There are a number of different RPG-7 pattern rocket launchers in use in Ukraine including the American PSLR-1s, the Czech LGL-7s and the Bulgarian ATGL-L and WRPG-7 to name a few. One of the most interesting to appear is the Chinese Type 69.
The Type 69s were potentially supplied by one of the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, which held them in inventory during the 1990s and 2000s. The Type 69 was in service it the Estonian armed forces as the M-69, and remained in inventory into the early 2010s. Another possible origin is that they were part of a seized shipment of small arms and light weapons supplied to the Houthis in Yemen by Iran, which was intercepted en route. Though no Type 69s have been seen in the released imagery of seized shipments.
Training with Type 69 (via 22nd Separate Mechanised Brigade)
The Type 69 is a clone of the Russian RPG-7, manufactured by China’s state arsenals it has been successfully sold around the would by NORINCO and Xinshidai. It entered service with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the 1972, replacing the earlier Type 56, and served into the late 1990s.
The Chinese RPG’s distinguishing features include the absence of a rear pistol grip, an orangey-brown fluted heat-shield around the tube, a forward bipod, and a folding carrying handle fitted to the top of the launcher. There is also a fold‐down shoulder support which is removeable. The Type 69-1, introduced in the 1980s, is slightly shorter than the original Type 69 and has slightly different sights, with the rear sight assembly more centrally positioned on the tube. The Chinese RPGs seen in theatre so far appear to be Type 69-1s.
Two Type 69s in a Ukrainian armoury (via social media)
The earliest evidence of Type 69s in Ukraine I’ve come across is a video posted by the Ukrainian YouTube channel Tacti Coach on 29 November 2023 which discusses RPG-7s in general but features a Type 69. Subsequently, on 19 January 2024, the 22nd Separate Mechanised Brigade shared several photos of troops training with Type 69s.
Another undated photograph shows the interior of a Ukrainian armoury, with crates of ammunition and transit chests with a Barrett M107 and two Type 69s.
Training with Type 69 (via 22nd Separate Mechanised Brigade)
On 21 January, a Ukrainian combatant believed to be associated to Ukraine’s special operations forces shared a photograph holding a Type 69 by its carry handle. On the 18 February, the 22nd Separate Mechanised Brigade again shared an album of photos showing troops training with the Type 69 giving us the best look at the Chinese RPG in Ukraine so far.
In future articles/videos we’ll look at other RPG-7 variants in use in Ukraine. We have previously examined a number of RPG-7 related topics, mostly focused on improvised warheads.
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On 2 October, Ukraine’s 28th Mechanised Brigade posted a video on their social media showing an RPG team firing an RPG-7 during a firefight. The warheads being fired from the RPG-7 were all outfitted with homemade fragmentation sleeves.
A fragmentation sleeve fits over a warhead and breaks apart when the warhead detonates. The explosion spreads the fragments increasing the warheads anti-personnel effect. The sleeve seen in the video appears to be made from a sheet of rolled metal with a base ring. Their design and construction appears to be quite uniform and similar examples of the fragmentation sleeves have been seen on several earlier occasions. The sheet appears to be several millimetres thick with a grid of cuts creating weaknesses for along which the metal can fragment.
PG-7 warheads with uniform fragmentation sleeves, in a video posted by the 28th Mechanised Brigade (Ukrainian Army)
Back in April a photograph featuring similar sleeves was shared, one PG-7 warhead has a sleeve running between the venturi/rocket nozzles and the base of warhead’s shaped charge while the other appears to have a sleeve which is wrapped around the lower part of the warhead. The venturi of this warhead isn’t visible.
[Correction/Update – 11/11/23: The rocket is in fact a PG-9/16 which is fired from SPG-9 recoilless guns. This suggests that fragmentation sleeves are also in use with the widely used SPG-9. See image below. – Thank you to Michael Crenshaw for his help IDing this munition.]
Top: PG-9/16 with frag sleeve Bottom: PG-7 with frag sleeve (via social media)
A Ukrainian combatant shared a short video featuring a PG-7 warhead with a fragmentation sleeve on 4 May. On 21 June, Ukrainian news outlet Новинарняpublished a video report featuring the 67th Mechanised Brigade in action near Kreminna. Members of the brigade’s 2nd mechanised battalion are seen with numerous PG-7s with fragmentation sleeves in the report. One Ukrainian combatant is seen preparing them for launch, attaching boosters to the rockets.
It would appear that the design of the sleeves has been shared between a number of fabricators as they have appeared in a number of areas and appear to a fairly standardised design. Images from the summer of 2023 show the sleeves added to a variety of different PG-7 warheads including a crate of six PG-7VLs.
A number of PG-7V with frag sleeves (via social media)
In August, a Ukrainian individual made a call on social media for fabricators to produce base rings for sleeves. The post included a photograph of six PG-7M warheads with fragmentation sleeves.
