Russian-made RPG-7V2 rocket propelled grenade launchers for delivery to PA soon

The Philippine Army (PA) is expected to receive the first shipment of Russian-made RPG-7V2 rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launchers in the next few days. These RPGs were delivered to the PA by Russia's defense export agency Rosoboronexport under a contract signed between the Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) in late 2017.

This is despite the both the Philippine and Russian sides having problems on how to proceed with payments due to the US government's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) issues.

MaxDefense received this news last week, but needed to check on the matter since there are issues surrounding the deal. Knowing what's happening allows us to provide better information that just reporting its arrival.

The RPG-7V2 handheld rocket propelled grenade launcher on display in an arms expo. Photo taken from the collection of Vitaly V. Kuzmin.

Overview:

The Philippine Army requested for the delivery of 744 units of Rocket Propelled Grenades under its Rocket Launcher Light (Phase 2) Acquisition Project as part of the Horizon 1 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program (RAFPMP).

This is to replace the remaining M67 90mm recoilless rifles (RR) still being used, while improving the overall firepower of infantry units by having them distributed to smaller units that did not have access to RRs before.

An M67 90mm recoilless rifle used by the Philippine Army against terrorists groups in 2018. Photo taken from Inquirer.net's report on a clash between the PA and BIFF terrorists in Maguindanao.

The initial batch bought under Phase 1 of the project was acquired through US Foreign Military Sales (US FMS) program, delivering 250 units of ATGL-L rocket propelled grenades made by Bulgaria's Arsenal JSCo. The ATGL-L RPGs started arriving in late 2016 and have all been delivered by 2017, with some of the units used by the Philippine Army against Maute Group ISIS-inspired terrorists in the Battle of Marawi in 2017.

Further discussion on the Phase 1 of the project can be found on our earlier blog entry on the topic, which can be accessed through the link provided below:

"Philippine Army Receives Complete Shipment of ATGL-L RPGs, Immediately Puts into Service" - first posted on 16 July 2017

The ATGL-L rocket propelled grenade launcher from Bulgaria's Arsenal JSCo. Photo taken from Arsenal JSCo.'s website.

For the second batch, the Department of National Defense decided to go for a Government-to-Government (G2G) procurement instead of tendering it. MaxDefense reported in the past the several proponents were interested in supplying these RPGs to the Philippine Army, including Arsenal JSCo. of Bulgaria, and several other arms manfuacturers from Europe.

As a G2G project, the DND decided to go with the offer from the Russian government, which promised to supply the required units plus unspecified number and type of RPG ammunition. A report by Russian state media agency TASS confirmed that a contract was signed between the Philippines and Russia by late 2017, with deliveries expected to commence by 2018.

A Philippine Army officer demonstrate the use the ATGL-L (RPG-7) rocket propelled grenade launcher during a training exercise. Photo c/o 33rd Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army.

Delays and Issues on CAATSA:

But despite the quick movement from decision making to project awarding to contract signing, the project was stalled on the Opening of Letter of Credit (LOC), which is a requirement to support payment transactions. 

The Letter of Credit is a document from a bank or financial institution which guarantees a buyer's payment to the seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. This gives Rosoboronexport guarantee that the DND or the Philippine government will pay for the products it ordered, in this case, the RPGs.

But due to CAATSA issues, no financial institution or bank based in the Philippines, or even from Russia are willing to transact the deal, which also includes guaranteeing for the payments. These banks and financial institutions fear that the US government may impose sanctions on them, which could be disastrous in a business' point of view.

Since the deal cannot move forward until this issue is settled, the project was stuck and the delivery scheduled was delayed. Considering the contract was for Rosoboronexport to deliver the RPGs by 2018, none arrived up until July 2019.

Different Russian ammunition types for the RPG-7, some of which may be among those included in the delivery for the Philippine Army. Photo taken from IPFS.

Russia's Determination:

With the delays, there are some groups who are already pushing for the cancellation of the contract with Russia as the Philippine Army ends up receiving nothing. And this was taken seriously by the Russian side.

MaxDefense sources confirmed that Russia pressed-on with the production and delivery of the RPGs despite the Philippines not releasing payments for them. This is to make sure that the project proceeds and the Philippine side would not back out of the deal.

