PROFILPELAJAR.COM

SPG-9
SPG-9
	A Russian SPG-9M
Type	Recoilless gun; Anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1962–present
Wars	Vietnam War; Iran–Iraq War; Salvadoran Civil War; Lord's Resistance Army insurgency; Gulf War; Lebanese Civil War; Iraq War; Second Sudanese Civil War; Third Sudanese Civil War; Libyan Civil Wars; Northern Mali conflict; Syrian Civil War; War in Iraq (2013-2017); War in Donbas; Yemeni Civil War (2014–present); Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen; 2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes; Russo-Ukraine War; Israel-Hamas War
Specifications
Mass	47.5 kg (105 lb); 59.5 kg (131 lb); with tripod
Length	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)
Width	99 cm (3 ft 3 in); allowing full traverse
Height	80 cm (2 ft 7 in)
Crew	2 (1 gunner, 1 loader)
Caliber	73 mm (2.9 in) smoothbore
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	None
Carriage	Tripod
Elevation	+7°/−3°
Traverse	30° total
Rate of fire	5–6 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	250–435 m/s (820–1,430 ft/s)
Effective firing range	800 m (870 yd)
Maximum firing range	1,200–6,500 m (1,300–7,100 yd)
Feed system	Manually breech-loaded
Sights	PGO-9 optical 4× sight or PGN-9 IR and passive night sight

The SPG-9 Kopyo (Russian: СПГ-9 Копьё, transliterated: Stankovyi Protivotankovyi Granatomet "Kopyo" - Easel Anti-tank Grenade Launcher "Spear") is a tripod-mounted man-portable, 73 millimetre calibre recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union. It fires fin-stabilised, rocket-assisted high explosive (HE) and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge projectiles similar to those fired by the 73 mm 2A28 Grom low pressure gun of the BMP-1 armored vehicle. It was accepted into service in 1962, replacing the B-10 recoilless rifle.

Description

The projectile is launched from the gun by a small charge, which gives it an initial velocity of between 250–400 metres per second (820–1,310 ft/s). The launch charge also imparts spin to the projectile by a series of offset holes. Once the projectile has traveled approximately 20 metres (66 ft) from the launcher, a rocket motor in its base ignites. For the PG-9 projectile, this takes it to a velocity of 700 metres per second (2,300 ft/s) before the motor burns out.

The SPG-9 is heavy, ~60 kilograms (130 lb), and normally transported by vehicle, and carried into position by its two person crew. It can be deployed in about a minute. The weapon is in service with a large number of armed forces, and a variety of ammunition is produced; however, they are mostly copies of the original Soviet PG-9 HEAT and OG-9 fragmentation high explosive (Frag-HE) rounds.

The SPG-9 is widely available to terrorists and maritime pirates such as in the Horn of Africa region, and in other regions to a lesser degree. It is not as popular as the RPG-7 because it must be mounted on a vehicle or boat and cannot be easily carried and shoulder fired. The SPG-9 requires much more skill to fire accurately than 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.

A variant for use with airborne troops including detachable wheels was built as the SPG-9D.

Combat use

The SPG-9 was used by both sides during the Transnistria War.^[7]

In addition to using the SPG-9 as light indirect fire artillery, members of Wagner PMC modified SPG-9 ammunition to be fired from more portable RPG-7 launchers during the Battle of Bakhmut.^[8]

In mid October 2023 Israeli forces, during the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, captured a flyer produced by Hamas about destroying Merkava tanks. The flyer recommended the SPG-9 as an effective way of defeating the Israeli Trophy System designed to intercept incoming RPG or Anti-tank Guided Missiles. The SPG-9 was recommended due "simply by virtue of its projectile’s high speed".^[9]

Projectiles

Round (projectile)	Type	Weight (kg)	Fuze	Length (mm)	Explosive content (kg)	Muzzle velocity (m/s)	Effective range (m)	Maximum range (m)	Armour penetration (mm)	Notes
PG-9 (PG-9V)	HEAT-FS	4.39	VP-9	920	0.322 (hexogen)	435	800	1,300	300	—
PG-9N	HEAT-FS		VP-9	920	0.340 (OKFOL-3.5)^[10]	435	800	1,300	400	—
PG-9VS	HEAT-FS	4.4	?	920	?		1,300	?	400	-
PG-9VNT (PG-9NT)	HEAT-FS	3.2	?	920	?	400	700	1,200	600 or 450 behind ERA	Tandem-charge
OG-9V (OG-9)	FRAG-HE	5.35	GO-2 or O-4M	1062	0.735 (TNT)	316	–	–	n/a	Cast iron casing
OG-9VM (OG-9M)	FRAG-HE	5.35	GO-2 or O-4M	1062	0.655 (TD-50)^[11]	316	–	–	n/a	—
OG-9VM1 (OG-9V)	FRAG-HE	5.35	GO-2 or O-4M	1062	?	316	–	4,500	n/a	—
OG-9BG^[12] (OG-9G)	FRAG-HE	6.9	O-4M	1030	0.750	316	–	7,500	n/a	Bulgarian made
OG-9BG1 (OG-9G1)	FRAG-HE	5.48	O-4M	1024	0.750	250	–	4,200	n/a	Bulgarian made