RPO-A Shmel
Country of origin
Soviet Union
ManufacturerKBP Instrument Design Bureau
The RPO-A Shmel (Russian: реактивный пехотный огнемёт РПО-А «Шмель», lit. 'rocket-propelled infantry flamethrower "Bumblebee"') is a man-portable, single-use, rocket-assisted thermobaric weapon. While its name directly translates to flamethrower (and it is classified as such in Russian military documents), the RPO-A Shmel is more accurately described as a thermobaric weapon.
The Shmel is designed, produced and exported by the Russian Federation and previously by the Soviet Union. It entered service with the Soviet Armed Forces at the end of the 1980s as the successor for the RPO Rys.
The Shmel is designed, produced and exported by the Russian Federation and previously by the Soviet Union. It entered service with the Soviet Armed Forces at the end of the 1980s as the successor for the RPO Rys.
