| huevans011 | 20 Jun 2018 6:23 p.m. PST |
From my research into Afghanistan, it appears that Taliban RPG-7's had little effect on LAV-III's (Strykers to US readers) and that armoured ISAF infantry could rock and roll through Taliban ambushes without worrying too much about losing vehicles. Can anyone explain how powerful RPG's were / are and what their capabilities are? |
| Bronco53 | 20 Jun 2018 6:36 p.m. PST |
The thing about the RPG-7 is: it is a launcher. Which is designed so the warhead is not constrained by the diameter of the launcher tube. This means it can- and has- have numerous different warheads designed and fielded over several technological generations, and for multiple purposes (including HE-FRAG and thermobaric warheads). There's no single value for penetration of "RPG-7". There are a spread of values. From my firsthand experience, a lot of the first-generation ones fail to properly fuze and detonate, though. Not sure how much of that was due to the design, how much was due to the age and poor storage conditions of the warheads, how much was due to the slat armor we were using (designed specifically to short out the fuzes among other things), and how much was operator error in failing to properly prepare the rockets for use. |
| huevans011 | 20 Jun 2018 7:16 p.m. PST |
Cheers, Bronco. Is there a resource that I can use to read up on this?? It's clearly more complex than I thought. |
| Rakkasan | 20 Jun 2018 7:38 p.m. PST |
This is a good starting point:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPG-7
There are further links at the bottom of the article for more technical information. |
| emckinney | 20 Jun 2018 8:56 p.m. PST |
If the Strykers had the "cage" added, penetration doesn't matter much. Similarly, spaced armor or reactive armor pretty well solve the problem. |
 Jeff Ewing  | 21 Jun 2018 6:44 a.m. PST |
Similarly, spaced armor or reactive armor pretty well solve the problem. For early-generation HEAT, yes: link |
 Legion 4  | 21 Jun 2018 6:49 a.m. PST |
Yes, it's a HEAT round. So the "probe" had to hit something "solid/ly" to ignite the HEAT round. The "Turkey" cage on e.g. the Stryker functioned similarly to the what some M113s, etc., did in Vietnam/SE Asia. They hung chain link fence in front of their positions when stopped for a long period of time. Some US AFVs even did this in Iraq, etc. today/recently. The RPG/B40 round/rocket does not move that fast. It's penetration depends on the HEAT charge being ignited. Not speed … So the RPG/B40 rocket could/would get hung up in the chain link mesh/matrix. The "Turkey" cages used today does the same except it is mounted on the vehicle so moves with it.
Reminds me a little of the side skirts you saw mounted on some WWII German Pz. IIIs & IVs … |
| huevans011 | 21 Jun 2018 8:12 a.m. PST |
Thanks again. I read through the Wiki article and found it very helpful. To return to the original query, can an RPG HEAT round pierce a LAW (or Bradley or Warrior) under normal conditions? (Assuming yes, to this. Hence the rail armour mods). |
| Lion in the Stars | 21 Jun 2018 3:06 p.m. PST |
Bradleys/Warriors, maybe. Strykers definitely. Well, at least assuming that the idiot shooting the RPG pulled the safety pin out of the warhead. Lots of pictures of 'dud' RPGs stuck in things (or troops) with the safety cap and pin still on. |
| Legion 4 | 21 Jun 2018 3:51 p.m. PST |
Bradleys/Warriors, maybe. Strykers definitely. Agree …
Well, at least assuming that the idiot shooting the RPG pulled the safety pin out of the warhead. Yes a little cotter pin like piece. A very simple yet effective way to stop the round detonating if accidently dropped on it's warhead. But some "idiots"[e.g. Iraqi insurgents, Taliban, AQ, ISIS, etc.] still managed to screw it up … which was a good thing for many US, UK, etc., targets generally … |
| Bronco53 | 22 Jun 2018 9:49 a.m. PST |
Well, at least assuming that the idiot shooting the RPG pulled the safety pin out of the warhead. Lots of pictures of 'dud' RPGs stuck in things (or troops) with the safety cap and pin still on. Yes, that's what I was referring to when I alluded to users failing to properly prepare the rocket for firing. I didn't want to get into specifics, lest some talibani happen to troll through the internet looking for advice on how to make their rockets work better. The longer they continue to ineffectively employ their weapons, the better. |
| Legion 4 | 23 Jun 2018 9:08 a.m. PST |
The longer they continue to ineffectively employ their weapons, the better. Amen ! Many of them are not generally very good at soldiering, it seems, overall. They have the home court advantage, numbers, motivation and all the advantages of fighting an insurgent/guerilla war. And we care about collateral damage … they don't … |
| Wolfhag | 24 Jun 2018 10:42 p.m. PST |
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| huevans011 | 25 Jul 2018 8:45 p.m. PST |
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| Legion 4 | 26 Jul 2018 7:31 a.m. PST |
Good video … I forgot about the plastic cover on the warhead. I do remember seeing it with that little cotter pin and no plastic cover …  |
| Lion in the Stars | 26 Jul 2018 5:31 p.m. PST |
Given the numbers of pictures of dud RPGs around the internet, I figured it wouldn't be a problem to say the words. |
is not a real big fan of pre-painted minis, and he positively despises randomly-packed "collectable" ones - so why is he writing this article?
