Way back in October 2022 video of the extremely rare Ukrainian RG-1 circulated online thanks to Yuri, an American member of the Ukrainian armed forces (known as Nucking_Futs_Yuri, best known as for his combat footage of him manning an M2 Browning and firing numerous AT-4s from a HMMWV). Yuri and his colleague Kaiser, a German volunteer, very kindly shared their videos of the RG-1 filmed when they had the chance to fire the weapon during some range time. As far as I can tell those videos remain one of the few occasions that the weapons have been seen during the ongoing fighting following Russia’s invasion. Since October 2022, I’ve been holding off on making a video about the RG-1 in the hopes more imagery might appear – there have only been two more sightings.

The RG-1 “Piston” (РГ-1 “Поршень”) was developed as a cost effective force multiplier, to provide the firepower of an AGS-17 in a man portable package. Information on the weapon is scarce and I’ve had to dig through a number archived Ukrainian news articles and other sources to pull together some of the story of the RG-1.

A 2014 article from UkraineIndustrial.info suggests the project to develop the RG-1 was launched in 1999 and continued until 2007.  It was reportedly developed by the Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant. A.M. Makarov with the design team including Alekseev Yury Sergeevich, Serbin Vladimir Viktorovich, Zagreba Alexander Ivanovich, and Mezhuev Nikolay Nikolaevich

The RG-1 is a self-loading grenade launcher which fires 30×29mm VOG-17-pattern grenades. Some sources refer to specially made, lighter grenades made for the RG-1. Numerous sources also refer to a training round and a round designed for use against light armoured vehicles. The ammunition was reportedly developed by the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant, which is run by Yuzhmash. The RG-1’s relatively long barrel allows it to engage targets at ranges out to around 800m. The weapon does not appear to have a gas piston and it’s barrel is fixed suggesting it isn’t recoil operated. It may be gas blowback operated, though it’s unclear if it has any sort of bolt delaying system in place. The weapon has a large main spring soaking up the recoil as well as a large top-ported muzzle brake.   

The weapon’s weight is reportedly around 12kg (26.45lbs) loaded and 10.8kg unloaded. It has a 30cm (11.8in) barrel, has an integral bipod and feeds from a five round box magazine. The box magazine rocks forward to lock into the receiver, with the paddle magazine release located forward of the magazine (the reverse of the standard AK position). To load the weapon the bolt has to be pulled to the rear, but with no bolt hold open device it has to be held to the rear manually. There is a quadrant sight on the left side of the weapon’s receiver with a Picatinny rail for mounting optics. The buttstock has a rubber pad and from the available imagery there appears to be two designs of stock. 

Uprom.info reported in 2018, that as of Spring 2017, the RG-1 was not in full-scale production but prototypes had been undergoing field trials with the 79th Airmobile Brigade during fighting in Donbas, as early as 2016.

Speaking to Yuri in 2022, he noted that his unit didn’t bother using the RG-1 as they had plenty of 40mm grenade launchers in inventory, including then-newly arrived M320s. Yuri explained that “the RG-1 was a stop-gap weapon to give the average man the capability to fire VOGs without having to get an AGS into position.” The low velocity 40mm grenade launchers are smaller, lighter, easier to carry and, according to Yuri, have better range an accuracy than the RG-1.  

A second sighting of an RG-1 came in mid August 2023, when another video of the weapon being fired on a range was shared. The most recent sighting came in October 2023 when a curious photograph of General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, was published showing an RG-1 in the corner of his office. 

The RG-1 is an extremely interesting weapon. Designed to fulfil a tactical niche between the common GP-25 single-shot under-barrel grenade launcher and the heavy AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher. Essentially the RG-1 was intended to be light enough for the operator to manoeuvre and act as an integral support element within the squad. However, in the current phase of the war the proliferation of low velocity 40mm grenades has largely rendered the RG-1 unnecessary. If you’ve seen other imagery of RG-1s in use please do let me know.

Specifications for the RG-1 [assorted sources]:

Calibre – 30×29mm
Rate of fire – 30 RPM
Effective firing range – 800 meters
Weight (unloaded) – 10.8kg
Length – 905mm
Barrel length – 300mm
Initial grenade speed – 185m/s

Update – 20/11/24: Tysk shared a photo of a 3rd Assault Brigade member posing wth an RG-1, date unknown.

---

Support Us: If you enjoyed this video and article please consider supporting our work here. We have some great perks available for Patreon Supporters – including early access to custom stickers and early access to videos! You can also find us on the History of Weapons & War app. Thank you for your support!