Advantages if Vietnam replaces DKZ-82 recoilless rifle with RPG-29

Currently, the Vietnam People's Army is still using a large number of DKZ-82 (B-10) recoilless rifles produced by the Soviet Union.

B-10 is an 82mm smoothbore recoilless rifle researched and produced by the KBM military instrument design bureau in Kolomna, Soviet Union, officially put into use from 1954 to present, in Vietnam it is called DKZ-82.

The DKZ-82 recoilless rifle is usually mounted on a tripod, and can be fitted with two foldable wheels for easy portability.

The gun is 1.85 m long (barrel 1.66 m long); weighs 85.3 kg with wheels attached or 71.7 kg with tripod only.

A standard DKZ-82 crew consists of four men, whose job is to carry ammunition as well as each disassembled part of the gun.

However, in emergency situations, the gunner can choose the application firing method by shouldering it like a normal anti-tank gun.

Vietnam's DKZ-82 battery

DKZ-82 has elevation angle from -20 to +35 degrees; azimuth angle from 250 to 360 degrees; rate of fire 5 - 7 rounds/minute.

The gun's common ammunition is the KB-881 hollow-point bullet weighing 3.87 kg, with a velocity of 322 m/s; effective range of 400 m thanks to the PBO-2 sight, and penetration of 150 mm of homogeneous steel.

This weapon proved very effective in destroying enemy tanks, armored vehicles, bunkers, firing points or military structures.

However, the gun has now become obsolete because of two main disadvantages: it is very heavy and has low penetration power.

Faced with the above situation, Vietnam is replacing the B-10 with the more modern SPG-9 with advantages such as light weight (only 59.9 kg) so the battery only needs 2 people; effective range increased to 800 m, penetrating 400 mm of homogeneous armor.

Although much better than the B-10, the SPG-9 is still quite heavy and its ability to destroy modern tanks is limited, so Vietnam can consider the next option of replacing the DKZ-82 with both the SPG-9 and RPG-29.

RPG-29 (SCT-29) anti-tank gun and PG-29V ammunition made in Vietnam

Compared to the two weapons above, the RPG-29 has many advantages.

First is the very light weight, only 18.8 kg in ready to launch position.

The second is power, the 105mm PG-29V hollow-piercing bullet can penetrate 750mm of homogeneous armor, combined with the TBG-29V thermobaric bullet is enough to defeat the most solid fortifications.

The effective range of the RPG-29 when equipped with a tripod and electro-optical sight is 800 m, equivalent to the SPG-9 and superior to the B-10.

The muzzle velocity of the PG-29V bullet is up to 280 m/s, although it is inferior to the 435 m/s of the PG-9V but is still significant, it just cannot reach the maximum distance of 6,500 m like the SPG-9 bullet.

The long-range, accurate, fast-firing SPG-9 combined with the powerful RPG-29 will create an extremely formidable pair of battalion-level firepower units.

The option of replacing the DKZ-82 with the RPG-29 to operate alongside the SPG-9, according to experts, could be considered.

According to Baodatviet