Despite their differences, the MATADOR and RPG-7 used by Vietnam are considered a pair of anti-tank weapons capable of engaging most targets.
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| The MATADOR anti-tank gun is one of many new, modern weapons that have been equipped to the Marine Corps of the Vietnam Navy. Along with the MATADOR gun, the RPG-7 forms a pair of extremely powerful anti-tank weapons in the Vietnamese Army. |
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| If we evaluate these two weapons based on some basic criteria, we can see that each has its own advantages and limitations. First of all, regarding MATADOR, it is neither a missile nor a true anti-tank weapon. |
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| The MATADOR's armor-piercing capability is not very strong, so the gun can only counter light armor with thin armor plating (suitable for attacking naval armored forces). The main function of the MATADOR is to breach walls, destroy bunkers and enemy firing positions. |
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| However, the unique feature of the MATADOR is its ability to switch between HEAT and HESH modes with a single projectile. HEAT is a shaped charge designed to penetrate steel, where the explosive is encased in a thin, heavy, funnel-shaped energy collector. |
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| When detonated, a funnel-shaped projectile concentrates energy into a small point for deep penetration, while HESH, conversely, is a non-concentrating projectile made of thin steel casing containing plastic explosive, with a fuse positioned at the rear to allow the explosive to flatten before detonation. This allows the energy to be distributed to create a wide hole in a thin wall. |
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| HEAT penetrates thick armor but creates small, slow-moving holes, while HESH creates large, fast holes but cannot penetrate thick armor. These two detonation methods are chosen based on the need for a contact-based explosive charge. The MATADOR projectile has a long shaft with a plastic explosive charge at the rear; when the shaft tip hits the wall, the plastic explosive charge is released in a ring, cutting the wall in an annular shape. MATADOR can cut through walls 75cm to 100cm thick. |
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| Meanwhile, with the RPG-7, to address different targets, this weapon, familiar to the Vietnamese army, does not use a mode-switching ammunition system but instead uses specialized ammunition, yet still ensures that all requirements are met, and even provides superior capabilities. |
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| For anti-tank missions, the RPG-7, using the single-stage PG-7VL round, can penetrate 330mm of anti-tank guided armor (RAA), and with the dual-stage PG-7VR anti-ERA round, its penetration power reaches 750mm of RAA. With a good angle of impact, the RPG-7 is capable of destroying even a modern main battle tank. |
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| For anti-bunker and fortification missions, the RPG-7 is equipped with the TBG-7 thermobaric round, which has destructive power equivalent to a 120 mm artillery shell. Although the TBG-7 round is not accurate enough to penetrate loopholes like the MATADOR, is this really necessary when the TBG-7 is powerful enough to completely destroy the bunker? |
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| The real advantage of the MATADOR over the RPG is its longer range and greater accuracy. The MATADOR uses a lightweight warhead with a high muzzle velocity of up to 250 m/s and an effective range of 500 m, allowing the shooter to fire from a safe distance. The RPG-7, despite its greater destructive power, only has an effective range of 300 m and a muzzle velocity of 144 m/s with single-stage shaped charge rounds, thermobaric anti-bunker rounds, or fragmentation rounds for anti-personnel purposes. |
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| With the PG-7VR two-stage projectile, increasing its destructive power comes at the cost of several compromises, such as a muzzle velocity reduced to below 100 m/s, comparable to the B-40 due to the projectile's weight, and an effective range of only 100 m, a dangerously short distance in modern warfare. Despite these drawbacks, the MATADOR is still considered one of the most powerful anti-tank weapons in the world today compared to the RPG-7. |
According to Baodatviet
