MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. The Bazalt Research and Production Association (part of the Techmash Group within the state tech corporation Rostec) is working on upgrading the RPG-7V2 grenade launcher to boost its firing accuracy, Bazalt Design Bureau Chief Nikolai Sereda told reporters on Tuesday.
"The RPG-7V2 has already been accepted for service but an upgrade, even for this weapon, is currently underway under a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry to boost its firing accuracy," he said.
Specialists will increase the grenade launcher’s accuracy with new sights. Today, the RPG-7V2 boasts an accuracy of around 40-50 cm per 150 meters of the direct fire range, Sereda noted.
"There is the need to fire to longer ranges, up to a kilometer. And it must hit a tank at such a distance. Currently, the accuracy at such ranges goes beyond the tank’s dimensions. That is why a need has emerged to increase this accuracy to get the capability to hit the target and strike the tank even at a distance of up to 1 km. The firing accuracy is up to five meters," he said.
The legendary Soviet RPG-7 grenade launcher will celebrate its 60th anniversary on June 15, 2021. The work on the anti-tank weapon began in 1958. On June 15, 1961, an order was signed to accept the grenade launcher for service together with the PG-7V high-explosive charge. Today the RPG-7 grenade launcher is operational in over 80 countries of the world. Many countries also serial-produce both this grenade launcher and its munitions.
Russian tech firm launches serial production of latest rounds for RPG-7V2 grenade launchers
The Bazalt Research and Production Association has launched the serial production of the latest rounds for the RPG-7V2 grenade launcher with the unconventional method of striking enemy manpower, Sereda said.
"Another munition for the RPG-7V2 has now been developed. It has the O1 designation [the serial production], has passed state trials, and uses unconventional methods of striking and disabling enemy manpower," he said.
Despite its long service life, the legendary PRG-7 grenade launcher has bright prospects, he said.
"I believe that this grenade launcher has a big future at least for the next 30 years, which is linked with upgrading the grenade launcher itself and developing ever new rounds that enhance it," he stressed.
For his part, head of the Defense Ministry’s 204th military representative office Colonel Leonid Maslennikov emphasized that the RPG-7 with its new rounds was a third-generation grenade launcher.
"The new rounds have boosted the scope of the grenade launcher’s application. Today these are not only anti-tank munitions but also thermobaric and fragmentation charges that strike both the enemy’s armor and manpower," he said.
Rostec to develop more efficient munitions for RPG-7 grenade launcher
A new series of rounds 30% more efficient than previous munitions will be ready for the RPG-V2 grenade launcher in two years, the head of the Bazalt Design Bureau said.
"As for rounds, more advanced munitions 20-30% more efficient than their predecessors are undoubtedly being created for the modified RPG-7V2 grenade launcher. A whole series of rounds is being developed. The timeframe [for the work’s completion] is at the earliest possible date, and I believe that we can offer it in two or three years," he noted.
Specialists are working on boosting the munitions’ armor-piercing, thermobaric and fragmentation effect, Sereda said.
"More effective rounds will be capable of hitting a really full range of targets on the battlefield: from openly deployed manpower to most advanced armored vehicles, including those with reactive armor," he said.
The munitions for the RPG-7 grenade launcher available today are capable of striking a whole range of targets: from enemy tanks and helicopters to manpower. The RPG-7 grenade launcher has actually turned from an anti-tank weapon into a more versatile one for striking various targets on the battlefield, he stressed.