem rocket anti-tank munition for the RPG-29 launcher.

Soviet/Russian Rocket-Propelled Grenade-29 (RPG-29)

RPG-29 grenade launcher and munition.

In the effort to develop an effective successor to the RPG-7, the solution was the RPG-29 Vampire, introduced in the late 1980s to counter tanks with reactive armor. RPG-29 was adopted by Soviet Armed Forces in 1989 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has since been employed by the countries that emerged out of the former Soviet Union as well as insurgencies in the Middle East and elsewhere. In the 2006 Israeli war in Lebanon, the RPG-29 was effectively used by Hezbollah to knock out IDF Merkava's and has also been used by Palestinians in Gaza.

RPG-29 Characteristics

The RPG-29 has a 105mm bore, firing rocket driven grenades with an effective range of 300 meters (984.25 ft) or more. The RPG-29 weighs 11.5 kg (25.4 lb), breaks into two concealable loads, and can be fitted with modern laser or night optics as well as thermal sensors. It is effective against armored and soft-skinned vehicles, fortifications and buildings, and rotary winged aircraft. The RPG-29 can used with a fixed mount and fitted with advanced fire control equipment.

Two 105mm (4.1 in) munitions are designed for the RPG-29:

• PG-29V tandem rocket
• TBG-29V thermobaric rounds

The PG-29V is designed to defeat tanks equipped with advanced armor, including explosive reactive armor (ERA). The PG-29V penetrates 750mm of homogeneous armor or 600mm of such armor, fitted with add-on ERA. The PG-29V has a diameter of 105mm (4.1 in), and 1.1 meter (43 in) length. It weighs 6.1 kg (13.5 lb), containing a warhead of 1.4 kg (3 lb) high explosive charge, conformed to produce shaped charge action. Penetrating over 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) of reinforced concrete, PG-29V can also be effective against bunkers and log-and-earth structures (3.7 meters deep or 12.1 ft) and brick walls (penetrating 2 meters of brickwork or 6.6 ft). Direct fire effective range is 300 meters (984.25 ft).

The TBG-29V round uses thermobaric composition for devastatingly effective use against buildings and lightly armored or soft-skinned targets. Direct fire effective range is 50 meters (164 ft) with 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) maximum range using a ballistic trajectory.

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