Rocket Propelled Grenade or RPG-7:
41-year-old weapon wreaks havoc on American copters
WASHINGTON - It's simple, functional but lethal. Russian scientists developed the rocket-propelled grenade 41 years ago for use against tanks, but the weapon has been playing havoc of late with American helicopters.
Anti-American forces used the grenades - RPGs for short - to bring down two MH-47 Chinook helicopters fighting in the Shah-e-Kot area of Afghanistan on Monday.
The attacks and ensuing firefights claimed the lives of seven American soldiers. Several AH-64 Apache gunships were also hit by RPGs, but none crashed.
The setbacks echo a battle fought in Mogadishu, Somalia, nine years ago when Somalis firing RPGs brought down a pair of UH-60 Black Hawk assault helicopters which had just delivered US Rangers and Delta Force commandos.
In that action, 18 American servicemen, including members of both helicopter crews, were killed.
The name 'rocket-propelled grenade' describes the weapon precisely - a grenade powered by a small motor that is fired from a bazooka-like launcher.
Technically, it is unguided but a skilled operator can hit moving targets from about 300 m.
It is the explosive complement for insurgents all over the world, almost as commonplace as the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle.
The Soviets developed the RPG-7 to penetrate the armour of NATO tanks and the weapon was introduced in 1961.
Every squad of Soviet infantry had at least one RPG gunner. Today, more than 40 armies use them and several countries, including Pakistan, are licensed to manufacture them. They are available readily on the black market for weapons.
Guerilla and terrorist forces, who usually do not have access to modern, heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles, have adapted their RPGs to shoot down low-flying helicopters and to conduct attacks in cities.
Mr Lester Grau, with the army's Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, described in 1998 how Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviets adapted the RPG to take down transport helicopters loaded with troops. His account is starkly similar to Monday's firefights.
'It is a proven, cheap killer of technology, which will continue to play a significant role - particularly when conventional forces are pitted against irregular forces,' writes Mr Grau. --AP |
