View source for RPG-76 Komar

{{more citations needed|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = RPG-76 Komar
| image              = RPG-76.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = An extended RPG-76 Komar
| origin             = {{flag|Polish People's Republic}} 
| type               = [[Rocket-propelled grenade]]
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service            = 1985–present
| used_by            = [[Poland]]<br />[[Ukraine]]
| wars               = 
[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]<br />[[Iraq War]]<br />[[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer           = 
| design_date        = 1973
| manufacturer       = Precision Works in [[Niewiadów]] (Zakład Sprzętu Precyzyjnego w Niewiadowie)
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1980 prototypes, 1983-95
| number             = Over 100,000
| variants           = <!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         = 
| weight             = 2.1 kg - loaded launcher with grenade <br> 1.7 kg - grenade
| length             = 805 mm - folded <br> 1190 mm extended
| part_length        = 
| width              = 
| height             = 
| diameter           = 
| crew               = 1
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->| cartridge          = 68 mm with 260 mm penetration against RHA
| caliber            = 40 mm (1.57 in)
| barrels            = one
| action             = Single shot
| rate               = 
| velocity           = 145 m/s
| range              = 250 m
| max_range          = 
| feed               = Single shot, non reusable launch tube
| sights             = Iron sights
| yield              = 
}}

'''RPG-76 Komar''' ([[english language|eng.]] ''[[Mosquito]]'') is a disposable one-shot [[anti-tank]] [[grenade launcher]] that fires an unguided [[anti-tank]] [[rocket-propelled grenade]].
The weapon was designed as a smaller and lighter alternative to the [[RPG-7]], especially for use by airborne troops. Thanks to jet nozzles located between the warhead and the fuel compartment, it can be fired from inside a building or a vehicle.

==Design phase==
In 1971, the Polish Military Institute of Defense Technology initiated the project “Argon,” aimed at developing an anti-tank grenade launcher with a single-use launch tube as a  supplement for the [[RPG-7]]. Two versions were considered: a [[recoilless rifle]] and a [[rocket-propelled grenade]] launcher.  Because of earlier experience gained during the development of the rocket-assisted PGN-60 [[rifle grenade]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/grenades/68mm-pgn-60-rifle-grenade | title=68mm PGN-60 Rifle Grenade | publisher=Collective Awareness to Unexploded Ordnance (CAT-UXO) | access-date=6 August 2024 }}</ref> used by the [[Kbkg wz. 1960]] rifle grenade launcher, the project eventually settled on the rocket-propelled grenade design. At this stage, the Polish design team (Z. Zborowski, K. Kowalewski, T. Witczak, Z. Kapustka, A. Perełkowicz, K. Laskowski, Z.Kupidura) was supplemented by a team of [[Bulgaria]]n scientists from the Military Institute of Research and Development in [[Sofia]], whose task was to develop the rocket engine and the launcher. The prototype was presented in 1973, at the III Central Military Invention and Rationalization Exhibition. At the time, the weapon was designated “HEAT grenade with single use launch tube RPG-73.” A series of prototype launchers was produced in 1980. In the following years, the Polish-Bulgarian cooperation broke down and the development of the launcher continued in Poland only.

==Operational history==
The weapon was adopted by the Polish Army in 1985 as the "RPG-76 Komar". With the warhead incapable of penetrating the front armor of modern western tanks it became an auxiliary weapon, not replacing standard issue [[RPG-7]] grenade launchers in infantry squads. It was produced in the Precision works in [[Niewiadów]], Poland. Around 100,000 were manufactured between 1983 and 1995.<ref name=wilk>{{cite magazine|author=Remigiusz Wilk|title=Lekka broń przeciwpancerna dla WP|trans-title= Light anti-tank weapons for Polish Army|magazine=Raport – Wojsko Technika Obronność|issue=2/2017|year=2017|pages=8–9|language=pl}}</ref>

In the late 1990s it was withdrawn from front line units and stores due to limited anti-tank capabilities and increased safety demands (a lack of self-destructor).<ref name=wilk/> Polish deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan changed this policy, and the weapon was deployed to troops, using the Komar in Iraq and [[Task Force White Eagle|in Afghanistan]].<ref name=wilk/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSbSmMNHLAY '''Komar''' in use]</ref> Polish soldiers also used a small number of heavier multipurpose [[Carl Gustav recoilless rifle]]s using a variety of modern ammunition types.

The weapon is shipped in wooden crates, each launcher is sealed in an airtight plastic sheet and 6 launchers are placed in each crate.

Komar is an effective anti-personnel weapon, against light armored vehicles and firing posts.

In March 2022, Poland started to deliver surplus RPG-76 to [[Ukraine]] as a response to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-14 |title=Ukrainian Forces Takes Delivery of Polish RPG-76 Komar Rocket-propelled Grenade |url=https://militaryleak.com/2022/03/14/ukrainian-forces-takes-delivery-of-polish-rpg-76-komar-rocket-propelled-grenade/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=MilitaryLeak |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Users ==

=== Current users ===

* {{flag|Ukraine}}<ref name=":0" />

=== Former users ===

* {{flag|Poland}}

==Similar weapons== 
*{{lwc|Panzerfaust}}
*{{lwc|M80 Zolja}}
*{{lwc|RPG-18}}
*{{lwc|M72 LAW}}

==References==
<references/>
{{Russian RPG series}}

[[Category:Rocket-propelled grenade launchers]]
[[Category:Anti-tank rockets]]
[[Category:Weapons of Poland]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Disposable products]]