Type 69 RPG

The Type 69 85mm RPG (), made by Norinco, is a Chinese variant of the Soviet RPG-7. First introduced in 1972, the Type 69 is a common individual anti-tank weapon in service with the PLA. More advanced grenade rounds were developed in the 1980s and 1990s to meet the requirements of modern battlefields. Eventually, the aging Type 69 RPG family was replaced by more modern anti-tank weapon systems developed by China such as the Type 89 and Type 08.

Origin

History

China first obtained the RPG-2 85mm anti-tank RPG in the early 1950s, and began to build domestic copies in 1956 under the designation Type 56. However, the rapid development of the new generation main battle tanks (MBTs) in the early 1960s posed new threats to the PLA, which was later proven in the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict. Because the Type 56 was unable to penetrate the armour of the new generation Soviet tanks such as the T-62, the PLA desperately needed a new individual anti-tank weapon to replace the aging Type 56.

Reverse-engineering of the RPG-7 began in the early 1960s, and demonstrations were made to senior PLA officials in 1964. The Chinese copy of the RPG-7, designated Type 69, received its design certificate in 1970. The weapon entered service with the PLA in the mid-1970s, and took part in the 1979 Sino-Vietnam border conflict to provide platoon-level anti-personnel and anti-obstacle fire support. Its performance was highly praised by the troops.

As well as being equipped by the PLA, the Type 69 has also been exported in significant numbers to many foreign customers, including the Mujahideen in Afghanistan under the covert co-operations between China and the CIA in the 1980s against the Soviet Union.

Status

The production of the Type 69 RPG stopped in the mid-1980s when an advanced version, Type 69-I was introduced by Norinco. As the weapon became less effective in modern land battlefield, the Type 69 RPG is being gradually replaced by the PF-89 80mm anti-tank grenade launcher.

Ammunition

Although the design of the grenade launcher has not changed significantly since it was introduced in the 1970s, many new types of grenade rounds have been developed over the years to provide enhanced capabilities, including:

Type 69 high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT): basic grenade introduced in the PLA during the 1970s with the Type 69. Phased out of PLA service.

Type 69-I hollow charge high-explosive anti-tank: standard HEAT grenade developed for the PLA in the 1980s. The hollow warhead was created with improved armour-piercing capabilities.

Type 69-II HEAT: the same as the Type 69-I HEAT grenade, except that it is improved to defeat modern armoured vehicles that are equipped with anti-tank missile plating.

Type 69-III HEAT: the same as the Type 69-II, increased range and further improved armour-piercing abilities.

Type 84 HEAT: made in the 1980s as a lighter warhead with the ability to be fired from long range with claims that the rocket is not affected by side winds. Usable with both Type 69 and 69-I rocket launchers.

Type 69 75mm airburst anti-personnel high-explosive (HE): created for anti-personnel purposes. This is mostly meant to combat against entrenched forces since the rocket, after gaining impact on the ground, bounces to a height of around 2m then airbursts over the target area, scattering about 800 anti-personnel steel balls over a lethal radius of 15m.

HE/HEAT: used for anti-armour and anti-personnel combat. Even though it has 1,500 prefabricated fragments which scatter over a 20m radius on detonation, the rocket retains its anti-tank capabilities.

Anti-personnel high-explosive incendiary (HEI): created for use in certain environments such as jungles and mountains, it has 900 steel balls and 2,000 to 3,000 incendiary pellets that scatter over a 15m radius on detonation.

Tandem-warhead anti-tank grenade: thought to have been used in the 1990s, it is meant to penetrate vehicles with explosive reactive armor. Even though it can not defeat most modern vehicles, lighter vehicles such as APCs and AFVs can be destroyed with this rocket.

Illumination grenade: equipped with a small parachute to suspend it in mid air while being used, its effective range is 600m with the braking ring and 1,500m without it.

Operators

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* : Type 69s were used by the Chilean army in 1978, not in current use.
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** People's Liberation Army Ground Force
** People's Armed Police
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:* Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
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**Tigray Defense Forces
**Oromo Liberation Army
* : Type 69s are old stocks remaining, not in current use
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** Lebanese Communist Party/ Popular Guard
* Libyan National Army
* : Armed Forces of Malta
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* : supplied to FRELIMO during the Independence War
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** People's Defense Force
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* Ogaden National Liberation Front
* : used by the Pakistan Army and Paramilitary forces.
* : 60 Type 69s provided as of October 2019.
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* : Used by Rwandan peacekeepers in Darfur.
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** Hizbul Islam
* : South Sudan Democratic Movement
* : Spetsnaz were equipped with captured Type 69s in Afghanistan
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* : used in small numbers by Thahan Phran
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* : Reportedly used by Ukrainian troops since 2023.
* : Used by the NVA and Viet Cong
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See also

* Yasin - RPG developed by Hamas.
* Bazalt – Russian manufacturer of the RPG-7 & RPG-29.
* PSRL-1
* PF-89 and DZJ-08 next generation man-portable rocket launcher and recoilless gun developed by China, succeeding Type 69.

Notes

References

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External links

Sino Defence's Type 69
{{Russian RPG series

Cold War weapons of China
China–Soviet Union relations
Rocket-propelled grenade launchers of the People's Republic of China
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s
Norinco