Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 8, 2026

RPG-18

The RPG-18 Mukha is a Soviet short-range, disposable light anti-tank rocket launcher designed in 1972, based on the American M72 LAW. The RPG-18 has been in service in over 20 conflicts and used by over 20 armed forces across the world.

Last revised
Jul 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
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953 w
Citations
39
Source
Wikipedia ↗
RPG-18
RPG-18 rocket launcher with PG-18 rocket
TypeRocket-propelled grenade
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1972–present
Used bySee users
WarsVietnam War
Cambodian Civil War
Laotian Civil War
Sino-Vietnamese War
Cambodian–Vietnamese War
Third Indochina War
Soviet–Afghan War1
Salvadoran Civil War
Gulf War
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Tajikistani Civil War
First Chechen War
Congo Civil War
Second Chechen War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
Russo-Georgian War
Kivu conflict
Syrian civil war
Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Designed1972
ManufacturerBazalt (Soviet Union)
VEB Mechanische Werkstätten (East Germany)
Produced1972-1990 (Soviet Union)
1978-1989 (East Germany
Specifications
Mass1.4 kg (projectile)
2.6 kg (loaded)
Length705 mm (unarmed)
1,050 mm (ready to fire)
Crew1
ShellPG-18 HEAT
Caliber64 mm
Rate of fireSingle shot
Muzzle velocity115 m/s
Effective firing range100-150m
Maximum firing range200m
SightsMechanical flip-up sight

The RPG-18 Mukha (Russian: Муха, romanized: Fly) is a Soviet short-range, disposable light anti-tank rocket launcher designed in 1972, based on the American M72 LAW. The RPG-18 has been in service in over 20 conflicts and used by over 20 armed forces across the world.

History

RPG-18 (bottom) with comparable Soviet/Russian rocket launchers source ↗
An RPG-18 attached to a drone source ↗

The RPG-18 is very similar to the US M72-series LAW anti-tank rocket launcher,2 with captured examples during the Vietnam War likely being sent to the Soviet Union.34 The RPG-18 has been succeeded by the RPG-22, a very similar design with a larger warhead.

Description

The RPG-18 fires a 64 mm PG-18 high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead mounted on a small rocket able to engage targets within 200 meters. The warhead self-destructs six seconds after launch, placing a limit on range even if a sight was used that was effective with targets beyond 200 meters.5

The RPG-18 can penetrate up to 300 mm of conventional vehicle armor (RHA); up to 500 mm of reinforced concrete; and up to 1,000 mm of brickwork.6 However, performance is significantly lessened when the RPG-18 is used against targets protected by HEAT-resistant explosive reactive armour (ERA) or composite armor.7

Unlike similar weapons, the RPG-18 requires only one operator as it is not reloadable.6

Users

Former users

See also

See also

  • RPG-76 Komar – (Polish People's Republic, Poland)
  • M80 Zolja – (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
References

References

  1. Campbell, David (30 Nov 2017). Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89. Combat 29. Osprey Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 9781472817648.
  2. "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-30. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  3. Rottman, Gordon L. (2011-03-15). The Rocket Propelled Grenade. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781849081542.
  4. "RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher | MilitaryToday.com". www.militarytoday.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-30. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  5. "RPG-18 (Mukha) Disposable Lightweight Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW)". www.militaryfactory.com. March 29, 2022. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  6. "RPG-18 Mukha Russian Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher". odin.tradoc.army.mil. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  7. "RPG-18 Mukha". Weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  8. Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey (ed.). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-415-45308-0.
  9. Small Arms Survey (2015). "Waning Cohesion: The Rise and Fall of the FDLR–FOCA" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 203. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2015.
  10. Small Arms Survey (2003). "Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo". Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied. Oxford University Press. p. 267. ISBN 0199251754. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2010.
  11. Small Arms Survey (1998). Politics From The Barrel of a Gun (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2011.
  12. "Α-Τ RPG-18". army.gr. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  13. Khalili, Moriah; Parenzo, Beniamino (July 27, 2017). "Covert Attempts to Smuggle Weapons by Hamas". Jerusalem Institute of Justice. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  14. Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
  15. Weapons of the Islamic State (PDF). London: Conflict Armament Research. 2017. p. 184. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  16. "List of equipment of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Wikipedia, 2024-11-17, retrieved 2025-01-30
  17. "Маленькая и малобоеспособная | Еженедельник «Военно-промышленный курьер»". vpk-news.ru. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  18. Montes, Julio A. (8 May 2015). "Portable Anti-Tank Weapons in Mexico & the Northern Central American Triangle". Small Arms Defense Journal. Vol. 7, no. 1. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  19. Research, Conflict Armament (December 2017). "WEAPONS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE". Conflict Armament Research.
  20. "Special Operations Forces Soldiers hit enemy BMP-2 with RPG". Militarnyi. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  21. The Armourer's Bench (2022-03-30). Ukrainian Training Videos: RPG-18 (Now With Translation). Retrieved 2025-02-27 – via YouTube.
  22. Babchenko, Arkady (2006). One Soldier's War. New York, NY: Publishers Group West. pp. 9, 101, 157. ISBN 978-0-8021-4403-4. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  23. Ferguson, Jonathan; Jenzen-Jones, N.R. (November 2014). Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014 (PDF). Research Report 3. Armament Research Services. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-9924624-3-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  24. "Kampfschwimmerkommando (KSK-18): Bojoví plavci východního Německa" (in Czech). Army Web. 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  25. "Real IRA arms purchasing in Croatia indicates a change of tactics - Jane's Security News". 2006-06-24. Archived from the original on 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-24.

General

  • Jones, Richard. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005–06. Coulsdon: Jane's, 2005. ISBN 0-7106-2694-0.
External links