RPG由火箭助推反戰車高爆彈（也可改換反人員用空爆燃燒彈或普通破片榴彈）和可重複再裝彈的帶握把筒狀發射管組成（部分型號的RPG採用「用後即拋」的一次性發射管，不能重複裝彈），特點是輕便、造價低廉、操作簡單而火力強大，人稱其為「步兵大砲」或「迷你大砲」。從阿富汗到索馬利亞，由車臣到安哥拉，RPG和AK-47同列為20世紀步兵武器之王，以可靠性、結構簡單、堅實耐用、使用靈活方便、價格便宜等優點，許多第三世界國家甚至西方國家的軍隊，或者，反政府武裝部隊、步兵及游擊隊都廣泛使用RPG。在RPG產品系列中，當數RPG-7在世界的衝突地區出現最為頻繁。
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 affixed to a rocket motor which propels the RPG towards the target and they are stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable with new rocket-propelled grenades, while others are single-use. RPGs are generally loaded from the front.
PGs with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads are very effective against lightly armored vehicles such as armored personnel carriers (APCs) and armored cars. However, modern, heavily-armored vehicles, such as upgraded APCs and main battle tanks, are generally too well-protected (with thick composite or reactive armor) to be penetrated by an RPG, unless less armored sections of the vehicle are exploited. Various warheads are also capable of causing secondary damage to vulnerable systems (especially sights, tracks, rear and roof of turrets) and other unarmored targets.
The term "rocket-propelled grenade" is a backronym from the Russian acronym РПГ (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot), meaning "handheld anti-tank grenade launcher", the name given to early Russian designs.
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