SPG-9
| SPG-9 | |
|---|---|
 A Russian SPG-9M | |
| Type | Recoilless gun Anti-tank gun |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1962–present |
| Wars | Vietnam War Iran–Iraq War Salvadoran Civil War Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Gulf War Lebanese Civil War Iraq War Second Sudanese Civil War[1] Third Sudanese Civil War Libyan Civil Wars[2] Northern Mali conflict Syrian Civil War[3] War in Donbass Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)[4][5] Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 47.5 kg (105 lb) 59.5 kg (131 lb) with the tripod[6] |
| Length | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)[6] |
| Width | 99 cm (3 ft 3 in) allowing for full weapon traverse[6] |
| Height | 80 cm (2 ft 7 in)[6] |
| Crew | 2 (1 gunner, 1 loader) |
| Caliber | 73 mm (2.87 in) smoothbore[6] |
| Breech | Interrupted screw[6] |
| Recoil | None |
| Carriage | Tripod |
| Elevation | +7°/−3° |
| Traverse | 30° total |
| Rate of fire | 5–6 rounds per minute[6] |
| Muzzle velocity | 250 to 435 m/s (800 to 1,427 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 800 m (875 yds) |
| Maximum firing range | 1,200 m to 6,500 m (1,300 to 7,100 yd) |
| Feed system | Manually breech-loaded |
| Sights | PGO-9 optical 4× sight or PGN-9 IR and passive night sight |
The SPG-9 Kopye (Spear) is a tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimetre calibre recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union. It fires fin-stabilised, rocket-assisted HE and HEAT projectiles similar to those fired by the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun of the BMP-1 armored vehicle. It was accepted into service in 1962, replacing the B-10 recoilless rifle.
Description[]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2014) |
The projectile is launched from the gun by a small charge, which gives it an initial velocity of between 250 and 400 metres per second. The launch charge also imparts spin to the projectile by a series of offset holes. Once the projectile has traveled approximately 20 meters (65.6 feet) from the launcher, a rocket motor in its base ignites. For the PG-9 projectile, this takes it to a velocity of 700 metres per second (2,297 feet per second) before the motor burns out.
The SPG-9 is heavy (~60 kg), and is normally transported by vehicle, and carried into position by its two crew. It can be deployed in around a minute. The weapon is in service with a large number of armed forces, and a variety of ammunition is produced; however, they are mostly copies of the original Soviet PG-9 HEAT and OG-9 FRAG-HE rounds.
The SPG-9 is widely available to terrorists and maritime pirates such as in the Horn of Africa region, as well as in other regions to a lesser degree. It is not as popular as the RPG-7 because it has to be mounted on a vehicle or boat and cannot be easily carried and shoulder fired. The SPG-9 requires much more skill to fire accurately than the RPG-7. There have been reports of these mounted in skiffs and larger "mother ships". The SPG-9 can typically be found mounted on a wide variety of vehicles known as "technicals" in Somalia.
A variant for use with airborne troops including detachable wheels was built as the SPG-9D.
Combat usage[]
The SPG-9 was used by both sides during the Transnistria War, with at least one combat kill: a T-64BV of Russian peacekeepers was destroyed using an SPG.[7]
Projectiles[]
| Round (projectile) |
Type | Weight | Fuze | Length | Explosive content |
Muzzle velocity |
Effective range |
Maximum range |
Armour penetration |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG-9 (PG-9V) |
HEAT-FS | 4.39 kg | VP-9 | 920 mm | 0.322 kg of hexogen |
435 m/s | 800 m | 1,300 m | 300 mm | — |
| PG-9N | HEAT-FS | VP-9 | 920 mm | 0.340 kg of OKFOL-3.5[8] |
435 m/s | 800 m | 1,300 m | 400 mm | — | |
| PG-9VS | HEAT-FS | 4.4 kg | ? | 920 mm | ? | 1,300 m | ? | 400 mm | - | |
| PG-9VNT (PG-9NT) |
HEAT-FS | 3.2 kg | ? | 920 mm | ? | 400 m/s | 700 m | 1,200 m | 550 mm or 400 mm behind ERA |
Tandem warhead |
| OG-9V (OG-9) |
FRAG-HE | 5.35 kg | GO-2 or O-4M |
1062 mm | 0.735 kg of TNT |
316 m/s | — | — | n/a | Cast iron casing |
| OG-9VM (OG-9M) |
FRAG-HE | 5.35 kg | GO-2 or O-4M |
1062 mm | 0.655 kg of TD-50[9] |
316 m/s | — | — | n/a | — |
| OG-9VM1 (OG-9V) |
FRAG-HE | 5.35 kg | GO-2 or O-4M |
1062 mm | ? | 316 m/s | — | 4,500 m | n/a | — |
| OG-9BG[10] (OG-9G) |
FRAG-HE | 6.9 kg | O-4M | 1030 mm | 0.750 kg | 316 m/s | — | 7,500 m | n/a | Bulgarian made |
| OG-9BG1 (OG-9G1) |