The October video posted by the 28th Mechanised Brigade shows the rockets being fired at unseen targets in the distance. The RPG-gunner appears to be using the tactic of using the warhead’s maximum range self-destruct feature to detonate the warheads above Russian positions.
The warheads are fitted point-initiating base detonating fuzes which contain a pyrotechnic-based self-destruct mechanism which causes the warhead to detonate at its maximum range of approximately 950 metres. When the warhead detonates at the end of its flight it will shower what is below it with fragments from both the warhead and the fragmentation sleeve.
A crate of 6 PG-7VLs with slightly rusty frag sleeves (via social media)
On 30 September, a PG-7 with a fragmentation sleeve was seen at the beginning of a video shared by the ‘Omega’, the Special Purpose Center of Ukraine’s National Guard. The characteristic shape of a sleved warhead can be seen just before a member of ‘Omega’ fired the RPG-7.
On 4 October, a Ukrainian combatant shared a photograph of a PG-7VL warhead with a fragmentation sleeve. The photo was shared in response to the earlier August photograph. This example, however, appears to be made from a mosaic of small metal squares rather than from a scored sheet of metal.
An RPG-7 with a fragmentation sleeve, 67th Mechanised Brigade (Новинарня)
In terms of effectiveness the sleeves probably do not fragment uniformly along the cuts in the outer surface. However, the fragmentation effect of the sleeve is probably good enough for it’s intended purpose. It also remains unclear if the added mass and likely shifting of the warheads’ centre of gravity negatively effects its range and accuracy.
Fragmentation sleeves are definitely not a new innovation but they are a simple adaptation which can be made to PG-7 pattern warheads, which are predominantly designed for anti-armour roles, to improve their effectiveness against enemy personnel. While there are a number of warheads designed specifically for use against personnel these may not be as commonly available and as a result the Ukrainians have taken to improvising. We have already seen makeshift anti-personnel warheads made from fire extinguishers packed with explosive and the practice of simply taping shrapnel to the sides of standard PG-7 warheads.
06/11/23 – Update: An additional video featuring a PG-7VL warhead with a frag sleeve being used to tamp down a sandbag.
Update – 14/12/23: A video showing manufacture of various patterns of drone munitions was shown in a video posted by Ukrainian combatants. In it a munition with frag sleeve is seen.
Update – 15/1/24: Video dating from Spring 2023 shows members of the 28th Mechanised Brigade operating what appears to be a fragmentation sleeve (or perhaps an improvised warhead) being fired from m RPG-7.
Kurt & Company Group, a unit of #Ukraine's 28th Mechanized Brigade, firing what appear to be either improvised RPG rounds or PG-7 rounds which have been augmented with fragmentation sleeves.
— Matthew Moss | Historical Firearms (@historicfirearm) January 16, 2024
Update – 25/03/24: A look at how some of the frag sleeves may be manufactured.
Steel pipe is machined into grooved fragmentation jackets. These will be fitted over RPG-7 warheads. The segmented squares will separate into deadly pieces upon detonation, increasing the destructiveness of the rocket. pic.twitter.com/nLPQOjkPLL
The sleeves seen in the post above were sold by a company called ‘FixeStop‘ and are euphemistically marketed as ‘Men’s metal massage rollers: – for feet; – for legs’. Various sises between 100mm and 200mm of various weights are offered at prices ranging between 300 to 950 UAH.
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On 17 October, a Ukrainian combatant shared a short video on his TikTok channel demonstrating a new piece of ordnance – the RPG Shovel. Earlier the same combatant had joked by sliding an entrenching shovel into the barrel of the RPG-7. Several other combatants have been seen to do this during the ongoing war in Ukraine but this combatant decided to make the joke a reality.
Ukrainian combatant with shovel slid into RPG-7 (date, location unknown)
Culturally, the RPG Shovel isn’t a new thing having been seen in photograph of soldiers from other countries messing around over the years and even appearing in the 2018 video game Far Cry 5. Before that, in 2016, it was added as a mod for the game Insurgency using an old photograph of Russian troops as reference. Whether this influenced the Ukrainian combatant to create his RPG-Shovel is unknown.
Far Cry 5’s RPG-Shovel
In the Ukrainian combatant’s video he shows how an adapter has been attached to the wooden handle of the shovel and to a threaded cap which allows the shovel to be screwed onto a PG-7S motor. The shovel itself appears to be an MPL-50 pattern shovel. The combatant then fits a booster onto the motor and takes the RPG-Shovel outside to be fired. It can also be seen that they have written a suitably derogatory message to the Russians on the shovel’s handle.
