View source for RPG-16

{{Infobox weapon
| name = RPG-16
| image =
| caption = RPG-16 on bipod
| origin = [[Soviet Union]] <!-- WP:INFOBOXFLAG -->
| type = [[Rocket-propelled grenade]] Launcher
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged = yes
| is_missile = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service = 1976–present{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
| used_by = See Users
| wars = [[Soviet–Afghan War]]{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=3}}<br>[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]<br>[[Iraq War]]<br>[[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer = 
| design_date = 1968
| manufacturer = 
| production_date = 
| number = ~120,000{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=1}}
| variants = RPG-16D for Airborne troops{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=3}}
<!-- General specifications -->| weight = {{convert|9.4|kg|abbr=on}} <br>
Loaded - {{convert|12.4|kg|abbr=on}} <br> Rocket - {{convert|3|kg|abbr=on}}
| length = Ready to fire - {{convert|1104|mm|abbr=on}} <br> Carrying - {{convert|645|mm|abbr=on}}
| part_length = 
| crew = 2 men standard - Gunner and assistant
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| caliber = {{convert|58.3|mm|abbr=on}} warhead
| action = 
| rate = 4–6 rpm
| velocity = Initial - {{convert|130|m/s|abbr=on}} <br> Max - {{convert|350|m/s|abbr=on}}
| max_range = {{convert|300|m|abbr=on}} against tanks <br>
{{convert|500|m|abbr=on}} against stationary targets <br>
{{convert|800|m|abbr=on}} maximum sighting range
| feed = 
| sights = Iron sights or [[Telescopic sight|Optical sight]]
| yield = {{convert|300|mm|abbr=on}} [[Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA]]
}}

The '''RPG-16''' is a [[Rocket-propelled grenade|handheld anti-tank grenade launcher]] for [[anti-tank]] warfare.  It was developed in 1968 and adopted by the [[Soviet Army]] in 1970 for special operation teams<ref>{{cite web |url=http://otvaga2004.narod.ru/publ_w2/rpg.htm |title=Артиллерия Партизан. Рпг-7 В Локальных Вооружённых Конфликтах |accessdate=2011-08-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809073046/http://otvaga2004.narod.ru/publ_w2/rpg.htm |archivedate=2011-08-09 }}</ref> and the Soviet airborne troops ([[Russian Airborne Troops|VDV]]). These were deployed during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (1979–1989) and saw service during several battles in that conflict.

==Combat history==
The RPG-16 was widely used during Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, mostly against hardened fire positions and buildings from stand-off ranges. When it was first introduced it was considered superior to the RPG-7, but the RPG-7's ability to accommodate oversized rockets gave it growth potential the RPG-16's undercaliber projectile couldn't compete with. Beginning in the 1980s, it was replaced by the older RPG-7D equipped with newer and more powerful rockets. Low-rate production was maintained by Russia until the 1990s, when it was removed from service after about 120,000 units being produced. The RPG-16 was not widely exported.<ref>[http://modernfirearms.net/grenade/rus/rpg-16-e.html RPG-16 antitank grenade launcher (USSR/Russia)] - Modernfirearms.net</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20230423213643/http://www.military-today.com/firearms/rpg_16.htm RPG-16]}} - Military-Today.com</ref><ref>[http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/BB04%20-%20RPG-16.html RPG-16] - Weaponsystems.net</ref>

In 2023, Russian troops were seen using it against Ukrainian troops in Eastern Ukraine.<ref name="armourer">{{Cite web | title=Russia’s Rare RPG-16 in Ukraine – The Armourers Bench | url=https://armourersbench.com/2024/02/11/russias-rare-rpg-16-in-ukraine/ | access-date=2025-02-12 | website=armourersbench.com}}</ref>

==Design==
The RPG-16 has a {{convert|58.3|mm|abbr=on}} barrel with a [[HEAT]] warhead and a [[smoothbore]] [[recoilless rifle|recoilless]] launch using a [[rocket]] booster. Its overall length is {{convert|1,104|mm|abbr=on}} when ready to fire and {{convert|645|mm|abbr=on}} long when taken apart for carry or [[airdrop]]. Weight is {{convert|9.4|kg|abbr=on}} unloaded, and {{convert|12.4|kg|abbr=on}} when loaded and ready to fire with its [[optical sight]]. The RPG-16 is triggered to launch by an electric current activated by a trigger on the pistol grip; armor penetration is {{convert|300|mm|abbr=on}} of [[rolled homogeneous armour]] and effective range is up to {{convert|800|m|abbr=on}}. Once fired, the rocket booster engages as soon as the warhead is propelled safely away from the operator.

Compared to its main counterpart, the [[RPG-7]], the RPG-16 has a smaller calibre warhead and a more powerful rocket booster, which made it more accurate over long ranges. Unlike the RPG-7, the warhead does not stick out of the launcher since it has exactly the same diameter as the tube and fits entirely inside it. The smaller warhead does, however, sacrifice firepower when compared to the PG-7VL round used in the RPG-7 (which has {{convert|500|mm|abbr=on}} [[Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA]] penetration, as opposed to the {{convert|300|mm|abbr=on}} penetration the RPG-16 provides). In Soviet service, the launcher was issued to special operation teams in pairs: one man, the grenadier, carried the launcher and two PG-16 HEAT warheads; another man, the assistant, carried three more warheads.

Externally, the RPG-16 resembles the RPG-7; it is distinguished mainly by its single handgrip under the tube and its folding bipod, but its round is quite different from the RPG-7. The RPG-16 round is of smaller calibre but offers better performance, having what is believed to be a doubled [[shaped-charge]] warhead. It is a one-piece design, although a cartridge must be attached before use. The RPG-16 is reported to have a HE-Frag round.<ref>{{cite book|last=Isby|first=David C|title=Weapons And Tactics Of the Soviet Army|year=1988|publisher=Jane's Publishing Company Limited|location=United Kingdom|pages=199–200|edition=Fully Revised}}</ref>

==Users==
* {{flag|Afghanistan}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{ARM}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{AZE}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Belarus}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Bulgaria}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{EST}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{GEO}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{IRN}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{IRQ|2003}}: [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–11)|Iraqi insurgents]]<ref name ='SAS 2012 10'>{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2012.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830000609/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2012.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2012|chapter-url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2012/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2012-Chapter-10-EN.pdf|chapter=Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia|title=Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2012|author=Small Arms Survey|page=324|isbn= 978-0-521-19714-4|author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* {{KAZ}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Latvia}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Lithuania}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Moldova}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{ROM}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{RUS}}: Airborne and naval infantry<ref name="armourer"/>
* {{USSR}}
* {{SYR}} (unconfirmed){{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Tajikistan}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{flag|Turkmenistan}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{UKR}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}
* {{UZB}}{{sfn|Forecast 1996|p=4}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite report|title=RPG.16|url=https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=1496|publisher=Forecast International|date=September 1996|ref={{harvid|Forecast 1996}}}}

{{Russian RPG series}}

[[Category:Rocket-propelled grenade launchers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s]]