SPG-9 Recoilless Gun
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SPG-9 Recoilless Gun |
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| Weapon: | SPG-9 |
| Country of Origin: | Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt |
| Original Designed Use: | Anti-armor, bunker buster, anti-personnel |
| Terrorist Use: | Anti-armor, anti-vehicle, anti-ship, building and bunker buster, anti-personnel |
| Max Effective Range: | 1000 meters (HEAT) |
| Rate of Fire: | 3-6 rounds per minute |
| Penetration Power: | 400mm armor, 2.0 meter brick wall (HEAT) |
| Launcher Bore Size: | 73mm (smoothbore-no rifling) |
| Launcher Length: | 2.11 meters |
| Launcher Weight: | 47.5 kg |
| Launcher Materials: | Steel w/ plastic heat shield |
| Projectile Length: | 1000mm (HEAT) |
| Projectile Weight: | 3.5 kg (complete with booster charge) |
| Sighting System: | 4x power optical scope (primary), Iron sights (secondary) |
| Crew: | 3 by doctrine; 2 in most terrorist applications |
The SPG-9 is a breech loaded smoothbore recoilless rocket launcher that fires an unguided rocket. The projectile is fin stabilized and travels at a very high rate of speed; 435 meters per second (fours times that of the RPG-7 rocket) which lends itself to remarkable accuracy and hitting power.
The SPG-9 is widely available to terrorists and maritime pirates 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 to skill to fire accurately in comparison to 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.
The SPG-9 is a significant weapon due to its excellent accuracy and destructive power out to 1000 meters. There are no known reports of these being fired upon ships. However it should be noted that the SPG-9 has a similar firing signature to that of the RPG-7 and only a trained observer could differentiate the two from a distance where the actual launcher was not observed. Victims and investigators should not blindly assume that any rocket propelled projectile fired at a ship came from an RPG-7. The 1000 meter range of the SPG-9 makes it a threat to rescue forces attempting to board anchored "hostage" ships where the anchorage is within 1000 meters from shore.