And since the amount is not significant (project cost is said to be Php408 million), it appears that Russia has agreed to settle the payment issues later on as both sides continue to find ways. Sources mentioned that both parties are looking at having payments made in Euros or another currency instead of the US dollar, and this would allow a 3rd party financial institution to assist in the payments.

The same is being eyed in case the Philippines pushes through with larger defense acquisitions from Russia including the planned acquisition of 16 to 17 units of Russian Helicopters Mil Mi-171Sh medium lift helicopters for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

Using other means to pay for the goods acquired from Russia are eyed by both Russian and Philippine governments to go around CAATSA issues. This is the same route being made by several countries including India, and may allow the Philippines to fulfil its plans to purchase Russian helicopters like the Mi-171Sh.

Issues of Overpricing:

In a previous post MaxDefense made in our social media page, we mentioned that it appears that the RPG-7V2s being purchased by Russia seems overpriced.

This is based on the contract price for the Bulgarian-made ATGL-L RPGs bought under the Rocket Launcher Light Phase 1 Acquisition Project wherein 250 launchers and 3,272 rounds of assorted RPG ammunition.
Below photo taken from an DND RAFPMP Status Report used during a Senior Leaders Meeting last year shows that the RPG-7s acquired by DND from Bulgaria's Arsenal JS Co. numbered 250 launchers and 3,272 rounds of assorted HE and HEAT ammunition with a total worth of Php81,726,230.00. 

In simplistic calculation, 

* There are 13 rounds of ammunition for every 1 launcher. This can be made by 3,272 rounds / 250 launchers = 13 rounds. The DND paid Php326,905 for each launcher and 13 rounds. These are the same RPGs used by the Philippine Army during the Marawi campaign.

* For the ammunition price, we'll take this from PhilGEPS website which posted a bidding for RPG rounds acquisition for the Philippine Army. Based on the bidding for RPG ammo, the cost of High Explosive (HE) RPG round may cost around Php249,000,000 for 31,150 rounds, or an average of Php8,000 each. For for 13 units of HE rounds, it will cost around Php104,000.

* If the cost of the Bulgarian ATGL-Ls with 13 rounds ammunition averages at Php326,905, it means the launcher's average price is approximately Php222,905 each. This is within the quoted price provided by suppliers to MaxDefense earlier, which is between Php189,000 to Php240,000 each depending on the supplier. Not bad actually.

* Based on the contract price between the DND and Rosoboronexport, the value is worth Php408,000,000.00 for 744 launchers and unspecified number of ammunition rounds, or an average of Php548,387 for each Russian RPG-7 plus unspecified rounds of ammunition.

It now remains to be seen if how much ammunition and what type were provided by the Russians as part of the deal. Initial information MaxDefense received from sources is that there isn't much ammunition included since the Philippine Army already acquired several thousands of rounds of different types, including high explosive anti-tank (HEAT), anti-personnel rounds, and thermobaric (bunker buster) high pressure rounds.

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MaxDefense will try to provide the latest news on the arrival of these RPGs from Russia, which we will be making on our community page @ Facebook. Further updates will also be made on our resource page, which MaxDefense will be posting on our AFP & PCG Modernization resource portal soon.


Project Summary:

Rocket Laucher Light (Phase 2) Acquisition Project:

Note: Edited as of 14 July 2019.

* End User: Philippine Army (multiple units)
* Quantity: 744 units total plus unspecified quantity of ammunition
* Modernization Phase: Horizon 1 Phase Priority Projects of RAFPMP
* Project ABC: Php408,000,000.00
* Acquisition Mode: Government-to-Government (G2G) Procurement
* Source of Funding: GAA Funds through AFP Modernization Program Trust Fund
* SARO Release: SARO-BMB-D-18-0013668 dated 13 June 2018
* Winning Proponent: Rosoboronexport (Russia)
* Product for Delivery: 
    - RPG-7V2 rocket propelled grenade launcher
    - Unspecified number and type of RPG ammunition
* Contract Price: Php408,000,000.00
* First post by MaxDefense: 05 November 2016
* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PARLLPhase2Acquisition
* Status: Awaiting delivery from Russia's Rosoboronexport. Reported to MaxDefense as arriving by July 2019.

