View source for RPG-18

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = RPG-18
| image              = RPG-18-cutaway.JPG{{!}}border
| caption            = RPG-18 rocket launcher with PG-18 rocket
| origin             = [[Soviet Union]]
| type               = [[Rocket-propelled grenade]]
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
| is_bladed          = 
| is_explosive       = yes
| is_artillery       = yes
| is_vehicle         = <!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1972–present
| used_by            = See [[RPG-18#Users|users]]
| wars               = [[Vietnam War]]<br/>[[Cambodian Civil War]]<br/>[[Laotian Civil War]]<br/>[[Sino-Vietnamese War]]<br/>[[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]]<br/>[[Third Indochina War]]<br/>[[Soviet–Afghan War]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89|series=Combat 29|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|first=David |last=Campbell|date=30 Nov 2017|isbn=9781472817648|page=62}}</ref><br/>[[Salvadoran Civil War]]<br/>[[Gulf War]]<br/>[[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]<br/>[[Tajikistani Civil War]]<br/>[[First Chechen War]]<br/>[[Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999)|Congo Civil War]]<br/>[[Second Chechen War]]<br/>[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]<br/>[[Iraq War]]<br/>[[Russo-Georgian War]]<br/>[[Kivu conflict]]<br/>[[Syrian civil war]]<br/>[[Russo-Ukrainian War]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer           = 
| design_date        = 1972
| manufacturer       = [[Bazalt]] (Soviet Union) <br/>  VEB Mechanische Werkstätten (East Germany)
| production_date    = 1972-1990 (Soviet Union) <br/> 1978-1989 ([[East Germany]]
| number             = 
| variants           = <!-- General specifications -->
| weight             = 1.4 kg (projectile)<br/>2.6 kg (loaded)
| length             = 705 mm (unarmed)<br/>1,050 mm (ready to fire)
| part_length        = 
| crew               = 1
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = PG-18 [[High-explosive anti-tank|HEAT]]
| caliber            = 64 mm
| action             = 
| rate               = Single shot
| velocity           = 115 m/s
| range              = 100-150m
| max_range          = 200m
| feed               = 
| sights             = Mechanical flip-up sight
| breech             = 
| recoil             = 
| carriage           = 
| elevation          = 
| traverse           = <!-- Bladed weapon specifications -->
| blade_type         = 
| hilt_type          = 
| head_type          = 
| haft_type          = <!-- Explosive specifications -->
| diameter           = 
| filling            = 
| filling_weight     = 
| detonation         = 
| yield              = 
}}

The '''RPG-18 Mukha''' ({{langx|ru|Муха|translit=Fly}}) is a Soviet short-range, disposable light [[anti-tank]] [[Shoulder-launched missile weapon|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==
[[File:Ручные реактивные гранатометы и огнеметы производства России и СССР - Russian RPG launchers.jpg|thumb|left|RPG-18 (bottom) with comparable Soviet/Russian rocket launchers]]
[[File:Combat UAV "Soaring tube" complex during the "Armiya 2021" exhibition.jpg|thumb|left|An RPG-18 attached to a drone ]]

The RPG-18 is very similar to the US [[M72 LAW|M72-series LAW]] [[anti-tank]] rocket launcher,<ref>{{Cite web |title=RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher {{!}} MilitaryToday.com |url=https://www.militarytoday.com/firearms/rpg_18.htm |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.militarytoday.com}}</ref> with captured examples during the [[Vietnam War]] likely being sent to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDa1CwAAQBAJ&q=m72+law+rpg&pg=PA34 |title=The Rocket Propelled Grenade |isbn=9781849081542 |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L. |date=2011-03-15|publisher=Bloomsbury }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RPG-18 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher {{!}} MilitaryToday.com |url=https://www.militarytoday.com/firearms/rpg_18.htm |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.militarytoday.com}}</ref> 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&nbsp;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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2022 |title=RPG-18 (Mukha) Disposable Lightweight Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW) |url=https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.php?smallarms_id=946 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=www.militaryfactory.com}}</ref> 

The RPG-18 can penetrate up to 300 mm of conventional vehicle armor ([[Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA]]); up to 500 mm of reinforced concrete; and up to 1,000 mm of brickwork.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=RPG-18 Mukha Russian Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher |url=https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/WEG/Asset/78d5a66747174ac105645801d1f3589b |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=odin.tradoc.army.mil}}</ref> However, performance is significantly lessened when the RPG-18 is used against targets protected by HEAT-resistant [[explosive reactive armour]] (ERA) or [[composite armor]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=RPG-18 Mukha |url=https://weaponsystems.net/system/1069-RPG-18+Mukha |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=Weaponsystems.net |language=en}}</ref>

Unlike similar weapons, the RPG-18 requires only one operator as it is not reloadable.<ref name=":0" />

