Russo-Ukrainian War: The PG-7VT Tandem-Charge HEAT Grenade

Source: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

     A previous posting discussed the ubiquitous RPG-7 to include how it works and one of the numerous rockets that it can use, the 70mm PUI-7 practice rocket. To view that post, point your browser here:

https://photosofmilitaryhistory.blogspot.com/2025/07/russo-ukrainian-war-rpg-7.html

     The rocket shown here, in the hands of a soldier of the 43rd. Mechanized Brigade, is the most lethal to any tank on the battlefields of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The Bulgarian produced 93mm PG-7VT is a very long rocket as clearly evidenced here, having a total length of 3.7 feet long with a weight of 7 pounds. The cause of the rocket's length it what gives it its lethality: a tandem-charge warhead.

     At the very front of the rocket is a smaller, 40mm HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead. Within this small warhead is a OKFOL explosive shaped charge with a piezoelectric crystal equipped VP-22 fuze. This type of fuze is often used with HEAT munitions due to its robustness and simplicity. When the warhead strikes the target, the crystal undergoes mechanical stress which in turn causes crystal deformity which then releases an electric charge. This discharge then triggers the detonator on the explosive charge.

     In the case of the PG-7VT, the small warhead will strike explosive reactive armor (ERA) which is commonly found on Soviet-era and Russian tanks. Examples include Kontakt-1, Kontakt-5, and Relikt. All three types of ERA can be seen on Russian and Ukrainian tanks and in the case of Western tanks being utilized by the Ukrainian Army, many have been fitted with Kontakt-1 (the most common) and Kontakt-5 blocks. Upon hitting a ERA block, the warhead's impact will cause the explosive within the block to detonate, creating a blast traveling outwards, away from the tank. With HEAT munitions, the outward pressure wave of the block's detonation deforms the plasma jet formed by the shaped charge to the point that the tank's armor itself will not be penetrated by the warhead.

     Except, in the case of the PG-7VT, there is a 93mm HEAT warhead coming right behind the small one. With the ERA cleared away by the first charge, the larger OKFOL filled warhead can detonate against the tank's actual armor. The second charge also uses the same fuze type as the first but adds IIF (Impact, Inertia, Fired). IIF combines impact and inertial resistance to trigger the warhead and this feature is a safety measure from accidental detonation. Capable of penetrating a minimum of 500mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA), the PG-7VT can defeat just about every tank it would meet on the Russo-Ukrainian War's combat zones. About the only tanks that could survive, from a frontal hit, is the M1A1 Abrams and FV4034 Challenger II which the Ukrainian Army fields. The Russian Army's latest tank, the T-14 Armata, is also capable of shrugging off the PG-7VT but to date, not a single T-14 has ever been deployed to Ukraine. If the PG-7VT is fired at a tank without ERA or hits a location not protected by ERA, the penetration is no less than 500mm of RHA.

     It should be noted that this tank killing capability comes at a cost. The maximum effective range of the PG-7VT is a minuscule 300 meters with the optimal range being no more than 220 meters. In open terrain (which a good bit of Ukraine's battlefields are), effecting a hit against enemy armor means getting suicidally close. If firing from a trench in the defense, it means letting enemy armor get uncomfortably close. However, if the combat is in built up urban areas (such as in villages, towns, or small cities), the opportunity to get close enough to enemy tanks without being spotted are far higher and effecting escape after firing (as the backblast will betray the firer's location) is also higher. This is one reason tank troops do not like entering urban areas without infantry support.

     The PG-7VT can also be used against targets other than tanks. If firing at a building composed of bricks or construction masonry, the rocket can drill through around 65 inches of block. If used against reinforced concrete, penetration drops to 49 inches. If used against improvised trench works consisting of logs, sandbags, and dirt fortifications, the PG-7VT can make short work of such defenses with a penetration of 10 feet.

Russo-Ukrainian War: The ATGL-L RPG

Source: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

     Bulgaria, as part of their military aid packages to Ukraine, had sent a undisclosed number of ATGL-L RPGs (Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher – Light Rocket Propelled Grenade) in November 2022. The ATGL-L is the Bulgarian version of the Soviet RPG-7 and it is produced by JSC Arsenal AD. The ATGL-L is offered in a number of variants but this soldier of the 154th. Mechanized Brigade is using the original ATGL-L as identified by the marking on the trigger grip. The photograph was taken in January 2025 (though the image has been censored to prevent geolocation).