Homemade adapter& launch
The Ukrainian combatant then launches the RPG-Shovel at a high-angle. Its unclear what sort of range was achieved with the shovel’s aerodynamics being terrible. Sadly, the camera operator’s reasonable caution means that the actual launch is partially obscured but just enough is visible. It’s probably not the first time a shovel has been launched from an RPG, but it is probably the best in terms of close-ups and detail. Regardless, its seems to be a great example of bored soldiers finding amusing, ‘productive’ ways of occupying their time.
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In December images of Chechen volunteers fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to feature an interesting craft-made weapon – an RPG munition made from the body of a small fire extinguisher.
These RPG-warheads improvised from fire extinguishers have appeared in numerous videos and photographs of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion. The battalion was formed back in 2014 and is made up of exiled Chechens who reject Russian control of their region. The battalion itself is named after an 18th century Chechen military leader Sheikh Mansur. The battalion had disbanded in 2019, but reformed in March 2022 following the invasion. Since then they have reportedly seen action during the Battle of Kyiv, in the Donbas, during the Battle of Sievierodonetsk and most recently in the fighting around Bakhmut.
There’s a long history of improvised warheads adapted for launch from the RPG-7 but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a fire extinguisher body used, at least in this phase of the fighting in Ukraine.
A section of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, with a craft-made fire extinguisher munition, Bahkmut, December 2022 (via Sheikh Mansur Battalion)
It appears that the fire extinguisher body has been emptied and filled with whatever explosive and shrapnel material is readily available and then adapted to fit the sustainer motor and booster assemblies. They appear to use V-429 or V-429E point detonating fuzes. These fuzes were developed for use on high explosive (HE) projectiles used by various Combloc weapon systems including the T-12 and MT-12 100mm anti-tank guns and the 115mm main gun of the T-62 and 125mm main guns of the T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 series tanks. Some other fuzes appear to be used too but conceivably any impact fuze would work. The inertia armed fuzes normally arm within 5-15m of the muzzle once fired from a conventional barrel. It appears that the fuzes have been epoxied into place.
Close up of a craft-made fire extinguisher munition, Bahkmut, December 2022 (via social media)
How the mass and shape of the improvised round impacts the velocity of the warhead once it is fired is unclear. But Bild correspondent Bjorn Stritzel, who recently met with members of the Battalion while writing an article about them, told me that the range of the warheads is about 100m. He noted that the Chechen’s have found them to be ‘very effective in Bakhmut’ and that ‘apparently its firepower surprised RF entrenched in houses’ according to radio chatter picked up by the Battalion.
While we don’t have a perfect close up of them the extinguishers themselves appear to be small 2kg (or 5lbs) units which contain powder. From a quick survey of some Ukrainian websites which sell the extinguishers, the price of these ranges between 300 and 500 Hryvnias (or $8 & $14).
A member of the Sheik Mansur Battalion demonstrates a craft-made fire extinguisher munition, Bahkmut, December 2022 (via Sky News)
The fire extinguisher rounds are probably being used as anti-personnel weapons which would be fitting for the sort of fighting occurring around Bakhmut where the majority of the imagery is said to be coming from. The thin steel body of the extinguisher may provide suitable fragmentation or depending on the metallurgy it may just rupture. According to Stritzel the filling of the warheads is around 50% explosive and 50% shrapnel material. He also noted that the Chechen’s described the warhead as being “three times more powerful than a normal OG-7V [fragmentation RPG-7 round]”.
Two craft-made fire extinguisher munitions, Bahkmut, December 2022 (via Bjorn Stritzel)
The first video featuring the improvised warheads was published by the Sheikh Mansur Battalion on their social media in around mid December. In a Sky News report from the 22 December, a member of the Battalion demonstrates how one of the extinguisher warheads is loaded. A video posted to the Battalion’s social media on the 27 December showed a number, perhaps four, of the improvised rounds stacked ready for use with booster assemblies attached.
On the 31 December, the Battalion shared a photograph of a group of eight Battalion members, one of which can be seen holding an RPG-7 with one of the improvised extinguisher rounds loaded. During the second week of January, a short, undated, video of an individual in a fighting position firing one of the craft-made warheads was shared. We get some idea of the weight of the round in this clip.
The most recent video (see stills above), posted on TikTok, on the 12 January, shows two of the improvised munitions being fired. These warheads follow the same design but differ slightly in that the fire extinguisher body appears to have been cut open at the centre and then welded back together. Perhaps this is done to easier fill the munition or perhaps to shorten a longer extinguisher body. For the first time we also get to see the explosion of the rounds down range. This video again gives us a good indication of the weight of the round from the movement of the shooter. It also illustrates the distances the rounds can travel. Notably it appears to be used here against a Russian field work rather than against a building.
With fighting continuing in Bakhmut we are likely to see more of these improvised fire extinguisher rounds in use, especially if they are as effective as the Sheikh Mansur Battalion suggest.
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The Armourers Bench 