FRAG-HE | 5.48 kg | O-4M | 1024 mm | 0.750 kg | 250 m/s | — | 4,200 m | n/a | Bulgarian made |
Users[]
Afghanistan[11]
Bulgaria: manufactured locally as Arsenal ATGL[12]
Central African Republic[13]
Georgia[14]
Iran: AMIG SPG-9[12]
Iraq[15]
Kyrgyzstan[17]
Libya[2]
Mali[18]
Moldova[19]
Romania: RomArm AG-9[12]
Russia[20]
Sudan[21]
South Sudan[22]
Ukraine,[23] also used by separatist forces[16]
Vietnam[24]
Non-state actors[]
Artsakh[25]
Islamic State[26]
Lord's Resistance Army[27]- Kurdistan Workers' Party[28]
- Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition[26]
Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North[21]
Free Syrian Army[29]- Taliban[30][31]
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ "Sudan - Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan" (PDF). Human Rights Watch Report. 10 (4): 24. August 1998.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Neville, Leigh (19 Apr 2018). Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces. New Vanguard 257. Osprey Publishing. pp. 12, 35. ISBN 978-1-4728-2251-2. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ Neville 2018, p. 37.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKfs_whXnis
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g OPFOR Worldwide Equipment Guide, TRADOC DCSINT Threat Support Directorate, January 21, 1999
- ^ http://otvaga2004.ru/tanki/istoriya-sozdaniya/t-64-tank-ubijca-mirnogo-naseleniya/ Archived 2018-06-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- ^ 95% HME 5% wax
- ^ TNT/dinitronaphthalene
- ^ "Rounds Og-9Vg with He-Fragmentation Grenade Og-9G & Og-9G1". Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey (ed.). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. pp. 48, 66, 165. ISBN 978-0-415-45308-0. Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "SPG-9 (& close derivatives)" (PDF). Weapons Identification Sheet. Small Arms Survey. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
- ^ Letter dated 26 June 2014 from the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2127 (2013) addressed to the President of the Security Council (PDF). 1 July 2014. p. 81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ Small Arms Survey (2003). "Dangerous Supply: Small Arms and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
- ^ Rottman, Gordon L. (1993). Armies of the Gulf War. Elite 45. Osprey Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-85532-277-6.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Military Balance 2016, p. 491.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 187.
- ^ Powelson, Simon J. (December 2013). "Enduring engagement yes, episodic engagement no: lessons for SOF from Mali" (PDF). Monterey, California: Naval postgraduate school. p. 24. hdl:10945/38996.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 188.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 190.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "SPLA-N weapons and equipment, South Kordofan, December 2012" (PDF). HSBA Arms and Ammunition Tracing Desk. Small Arms Survey: 9. February 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 469.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 206.
- ^ Rottman, Gordon L. (10 Feb 2009). North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75. Warrior 135. Osprey Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84603-371-1.
- ^ Military Balance 2016, p. 181.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Military Balance 2016, p. 492.
- ^ Small Arms Survey (2006). "Fuelling Fear: The Lord's Resistance Army and Small Arms" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2006: Unfinished Business. Oxford University Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-19-929848-8. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-11-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Williams, Sara Elizabeth (3 April 2014). "I Learned to Fight Like an American at the FSA Training Camp in Jordan: America's Role in the Syrian Revolution". Vice News. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ Hennessey, Patrick. The Junior Officers' Reading Club. Penguin Publications, 2009, p. 272
- ^ Kemp, Colonel Richard and Hughes, Chris, Attack State RED, Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2010, pp. 325–334.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). The Military Balance 2016. 116. Routlegde. ISBN 9781857438352.
External links[]
Media related to SPG-9 at Wikimedia Commons
- Recoilless rifles of the Soviet Union
- Weapons of Bulgaria
- Weapons of Romania
- Military equipment introduced in the 1960s