The RPG-16 is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher for anti-tank warfare. The RPG-16 was developed in 1968, and adopted by the Red Army in 1970 for special operations teams and the Soviet airborne troops. These were deployed during the Soviet-Afghan war in 1970-1989 and saw service in several battles in that theatre.
The RPG-16 has a 58mm barrel with a HEAT warhead and has a smoothbore recoilless launch using a rocket booster. Its overall length is 1,104mm when ready to fire.It is 645mm long when taken apart for carry or airdrop.Its weight is 9.4 kg when unloaded, when it has an optical sight the RPG-16 weighs 12.4 kg (when loaded and ready to fire). The range is up to 800m and armor penetration is 300mm of rolled homogeneous armor. The RPG-16 is triggered to launch by an electric current activated by a trigger on the pistol grip.Once fired, the rocket booster engages as soon as the warhead is safely away from the operator.
Compared to its main counterpart, the RPG-7, the RPG-16 has a smaller caliber warhead and a more powerful rocket booster, which made the RPG-16 more accurate over longer ranges. Unlike the RPG-7, the warhead does not stick out of the launcher since it has exactly the same diameter as the tube and fits entirely inside the tube.The smaller warhead does however sacrifice firepower when compared to the PG-7VL round used in the RPG-7.
In Soviet service, the launcher was issued to special operations teams in pairs. One man, the grenadier, carried the launcher and two PG-16 HEAT warheads. Another man, the assistant, carried three more warheads.