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First edit and release: 14 July 2019
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines

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Philippine Army Receives Complete Shipment of ATGL-L RPGs, Immediately Puts into Service

For this past 2 weeks alone, there were several sightings in social media and news video reports confirming the presence of what appear to be RPG-7 launchers used by members of the Philippine Army. The rocket launchers are actually one of the expected acquisitions that has been ongoing for several years now, and were hoped to at least make some headway by now.

MaxDefense previously discussed the acquisition of RPG-7 in its older blog, with the link below:

"RPG-7(USA) FOR THE PHILIPPINE ARMY? NOT ANYMORE" - first posted January 15, 2014

After 2 weeks of silence, MaxDefense can at last confirm these capabilities now officially present with the Philippine Army. Not surprisingly, these RPGs are immediately put into use in the military operations in Marawi City in the hands of the Philippine Army's elite Scout Rangers. MaxDefense is still verifying if there are other units who already received the RPGs aside from the Rangers.

Arsenal's ATGL-L2, which MaxDefense believes is the variant the Philippine Army acquired.
Photo taken from Bulcomersks.com.

Acquisition of the RPG-7 for the Philippine Army:

The RPG-7 acquisition has been discussed previously by MaxDefense in  older blog entries, and has been in process for many years. Officially called the Rocket Launcher Light (RLL) acquisition project, it is funded under the original 1995 AFP Modernization Program covered by RA 7898, and has been in the planning process since the time of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Originally with an Approved Budget of Contract (ABC) at Php 94.98 million, the project intended to acquire 355 RPG-7s and 4,813 rounds of assorted ammunition, and was supposed to be a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) project. Eventually the approved contract amount was set at Php 81.73 million. The RPG launchers were supposed to be supplied by US arms manufacturer AirTronic USA with their RPG-7(USA) variant, until the said company failed to make sure it can supply the weapons as it faced bankruptcy issues in the US.

The Philippine Army was supposed to get the RPG-7(USA) variant from AirTronic USA but this was cancelled due to AirTronic's incapacity to deliver. This is now called the Precision Shoulder-Fire Rocket Launcher in AirTronic's product information sheets and website.
Credits to owner of photo.

Due to the delays in the project, price adjustments caught up with the project and the quantities were adjusted to 335 RPG-7 launchers and 3,272 rounds of ammunition for the same amount of Php 81.73 million.

Changes were made on the supplier in 2016, with JUSMAG sourcing it now to a US-accredited supplier from Bulgaria, which was also the approved supplier for the ammunition even when JUSMAG was still eyeing the launcher supply from AirTronic.

MaxDefense sources later identified this Bulgarian manufacturer as Arsenal JSCo, based in Kazanlak, Bulgaria. The company is represented in the Philippines by Intrade Asia Pacific, which is known to supply Sig Sauer, FN Herstal, and Oerlikon products to the AFP and PNP.

The ATGL-L family of rocket propelled grenade launcher from Bulgarian arms manufacturer Arsenal. Based on their own comparison table, only ATGL-L2 and ATGL-L5 are capable of firing thermobaric rounds, while only ATGL-L2, L4, and L5 can fire Fragmentation rounds.
Photo from forthungary.com.

Further adjustments were made again as further delays strained the project further, and the final number of RPG-7s bound for the Army under this deal was decreased to 250 units.

With Arsenal, they made upgrades on the standard RPG-7 and renamed them as the ATGL-L family of rocket propelled grenade launchers. MaxDefense believes that the variant the Philippine Army got was the ATGL-L2, which can fire HEAT, Fragmentation and Thermobaric rounds. All other variants of the ATGL-L family, except for the ATLG-L2 and L5, appear to not have this capability.

MaxDefense sources confirmed that the RPG rounds were delivered to AFP as early as last year, supplied by Arsenal JSCo, and were stored while waiting for the launchers to arrive. Delivered munitioms include High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) Anti Personnel Fragmentation, and Thermobaric rounds.


MaxDefense sources confirmed lately, and supported by latest updates from the AFP itself, that all 250 ATGL-L RPG launchers was suppose to arrive in the Philippines by July 2017.

But based on other information gathered by MaxDefense, it appears that there are a few units that were delivered by Arsenal through Intrade Asia Pacific for field trials, training and familiarization for operating units. Since only a few were made available, unit that received the launchers were from the Philippine Army Scout Rangers.

