RGN hand grenade
The RGN hand grenade is an offensive Soviet blast hand grenade introduced during the Soviet–Afghan War alongside the RGO to replace the earlier F-1, RG-42, and RGD-5 hand grenades which proved to be inadequate in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan.
Also recorded as RGN · RGN grenade
RGN hand grenade

State Emergency Service of Ukraine · Dsns.gov.ua · https: set=pcb.346531794181383 (the whole post) · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- RGN hand grenade
- Field
- offensive grenade
- Region
- Russia
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The RGN hand grenade is an offensive Soviet blast hand grenade introduced during the Soviet–Afghan War alongside the RGO to replace the earlier F-1, RG-42, and RGD-5 hand grenades which proved to be inadequate in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for RGN hand grenade. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q4386491 · wikipedia · RGN hand grenade
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — RGN hand grenade • Origin — Soviet Union • Type — Hand grenade • Is Explosive — 1 • Used By — See Users • Wars — Soviet–Afghan War Russo-Ukrainian War • Weight — 310 g • Length — 113.5 mm • Diameter — 61 mm • Filling — A-IX-1 (96% RDX phlegmatized with 4% wax) • Filling Weight — 97 g • Detonation — UDZS Impact fuze arming after 1 to 1.8 seconds or time delay after 3.5 to 4 seconds.
Design
Design
It consists of a smooth spherical aluminium body, internally scored to generate fragments upon detonation. Externally, the RGN is similar to the RGO hand grenade and shares the same UDZS fuze. The UDZS fuze has both impact and time delay functions, the impact fuze arms after a pyrotechnic delay of 1 to 1.8 seconds. If the grenade strikes an object after this time a spherical lead shot filled impact weight will trigger detonation. If the grenade has not struck anything after 3.5 to 4 seconds the second pyrotechnic delay will detonate the grenade, allowing the grenade to cause an airburst over a target area if necessary. The impact fuze detonates when it hits any kind of terrain, including sand, snow, or water. The RGN detonates reliably under extreme temperatures between -50-50 C. The grenade contains 97 g of A-IX-1 (a mixture of 96% of RDX and 4% of wax) explosive; it has a stated lethal radius of 4 m to a maximum of 10 m, and a safety radius of 25 m. According to Jane's, the grenade can be thrown to a distance of approximately 30-40 m, while Russian sources gives an approximate throwing range of 40-50 m.
History
History
The RGN and RGO grenades were introduced mid 1980s, during the Soviet–Afghan War to replace the F-1, RG-42 and RGD-5 hand grenades. During combat in the mountains, Soviet troops found out that their grenades were less effective: the steep terrain often caused grenades to accidentally bounce or roll back towards the thrower's position and cause friendly casualties, while their long fuse time allowed the enemy forces to get under cover. The time delay mechanism in the impact fuze acts as a safety, preventing friendly casualties if it impacts too soon, while the time fuze will air-burst over an enemy under cover if it hadn't impacted after 3.5 to 4 seconds. During the war in Donbas, Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian militias from the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic both made use of RGN grenades. A photo shared by the insurgents in Russian social media seems to indicate they employed unmanned aerial vehicles modified to drop RGN or RGO grenades on Ukrainian positions. The grenade is currently in production in Russia and Ukraine, and is in service with a number of other countries. Bulgaria also produces a close copy of the RGN.
Current
Current
• − Locally produced copies * • − Produced locally
Former
Former
• Iraq • War flag of Novorussia.svg Russian separatist forces in Ukraine *

Ударно-дистанційний запал УДЗ
Ketsharp

Emergency Service of Ukraine demines Chernihiv Oblast during Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of 3 October, 45,558 explosive items were disposed. RGN hand grenades.
Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Chernihiv Oblast · Dsns.gov.ua · Оперативна інформація щодо роботи піротехнічних розрахунків на території Чернігівської області
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Russia
Named but not plotted · 1
RGN hand grenade is associated with Russia.
Country
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- RGD-33 grenadeTerminology
- RGD-5Terminology
- RGM-40Terminology
- RGM-59 TaurusTerminology
- RGO hand grenadeTerminology
- RGS-50MTerminology
- RGSh-30Terminology
- RGZ-89 grenadeTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with RGN hand grenade?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.