How to Fire a Rocket Propelled Grenade

A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is the smallest of the shoulder-mounted missile weapons. The RPG has an important and continually evolving role in the history of warfare. Today, the RPG is used in the war on terror by both sides of the fighting. Follow these steps to learn how a rocket propelled grenade is fired.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Identify the target. You need to ensure that your target is within range and that fire from the RPG will not cause unwanted damage. While the range of different kinds of RPGs differs, the RPG-7, the most popular version of the weapon, has a practical range of 50 meters.

2. Arm the weapon. Each RPG model has a slightly different arming process. However, in almost all cases you need to screw the propelling charge onto the end of the warhead. Once that is done, load the warhead into the front of the launcher and prepare to fire.

3. Check behind you. While most of the safety concern lies on the front end of a RPG, you need to check to see if the area behind the weapon is clear before you fire. Firing the weapon creates a deadly burst of heat and smoke that can shoot back dozens of feet and cause injury or fire. So before you use a rocket propelled grenade, be sure there is a clear field behind you.

4. Sight your target and fire. With practice, you can correctly sight your target and plan the trajectory. Once you have your target in your sights, fire the weapon by using its trigger. RPGs such as the RPG-7 have a gun-like trigger that is easily used to launch the grenade. Other versions have different, but equally simple, triggers.