Based on feedbacks we receive from MaxDefense community members from the Army, the RPGs werr already used in combat as early as last year against Maute terrorists in Western Mindanao.

While a few arrived earlier, the bulk of the ordered RPG launchers arrived only recently, and some are now used in action in Marawi City against the Maute terrorist group. Footage and photos taken in Marawi City show members of the Scout Rangers using the ATGL-L in action.

As seen in this screengrab, a Philippine Army Scout Ranger is shown using an ATGL-L RPG against targets in Marawi City. This is not the first time it was shown publicly. On July 4, 2017, Scout Ranger Books' Facebook page showed a photo of a squad of resting Scout Rangers with what appears to be a very new RPG-7 launcher was posted.
Photos screen grabbed from GMA News 24 Oras.

MaxDefense has not yet receive any photos of the Philippine Army ATGL-L RPG but will be updating this blog entry once we receive one or more photos.


The RPG-7 and ATGL-L Family in Brief:

The RPG-7 (RPG stands for Rocket Propelled Grenade, or Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot in Russian), is a portable, reusable unguided shoulder launched anti-tank rocket propelled grenade launcher first introduced by the Soviet Union in 1961, and is among the first weapon used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines of Soviet origin. It is very simple to operate and maintain, and is very robust and rugged, with proven combat experience as a weapon by legitimate and illegitimate military organisations for decades now.

Arsenal's development of the RPG-7, the ATGL-L family, is said to be lighter than the standard RPG-7 due to the use of different material. It also allows the installation of a red dot sight, and other optics that may be acquired separately by the end user. It also has an option to install a bipod as shown on the photos above.

The weapon can be armed with different munitions, including single or tandem charge High Exposive Anti Tank (HEAT), Fragmentation anti-personnel, and Thermobaric rounds. So far MaxDefense can confirm the presence of HEAT and Fragmentation rounds, although it is widely known that since the Zamboanga City Siege a few years ago against rogue MNLF elements, the Philippine Army has been wanting to have a Thermobaric round capability, which is helpful in urban combat operations against structures and walls.

Shown here are examples of the different basic variants of ammunition used by the RPG-7 (from top to bottom): the single stage HEAT, tandem stage HEAT, Fragmentation, and Thermobaric
Photos taken from Wikipedia.

Rumors of Earlier Batch of RPGs:

MaxDefense received confirmation from one of its source that the Philippine Army actually already have a limited number of RPG-7s as early as 2012, from an unknown supplier, and were acquired with limited number of ammunition.

As MaxDefense normally takes at least 3 confirmations from reliable sources in the absense of photographic or video evidence, we take this report as a rumor for now.

MaxDefense will continue to search for more information regarding this claim, and see if there really are RPG-7s already with the Philippine Army for the last 5 years.




More RPGs and Munitions:

MaxDefense already received confirmation that among those the Philippine Army wishes to acquire in their Emergency Procurement for 2017 are thousands of RPG rounds in HEAT, Fragmentation, and Thermobaric variants. This initial requirements for Emergency Procurement were already approved for implementation by the Department of Budget Management and will be awarded to suppliers very soon.

Aside from munitions, the Philippine Army has another batch of RPG-7-type launchers that are to be acquired under the Horizon 1 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program covered under RA 10349. Originally this was supposed to be a follow-on order to the first batch, with the project supposed to be another US FMS. Originally it was supposed to include 744 RPG-7-type launchers and munitions with a total Approved Budget for Contract (ABC) of Php408 million.

But MaxDefense received a very lately information that while this is supposed to be another negotiated procurement under US FMS, the Philippine Army is awaiting for the result of discussions between the Department of National Defense (DND) and Russia's Ministry of Defense, as they are planning to make changes on the project should it would be easier to source it from Russia. This is already a delayed project so any further delay would be nothing new.




With these new capabilities, the Philippine Army has finally been able to hurdle projects that seemed to be forgotten due to delays on the RLL Phase 1 and 2 projects. MaxDefense expects further updates on these projects in the coming months, especially for the RLL Phase 2 since current events like the Marawi City crisis, the counter-terrorism drive of the Philippine government, and closer ties with Russia and China might affect the decision-making of its procurement.

