XDA

This is the Soviet made RPG-7. We translate the acronym 'RPG' to rocket propelled grenade but that's not quite accurate. The name of the weapon in Russian, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, РПГ, translates to 'handheld anti-tank grenade-launcher.' No rocket mentioned.

The green part is the visible part of the warhead (a shaped charge that can send a jet of molten metal through up to 200 mm of steel). The rest is the launch tube. The launch tube is designed to have the 'rocket' part burn only while the warhead is still in the tube. This puts all the extremely hot exhaust gas out the dark blue cone to the rear (and none into the face of the guy firing it) and also spits out the warhead faster than just the propellant could do without a surrounding launch tube.

The RPG-7 is of course the direct successor to the RPG-2 which, in turn, is a copy of the Panzerfaust, a German weapon from 1942. Technically, there is nothing rocket about the Panzerfaust hand launched shaped charge warheads. Indeed, the Panzerfaust is a small, disposable preloaded recoilless gun. A black powder charge shot the warhead on a wooden stick (with folding fins) out the front of the tube. Out the back of the tube came a lot of extremely hot expanding gas.

In Lebanon recently, Hezbollah fighters could move down concrete lined tunnels and pop out, un-noticed, at preparedfighting points right next to attacking Israeli Merkeva tanks and knock them out. (They also used the longer range Kornet, Concourse and Metis anti-tank missiles to good effect--52 tanks hit, 22 penetrated and 23 tankers killed). That made the tankers not very eager to attack tunnel warren, Hezbollah strong points. Without bold tank support, the IDF troopers on foot or in armored troop carriers (also vulnerable to close range anti-tank missile fire) had to be superbrave to storm the tunnel complexes. The IDF soldiers were brave but there are apparently less superbrave ones than in previous wars so that the attacked Hezbollah strong points didn't go down each time easily. The attacks bogged down and the Israeli casualties mounted. The Israelis were only too glad to agree to a cease fire and come home. The Hezbollah fighters, having lost about a 1000 men, were pretty glad to cease fire for a while too.

The tunnels are still there, and the Hezbollah fighters have plenty of RPG-7s, etc., so the problem next time the Israelis have to attack will be just as difficult. I would propose heavier than air poison gas delivered by mortar fire, but I don't think history will allow the Israelis to use poison gas. The tunnels are largely immune to air attack, so the best of the IDF, the always victorious Air Force, is impotent. Tough nut to crack. But if, as we hear, Hezbollah is rearming with Russian made (Iranian purchased and Syrian delivered) Katyusha rockets, the IDF will have to go into south Lebanon yet again. There is talk of a high tech solution on the tanks--a rapid detection and return fire system which will knock out anti-tank weapons almost immediately after the first shot is fired. Whatever it takes.