==Users==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

* {{AFG}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society|first1=Michael Vinai|last1=Bhatia |first2=Mark |last2=Sedra|publisher=[[Routledge]]|editor=Small Arms Survey|editor-link=Small Arms Survey|isbn=978-0-415-45308-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4N9AgAAQBAJ|page=66|date=May 2008}}</ref>
* {{ARM}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{AZE}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{BLR}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Chad}}<ref name = 'FDLR'/>
* {{flag|Congo}}<ref name ='SAS 2003 263'>{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2003.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112154702/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/publications/by-type/yearbook/small-arms-survey-2003.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 12, 2010|chapter-url= http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2003/en/Small-Arms-Survey-2003-Chapter-08-EN.pdf|chapter=Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo|title=Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2003|author=Small Arms Survey|pages=267|isbn=0199251754|ref={{harvid|Small Arms Survey 2003}}|author-link= Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* {{flag|Georgia}}<ref name ='SAS 1998 4'>{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP06-Georgia.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112185639/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP06-Georgia.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 12, 2011|title=Politics From The Barrel of a Gun|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1998|author=Small Arms Survey|pages=40|author-link=Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* {{GRE}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://army.gr/el/organosi/oplika-systimata/t-rpg-18|title=Α-Τ RPG-18|website=army.gr}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg}} [[Hamas]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khalili |first=Moriah |last2=Parenzo |first2=Beniamino |date=July 27, 2017 |title=Covert Attempts to Smuggle Weapons by Hamas |url=https://jij.org/news/covert-attempts-smuggle-weapons-hamas/ |access-date=February 27, 2025 |work=Jerusalem Institute of Justice}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Iraq|1991}} [[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>
* {{flaglist|Islamic State}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Weapons of the Islamic State |date=2017 |publisher=[[Conflict Armament Research]] |location=London |page=184 |url=https://www.conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Weapons-of-the-Islamic-State.pdf |access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref>
* {{KAZ}}<ref>{{Citation |title=List of equipment of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan |date=2024-11-17 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Armed_Forces_of_the_Republic_of_Kazakhstan |access-date=2025-01-30 |language=en}}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=April 2025}}
* {{KGZ}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{MLD}}<ref name=":0" />
** {{flag|Transnistria}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Маленькая и малобоеспособная {{!}} Еженедельник «Военно-промышленный курьер» |url=https://vpk-news.ru/articles/14870 |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=vpk-news.ru}}</ref>
* {{flag|Panama}}<ref name="Central American">{{cite magazine|title=Portable Anti-Tank Weapons in Mexico & the Northern Central American Triangle|url=http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2954|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402142813/http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2954|archive-date=2 April 2019|first=Julio A. |last=Montes |date= 8 May 2015|magazine=Small Arms Defense Journal|issue=1|volume=7}}</ref>
* {{RUS}}
* {{SYR}}<ref name=":0" />
** {{Flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} [[Free Syrian Army]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Research |first=Conflict Armament |date=December 2017 |title=WEAPONS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221WXtO-3zsEUYWTCDzv7ixayfmpjPzxr9x%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=Conflict Armament Research}}</ref>
* {{TJK}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{TKM}}<ref name=":0" />
* {{UKR}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Special Operations Forces Soldiers hit enemy BMP-2 with RPG |url=https://mil.in.ua/en/news/special-operations-forces-soldiers-hit-enemy-bmp-2-with-rpg |access-date=29 December 2023 |work=Militarnyi |date=7 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA6kkrYsvTU |title=Ukrainian Training Videos: RPG-18 (Now With Translation) |date=2022-03-30 |last=The Armourer's Bench |access-date=2025-02-27 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
* {{UZB}}<ref name=":0" />

===Former users===
* {{Flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_poAAAAMAAJ|last1=Babchenko |first1=Arkady |title=One Soldier's War |date=2006 |publisher=Publishers Group West |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-8021-4403-4 |pages=9, 101, 157 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flagge FDLR.svg}} [[Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda]]<ref name="FDLR">{{cite book|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2015/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2015-Highlights-EN.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701142546/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2015/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2015-Highlights-EN.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 1, 2015|chapter-url= http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2015/eng/Small-Arms-Survey-2015-Chapter-07-EN.pdf|chapter=Waning Cohesion: The Rise and Fall of the FDLR–FOCA|title=Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2015|author=Small Arms Survey|ref={{harvid|Small Arms Survey 2015}}|page=203|author-link= Small Arms Survey}}</ref>
* {{flag|Donetsk People's Republic}}:<ref name="Ukraine">{{cite book |last1=Ferguson |first1=Jonathan |url=http://armamentresearch.com/Uploads/Research%20Report%20No.%203%20-%20Raising%20Red%20Flags.pdf |title=Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014 |last2=Jenzen-Jones |first2=N.R. |date=November 2014 |publisher=[[Armament Research Services]] |isbn=978-0-9924624-3-7 |series=Research Report 3 |page=48}}</ref> Used by DPR forces during the [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|War in Donbas]] and the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine]] before [[Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts|their annexation by Russia]] in November 2022.
* [[Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front]] (FMLN)<ref name="Central American" />
* {{GDR}}<ref>"[https://www.armyweb.cz/clanek/kampfschwimmerkommando-ksk-18-bojovi-plavci-vychodniho-nemecka Kampfschwimmerkommando (KSK-18): Bojoví plavci východního Německa]" (in Czech). Army Web. 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2023-07-11.</ref>
* {{NIC}}: [[Sandinista Popular Army]]<ref name="Central American" />
* {{USSR}}: Passed on to successor states.<ref name=":0" />
* [[Real Irish Republican Army]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-06-24 |title=Real IRA arms purchasing in Croatia indicates a change of tactics - Jane's Security News |url=http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm000823_1_n.shtml |access-date=2024-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060624035820/http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm000823_1_n.shtml |archive-date=2006-06-24 }}</ref>

==See also==
* {{lwc|RPG-76 Komar}}
* {{lwc|M80 Zolja}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===General===
* Jones, Richard. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2005–06''. Coulsdon: Jane's, 2005.  {{ISBN|0-7106-2694-0}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|RPG-18}}
* [http://www.weaponplace.ru/muha.php RPG-18] {{in lang|ru}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090220165434/http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl38-e.htm Modern Firearms]
* [http://www.military-today.com/firearms/rpg_18.htm Military-Today]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* [http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/BB04%20-%20RPG-18.html Weapon Systems]
* [http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=946 Military Factory]

{{Russian RPG series}}

[[Category:Cold War anti-tank rockets of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s]]