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RPG-7(USA) for the Philippine Army? Not Anymore.

The Philippine Army (PA) recently announced that it would be acquiring up to 400 light rocket launchers soon to replace its old and heavy 57mm and 90mm recoilless rifles in service since the Korean War. The PA is expecting the delivery to be before the end of the year.

Since the news is already out, MaxDefense will try to analyze this purchase with pieces of information we have on the acquisition project.

The Philippine Army still uses the M68 90mm recoilless rifle together with a few dozen of the smaller and older M18 57mm recoilless rifles. A new requirement for rocket launchers to replace them is in the pipeline.

The PA currently has several US-made recoilless rifles in service that it uses for hard and soft target assault, including bunkers, strucutres, and vehicles. These are composed of the shoulder-fired M18 57mm and M68 90mm recoilless rifles, and pad-mounted 75mm M20 and 105mm M40 recoilless rifles. In addition, the PA also uses much more modern types, the German-designed Armbrust bought from Singapore and the American M72 LAW, both disposable aim-and-shoot rocket launchers that are used by the PA's mechanized infantry and special operations operators.

The PA also uses the Armbrust rocket launcher, but this is a disposable one-shot system. The PA is looking for a reuseable system which is more cheaper in the long run.
Photo taken from Wikipedia.

Due to the size and weight of the M18 and M68 recoilless rifles, they are difficult to carry and bring along operations that require infantry to maneuver in distances. Most of the time it requires at least 2 soldiers just to carry around the weapon and ammunition. Not only are they heavy, they are also long, and requires 2 persons to fire and reload. Imagine its effects to fire teams that will require maneuvers like scaling hills and miles of walking carrying these antique behemoths. They would also impede troops that are mounted on space-devoid vehicles like armored vehicles. With the PA's aim to increase the firepower of its standard infantry squad, it is necessary to provide them with a lightweight system that is also easy to use and maintain, and can be used several times instead of throwing away after a single shot.

Initial AFP reports indicate that there are actually 2 batches of rocket launcher acquisitions: a first batch of 355 units with 4,800 rounds of ammunition and a budget of around Php 95 million, and another batch of 744 units plus ammunition on a later date with a budget of around Php 407 million. Both batches are to be purchased under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, thus would be sourced from the Americans. With the budget allocated, it appears that each rocket launcher system will cost around Php 500,000, or around $11,500 which is actually small when viewed from a weapon cost's perspective.

MaxDefense initially believed the requirement as possibly the US-made SMAW system, but since this is a more costly weapon system, the budget allocated by the PA may not be enough for this. But the PMC may consider this in their own rocket launcher project

Due to this budget, there could only be a few American-sourced re-useable systems that can be considered. MaxDefense initially thought it to possibly be the Shoulder-launced, Multipurpose Assault Weapon, aka SMAW, which was based on the Israeli B-300 system. But it appears that each of these launchers may cost as much as 10 times as the budget allocated by the PA. MaxDefense sees only 1 such weapon that may fit the budget: the RPG-7.

"But isn't the RPG-7 a Russian weapon?" Yes it is, but with its production license available for everyone to use, even the Americans found it interesting to produce. Enter Airtronics USA, a not so well known small arms and spare parts manufacturer that supplies the US Department of Defense and several foreign armed forces, including the Philippine armed forces. It produces several variants of the M203 40mm grenade launcher, M4 carbine, M2 machine gun, its versions of M16-based designated marksman rifle (DMR) and M5 carbine, RPG-7 based rocket propelled grenade launchers and magazines for M16-based rifles.

Airtronic USA's RPG-7(USA) may be considered by the PA as this fits the requirements and budget that they allocated.
Photo taken from Airtronic USA's website.

Information provided by MaxDefense sources indicate that the AFP uses M203 40mm grenade launchers and M4A1 carbines for the PA SOCOM made by Airtronics USA with the latest deliveries only a few years ago. Airtronics USA has developed their own versions of the Russian RPG-7 which they market as the RPG-7 USA and the lighter and simpler Mk. 777. The RPG-7 USA is actually an RPG-7 with several components found on M16-based rifles, like a quad-rail system, AR15-type pistol grips and fore-grips, and an M4-style collapsible stock.

