Philippines receives shipment of Russian RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launchers

An RPG-7V2 rocket propelled grenade launcher. Photo c/o Techapeek.

The Philippine Army (PA) recently received a shipment of several hundreds of RPG-7V2 rocket propelled grenade launchers and associated ammunition and accessories from Russia.

This was disclosed by Filipino defense page MaxDefense Philippines. No date was provided on the shipment arrival although MaxDefense mentioned that it arrived within July 2019.

Based on previous reports, the PA requires at least 744 rocket propelled grenade launchers under its Rocket Launcher Light (Phase 2) project to augment their current inventory, as they continue to replace the aging M67 90mm recoilless rifle used as heavy weapons by infantry units.

Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported on 2017 that Russia’s Rosoboronexport signed a contract with the Philippines’ Department of National Defense (DND) worth Php408 million (US$8 million) to supply RPG-7 rocket propelled launchers and ammunition to the PA. The RPGs are expected to be from Russian arms manufacturer Bazalt.

The PA currently operates a Bulgarian variant of the RPG-7 called the ATGL-L from Arsenal JS Co. acquired under the Rocket Launcher Light (Phase 1) project, as well as small numbers of Chinese-made Type 69 RPGs from NORINCO donated by the Chinese government.

These were used during the Battle of Marawi in 2017 against ISIS-inspired terrorists, satisfying the PA's need while complementing the M67 recoilless rifles.


[1] MaxDefense Philippines
[2] TASS Russian News Agency
[3] MaxDefense Philippines