RPG-76 Komar ( eng. ''

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

'') is a disposable one-shot anti-tank

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...

that fires an unguided

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

. The weapon was designed as a smaller and lighter alternative to the

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...

, especially for use by airborne troops. Thanks to jet nozzles located between the warhead and the fuel compartment, it can be fired from inside of a building or a vehicle.

Design phase

In 1971 in the Polish Military Institute of Defense Technology a program codenamed “Argon” was begun. The goal of the project was to develop an anti-tank grenade launcher with a single use launch tube, which could supplement the

launcher. Two versions were considered: a

recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

and a

launcher. The rocket variant was chosen because earlier experience gained during the development of the rocket assisted PGN-60

rifle grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used du ...

used by the Carbine-grenade launcher

Kbkg wz. 1960 The Karabinek-granatnik wzór 1960 (), also designated PMK-DGN-60Katz, Russel, and Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon'' (1985), p. 44, Plate G1. or PMK-60,Rottman and Volstad, ''Warsaw Pact Ground Forces'' (1987), p. 53, Plate E1. is a Polish-made vers ...

. At this stage apart from the team of Polish scientists (Z.Zborowski, K.Kowalewski, T.Witczak, Z.Kapustka, A. Perełkowicz, K. Laskowski, Z.Kupidura), a team of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n scientists from the Military Institute of Research and Development in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

was also involved. The task of the Bulgarian scientists was to develop the rocket engine and the launcher. The presentation of the first prototype took place in 1973 on the III Central Military Invention and Rationalization Exhibition, the weapon was then designated as “HEAT grenade with single use launch tube RPG-73”. In 1980 a series of prototype launchers was produced. In the following years cooperation with Bulgarians has broken down, and the launcher was continued to be developed as a Polish only project.

Operational history

The weapon was adopted by the Polish Army in 1985 as the "RPG-76 Komar". With the warhead incapable of penetrating the front armor of modern western tanks it became an auxiliary weapon, not replacing standard issue

grenade launchers in infantry squads. It was produced in the Precision works in Niewiadów, Poland. Around 100,000 were manufactured between 1983 and 1995. In late 1990s it was withdrawn from front line units and store due to limited anti-tank capabilities and increased safety demands (a lack of self-destructor). Polish deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan changed this policy, and the weapon was deployed to troops, using the Komar in Iraq and in Afghanistan.Komar in use
/ref> Polish soldiers also used a small number of heavier multipurpose

Carl Gustav recoilless rifle The Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle (, named after ''Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori'' which initially produced it) is a Swedish developed caliber man-portable shoulder-fired recoilless rifle, initially developed by the Royal Swedish ...

s using a variety of modern ammunition types. The weapon is shipped in wooden crates, each launcher is sealed in an airtight plastic sheet and 6 launchers are placed in each crate. Komar is an effective anti-personnel weapon, against light armored vehicles and firing posts. In March 2022, Poland started to deliver surplus RPG-76 to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

as a response to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

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References

{{Russian RPG series Rocket-propelled grenade launchers Anti-tank rockets Weapons of Poland Military equipment introduced in the 1980s