Rare Ukrainian-made weapon spotted in Budanov’s office
A rare RG-1 Porshen (Piston - ed.) grenade launcher was spotted in the office of Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. Militarnyi reports on this. The grenade launcher captured in the photo was developed in 2007 by the State Factory < >. The grenade launcher was not mass-produced and was not adopted by the Armed Forces. A small batch of RG-1 was manufactured as pre-production samples for testing.
Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the DIU, and the RG-1 Porshen hand grenade launcher, October 2023
Several prototypes of the RG-1 are known to have been tested at the front.
In 2016, these grenade launchers were seen in the hands of paratroopers of the 79th Air Assault Brigade during battles in the Avdiyivka zone. The second time they were spotted on the front line was in 2022 during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the photo, a soldier of foreign origin, presumably a member of the International Legion under the command of the DIU, is holding this grenade launcher.
- A soldier of the Ukrainian Defense Forces with a RG-1 Porshen grenade launcher, October 2022
- A soldier of the Ukrainian Defense Forces with a RG-1 Porshen grenade launcher, October 2022
RG-1 Porshen
The RG-1 was designed to fill the gap between the GP-25 infantry under-barrel muzzle-loaded grenade launchers and the AGS-17 or UAG-40 automatic grenade launchers.
The grenade launcher has a fairly compact and lightweight design for its class - with a five-shot magazine, it weighs about 10 kilograms. Optical and collimator sights can be mounted on the RG-1. A special bracket is located on the left side surface of the barrel for their installation.
RG-1 Porshen with a collimator sight
The VOG-30 grenade launcher's 30-mm base ammunition has a high enough energy to provide a range of about 800-1000 meters for effective fire from the grenade launcher's 300-mm barrel.
Given the relatively high weight and strong recoil, the weapon is equipped with a folding bipod for convenience. A tubular stock is hinged to the rear of the barrel box. If necessary, it can be folded forward to the right.
The upper surface of the receiver has a carrying handle.
Unlike some types of small arms with a similar handle, the Porshen grenade launcher does not carry any sights on it.