Another Airtronic USA product that may fit the bill is the Mk. 777 system, which is lighter than the RPG-7(USA) but is cheaper and has less lifespan.
Photo taken from Airtronic USA's website.

MaxDefense believes that the PA chose to acquire the RPG-7(USA) for this project, on the basis of source of product, budget, and reuseablility. 

1. Source - being an FMS, it is expected to be an American product. Currently the US Armed Forces only uses the Swedish-made AT4, the Israeli-based SMAW-D (aka M141 by the US Army) and M153 SMAW of the USMC, and the obsolete M72 LAW. There are also missile systems like the FGM-148 Javelin and FGM-172 Predator systems. And there's the RPG-7 (USA) and Mk. 777 that the US military doesn't use but is produced by the US defense industry.

2. Reuseablity - of the products above, only the SMAW, Javelin, Predator, RPG-7 (USA) and Mk.777 are reuseable. 

3. Cost - with what the PA allocated, missile systems would definitely be out of the running. The SMAW may also not fit even if the launching system may fit the budget because of the cost of ammunition. Thus only the RPG-7 (USA) and Mk. 777 remains.

Bulgarian troops operating with RPG-7 during a joint exercise with US troops. Imagine the PA's own troops using this. It was highly unlikely several years ago, just goes to show the changes in planning and thinking by PA top-brass.
Photo taken from Wikipedia.

With the latest information from the Philippine Army spokesman that 400 launchers plus ammunition will be purchased as compared to the earlier 300+ units in previous news reports indicates that there were indeed changes in the previous acquisition plans. It is still worth checking if the final numbers will still be the same. MaxDefense sources indicated that although the manufacturer and product is unknown, the PA already confirmed that the first batch has already been finalized and will be delivered starting the middle of this year.

If the RPG-7 series is indeed chosen, this would be an interesting development since the weapon is something unexpected to be chosen by the PA even if such RPG weapons are already in the market for several decades.



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UPDATES:
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August 23, 2016:

MaxDefense received some updates on ongoing projects of the Philippine Army, and among those covered are for the acquisition of Rocket Launcher Light (RLL) which covers the acquisition of RPG-7.

There are currently two projects involving the RLL acquisition, the first is under RA 7898 which involves the acquisition of 335 rocket launchers and 3,272 rockets (called RLL Phase 1), while the second project is under RA 10349 (Horizon 1) involving 744 rocket launchers and will commence immediately upon the implementation of RLL Phase 1. It is expected that both projects will be awarded to the same company for commonality and practicality reasons.

Originally we covered that the Philippine Army could be acquiring the RPG-7USA made by Airtronic USA, since both projects actually involves the Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) and will be done through Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

A few months ago, MaxDefense, in its Facebook page, confirmed that the deal with Airtronic USA was called off for unknown reasons, and no updates were made afterwards.

Its only now that MaxDefense was given an update through the Army's program updates, that the Rocket Launcher Light acqusition project is still a go, but as confirmed before, will not involve Airtronic USA. Instead, it would still be an FMS but there is a decision made involving a US-accredited, Bulgarian-based manufacturer, which MaxDefense believes is Armaco JSC based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Armaco appears to be the largest, if not, the only legitimate arms manufacturer in Bulgaria capable of manufacturing the RPG-7 and its ammunition.

It turns out that originally, the ammunition for the RPGs would also be sourced from Bulgaria, and it was decided that the RPG-7 would be better sourced from the same manufacturer as well instead of separating the acquisition between two separate suppliers (one for launcher, one for ammunition).

Armaco JSC manufactures their own variant of the RPG-7, which followed the type's original design rather than making innovations like what Airtronic USA's PSRL-1 (which is the new name of RPG-7USA) has like Piccatiny rails, sights, and use of lightweight materials.

As for the deal itself, processing of the FMS deal is still ongoing, and no award has been made as of this writing. But it is expected that an award will be made before the end of the year, and it is expected that deliveries could only be completed by 2nd quarter of 2018. Originally it was expected that the Philippine Army would have its first RPG-7s by as early as 2016 and replace its old and heavy recoilless rifles.

Since this project is still un-awarded to any supplier, MaxDefense expects more updates to be made available within the year.

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