Airtronic USA Develops American RPG-7

www.defensereview.com...

My good friend and professional contact, prolific infantry small arms/machine gun designer Jim Sullivan (a.k.a. L James Sullivan), has complained to me quite a bit about U.S. military infantry warfighters not having an American version of the Russian RPG-7 / RPG-7V shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade weapon system (recoilless rifle) at their disposal to match our current and potential future enemies’ RPG-7s / RPG-7Vs. The advantages of the RPG-7 anti-tank weapon system are several.

Interesting , whilst the M72 is fielded , its a static 66mm anti-vehicle warhead , unlike the RPG-7V which weighs in at 105mm with variable warhead type , it would be a useful adition to the infantry toolset.

It has taken the U.S. manufacturers (or at least one) over sixty years to produce a weapon, like one, that has killed more Americans and allies than any of our own shoulder fired rocket launchers, has killed our enemies..... The RPG 7 is a weapon that needs no improvement. Ask anyone that has seen them used in combat..... Any improvements will be employed to create more profit for the corporation that gets the contract to make them, and the tax payers will have the pleasure of knowing that our weapon is better because ours cost more, and looks so " Buck Rogers."

i might be missing something - but having extensive experience of the carl gustav M2 - used for years by brittish forces and known as the ` charlie gee ` - i fail to see how this new weapon will be ceeaper either in launcher cost , ammunition cost or training cost - esp training cost .

IMHO this ` new ` american rpg7 ` has somehow done awy with the rugged simplicity of the origional [WTF is that shoulderstock ?????????????? ]

again just my opinion - but it looks like a white elephant - typical amercan attempts to re invent the wheel - with unwanted " improvements "

There is some thing wrong with that, thing....

Just doesn't look practical in any functional way. The back blast is not centered and the whiz bang gadgets....

It could work I guess, but there is a much better way to redesign and improve upon the RPG concept. In my opinion that is the opposite way to do such.

Unless the RPG is used against light armored targets or has a Iranian type EFP round in it, they are pushing obsolete and will join the LAWS soon.

Not for a couple decades at least though.

Plenty of RPGs to go around for now.


I keep looking at it, like one of those car accidents or ugly old people making out. So horrible to see..... but can't look away...

reply to post by ignorant_ape



cost

the M3 is much more expensice than the RPG-7 (they mention that in the article) , theres also round flexability - the M3 uses HEAT and HEDP , and is also smaller than the rpg warhead , they also mention fiting SPIKE loads , giving a cheap guided weapon for the first time ever.

but your right about the bolt ons - thats not what the RPG is about , although being able to hit beyond 5meters might be a bonus




reply to post by ADVISOR


the basic shape is the same as every other RPG-7

upload.wikimedia.org...

basically they`ve smoothed off the barrel , added a picany rail , the shoulder stock (and wtf is that???)

as for `pushing obsolete` , a 105MM thermobaric load will do serious damage to a building and the new tandem warheads will pop a stryker.

Would it not be cheaper to buy a bunch of RPG-7s from whoever has any, like say the Russians, and just paint them black or olive green or whatever.

Sorry, but a repost of an utterly stupid idea.

And what's the advantage of this over something like the Javelin?

The point of this i believe; was to give the american soldiers a weapon they can scavenge ammo for more easily. Do normal RPG7 rounds not work with this new variant?

That makes sense. If that were the case though, why not just train the soldiers how to use the RPG7 launchers? It's not like there's a shortage or anything.

reply to post by mattifikation


Less reliable than this one I would suppose.

More money for the contractors building these things as well.

man . . . they must've had a great brainstorming session late on friday arvo. Can just picture it now...

"Okay so we have the launcher and the warhead, any more ideas?"

"You know what would make it the ultimate RPG system? If we put one of those picatinny rails on it . . . better yet lets put one on pretty much any surface that will take one!"

[chorus of cheers and beer bottles clinking]

Next Friday the design team will come up with a system of systems for this USRPG that will include link 16 and a small LCD screen so that all USRPG's will be able to see what the shooter sees. Add a laser designator and the pave-tac warheads on all other USRPG's in the neighbourhood will home in on the reflected signal giving true networked destructive ability to the modern warfighter.
Other improvements to be announced each Friday thereafter.
Unit price should be only about $1.5million, but should go down as volumes ramp up in production.

I wonder what the actual cost of these compared with the ubiquitous RPG-7 will be?

[edit on 18/5/2009 by C0bzz]

Please tell me that picture is a hoax and we were all just duped. Looks like a cobbled together set prop for a Sci-fi channel movie.