History
The RPG has its roots in the 20th century with the early development of the explosive shaped charge. The development of practical rocketry provided a means of delivering such an explosive. Research occasioned by World War II produced such weapons as the American bazooka and German Panzerfaust, which combined portability with effectiveness against armored vehicles such as tanks.
The Soviet Union-developed RPG-7 is the most widely distributed and used RPG in the world. The basic design of this RPG was developed by the Soviets shortly after World War II in the form of the RPG-2, which is similar in function to the Bazooka and the Panzerfaust.
An early method of disabling shaped charges developed during World War II was to apply thin skirt armor or meshwire at a distance around the hull and turret of the tank. The skirt or mesh armor (cage armor) triggers the RPG on contact and much of the molten jet that a shaped charge produces dissipates before coming into contact with the main armor of the vehicle. Well-sloped armor also gives some protection because the shaped charge is forced to penetrate a greater amount of armor due to the oblique angle. The benefits of cage armor are still considered great in modern battlefields in the Middle East, and although similar effects can be obtained using spaced armor, either as a part of the original design or as appliqué armor fitted later, cage armor is preferable due to its low weight and ease of repair.
Today, technologically advanced armies have implemented composite armors such as Chobham armor, which provide superior protection to steel. For added protection, vehicles may be retrofitted with reactive armor; on impact, reactive tiles explode or deform, disrupting the normal function of the shaped charge. Russian and Israeli vehicles also use active protection systems like Drozd, Arena APS or Trophy. Such a system detects and shoots down incoming projectiles before they reach the vehicle.
As in all arms races, these developments in armor countermeasures have led to the development of RPG rounds designed specifically to defeat them, with methods such as a tandem-charge warhead, which has two shape charges, of which the first is meant to activate any reactive armor, and the second to penetrate the vehicle.
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