     The ATGL-L is slightly lighter than the RPG-7, having a weight (with PGO-7V sight) of 14 pounds compared to the 15 pounds of a RPG-7 with the same sight. The ATGL-L, in addition to the PGO-7V sight, can utilize the MGO-7V optical sight or a red dot reflex sight. Here, the firer is using the standard iron post front sight with the graduated rear sight. By using the iron sights, the effective range is approximately 200 meters and this is the maximum graduation on the rear sight. Hence, when able, sights are fitted. With the PGO-7V sight, the effective range increases to 500 meters.

     A 40mm caliber weapon, the ATGL-L fires a oversize 73mm grenade. From appearances, the grenade in the photograph is a RHEAT-7MA2. This has an effective range of 300 meters which is slightly less than the similar 85mm PG-7V grenade's 330 meter effective range when fired from the RPG-7. The RHEAT-7MA2 can penetrate 300mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) in comparison to the 260mm penetration of the PG-7V.

     The RHEAT-7MA2 grenade uses a CP-71 booster charge and it is this which launches the grenade out of the ATGL-L's tube. At about 10 meters from the firer and after the stabilizing fins have extended, the grenade's SM-73 sustainer motor is triggered and it is this which propels the grenade towards the target. The RHEAT-7MA2 uses a piezoelectric AF78 fuze. While the ATGL-L can be completely operated by one man, usually there are two men with the second man carrying additional grenades. Thus, with a trained team, a rate of fire of 4 to 6 grenades is possible.

    As a note, it is known that the Bulgarian RTB-7MA thermobaric grenade (also made by JSC Arsenal AD) is in use by Ukrainian forces, typically fired from the ATGL-L but the grenade is compatible with any RPG-7 or RPG-7 clone.

     The gas mask appears to be an Israeli M-15 which some 1,000 of which were donated to Ukraine by Israel in the summer of 2022. Censors have obscured the label on the filter so it isn't possible to see the type and/or manufacturer.

Russo-Ukrainian War: The VMZ Bullspike-AT RPG

Photograph via the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

     A soldier of the 67th. Mechanized Brigade on the training range with a Bullspike-AT anti-tank rocket launcher. Designed and built by the Bulgarian company Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi (VMZ), the country of Bulgaria provided a unknown number of Bullspike-AT weapons in the summer of 2022.

     The Bullspike is a modernization of the Soviet RPG-22 Netto (which entered service in 1985) with VMZ making some slight improvements. The Bullspike launches the 72.5mm PG-22 rocket propelled anti-tank grenade but whereas the original RPG-22 grenade has a maximum range of 250 meters, the Bullspike can attain 500 meters. Still, the effective range is much the same as the RPG-22, being between 150 to 200 meters. Penetration is also the same as the RPG-22 with a maximum armor penetration of 400mm. Another VMZ upgrade is the pop-up sight which is graduated out to 350 meters. By comparison, the RPG-22 is graduated only to 250 meters. The Bullspike is heavier than the RPG-22, being 7.7 pounds while the RPG-22 is 6.2 pounds. Finally, the deployment time for the Bullspike is between 8 to 10 seconds which is about the same time for the RPG-22.

     As a side note, there are two additional variants of the Bullspike. The first is the Bullspike-TB which fires the TB-22M thermobaric grenade and the second is the Bullspike-AP which uses the OG-22M fragmentation grenade. In all cases, the launch tube is the same but what type of grenade is within is designated by a stencil on the rear of the tube. For the Bullspike-AT, it is a black stencil of “AT”, for the Bullspike-TB, it is a red stencil of “TB”, and for the Bullspike-AP, it is a white stencil of “AP”.

     Of interest, the soldier is wearing a current issue Bundeswehr “Flecktarn” camouflage jacket. Germany, as part of its military aid to Ukraine, has provided thousands of German Flecktarn uniforms, jackets, and cold weather uniforms. As such, it is not too unusual to find Bundeswehr uniform items being worn by Ukrainian troops.