Editing Rocket-propelled grenade (section)

==Tactics==
[[File:RPG soldier and squad.jpg|thumb|upright|A Bulgarian soldier aims an RPG.]]

One of the first instances the weapon was used by militants was on January 13, 1975, at [[Orly Airport]] in France, when [[Carlos the Jackal]], together with another member from the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]], used two Soviet RPG-7 grenades to attack an Israeli [[El Al]] airliner. Both missed the target, with one hitting a [[Yugoslav Airlines]]'s [[DC-9]] instead.<ref name="Wardlaw"/>

In Afghanistan, [[Mujahideen]] guerrillas used RPG-7s to destroy [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] vehicles. To assure a kill, two to four RPG operators would be assigned to each vehicle. Each armored-vehicle hunter-killer team can have as many as 15 RPGs.<ref name="hunter-killer"/> In areas where vehicles were confined to a single path (a mountain road, swamps, snow, urban areas), RPG teams trapped convoys by destroying the first and last vehicles in line, preventing movement of the other vehicles. This tactic was especially effective in cities. Convoys learned to avoid approaches with overhangs and to send infantrymen forward in hazardous areas to detect the RPG teams.

Multiple shooters were also effective against heavy tanks with [[reactive armor]]: The first shot would be against the driver's viewing prisms. Following shots would be in pairs, one to set off the reactive armor, the second to penetrate the tank's armor. Favored weak spots were the top and rear of the turret.<ref name="Grant"/>{{sfn|Grau|1998|pages=6–8}}

Afghans sometimes used RPG-7s at extreme range, exploded by their 4.5-second self-destruct timer, which translates to roughly {{convert|950|m|abbr=on}} flight distance, as a method of long distance approach denial for infantry and reconnaissance.<ref name="Harnden"/> The most noteworthy use of RPGs against aircraft in Afghanistan occurred on August 6, 2011, when Taliban fighters shot down a U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter killing all 38 personnel on board including SEAL Team 6 from a range of {{convert|220|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Darack|first=Ed|title=The Final Flight of Extortion 17|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/final-flight-extortion-17-180953947/|access-date=January 20, 2021|website=Air & Space Magazine|language=en}}</ref> An earlier anti-aircraft kill by the Taliban occurred during Operation Red Wings, on June 28, 2005, when a Chinook helicopter was destroyed by unguided RPG.

In the [[History of Iraq (2003–2011)|period following the 2003 invasion of Iraq]], the RPG-7 became a favorite weapon of the insurgent forces fighting U.S. troops. Since most of the readily available [[RPG-7]] rounds cannot penetrate [[M1 Abrams]] tank armor from almost any angle, it is primarily effective against soft-skinned or lightly armored vehicles, and infantry. Even if the RPG hit does not completely disable the tank or kill the crew, it can still damage external equipment, lowering the tank's effectiveness or forcing the crew to abandon and destroy it. Newer RPG-7 rounds are more capable, and in August 2006, an RPG-29 round penetrated the frontal ERA of a [[Challenger 2]] tank during an engagement in [[al-Amarah]], [[Iraq]], and wounded several crew members.<ref name="Rayment"/>

RPGs were a main tool used by the [[FMLN]]'s guerrilla forces in the [[Salvadoran Civil War]]. For example, during the June 19, 1986, overrun of the San Miguel Army base, FMLN sappers dressed only in black shorts, their faces blacked out with grease, sneaked through barbed wire at night, avoiding the searchlights, they made it to within firing range of the outer wall. Using RPGs to initiate the attack, they blew through the wall and killed a number of Salvadorean soldiers. They eliminated the outermost sentries and searchlights with the rockets, then made it into the inner wall, which they also punched through. They were then able to create mayhem as their comrades attacked from the outside.<ref name="Spencer"/>

During the [[First Chechen War|First]] (1994–1996) and [[Second Chechen War]]s (1999–2009), [[Chechnya|Chechen]] rebels used RPGs to attack Russian tanks from basements and high rooftops. This tactic was effective because tank main guns could not be depressed or raised far enough to return fire, in addition, armor on the very top and bottom of tanks is usually the weakest. Russian forces had to rely on [[artillery]] suppression, good crew gunners and infantry screens to prevent such attacks. Tank columns were eventually protected by attached [[self-propelled anti-aircraft gun]]s ([[ZSU-23-4 Shilka]], [[9K22 Tunguska]]) used in the ground role to suppress and destroy Chechen ambushes. Chechen fighters formed independent "cells" that worked together to destroy a specific Russian armored target. Each cell contained small arms and some form of RPG ([[RPG-7]]V or [[RPG-18]], for example). The small arms were used to button the tank up and keep any infantry occupied, while the RPG gunner struck at the tank. While doing so, other teams would attempt to fire at the target in order to overwhelm the Russians' ability to effectively counter the attack. To further increase the chance of success, the teams took up positions at different elevations where possible. Firing from the third and higher floors allowed good shots at the weakest armor (the top).<ref name="Chechnya"/> When the Russians began moving in tanks fitted with [[Reactive armor|explosive reactive armor]] (ERA), the Chechens had to adapt their tactics, because the RPGs they had access to were unlikely to result in the destruction of the tank.

Using RPGs as improvised anti-aircraft batteries has proved successful in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Chechnya. [[Helicopter]]s are typically ambushed as they land, take off or hover. In [[Afghanistan]], the [[Mujahideen]] often modified RPGs for use against Soviet helicopters by adding a curved pipe to the rear of the launcher tube, which diverted the backblast, allowing the RPG to be fired upward at aircraft from a prone position. This made the operator less visible prior to firing and decreased the risk of injury from hot exhaust gases. The Mujahideen also utilized the 4.5-second timer on RPG rounds to make the weapon function as part of a [[flak]] battery, using multiple launchers to increase hit probabilities. At the time, Soviet helicopters countered the threat from RPGs at landing zones by first clearing them with anti-personnel [[suppression fire|saturation fire]]. The Soviets also varied the number of accompanying helicopters (two or three) in an effort to upset Afghan force estimations and preparation. In response, the Mujahideen prepared dug-in firing positions with top cover, and again, Soviet forces altered their tactics by using air-dropped [[thermobaric weapon|thermobaric fuel-air bombs]] on such landing zones. As the U.S.-supplied [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger]] [[surface-to-air missile]]s became available to them, the Afghans abandoned RPG attacks as the smart missiles proved especially efficient in the destruction of unarmed Soviet transport helicopters, such as [[Mil Mi-17]]. In [[Somalia]], both of the [[UH-60 Black Hawk]] helicopters lost by U.S. forces during the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]] in 1993 were downed by RPG-7s.