Three weeks ago, Ballistic Highspeed posted a video about their documentation of rocket launchers. Specifically, a Carl Gustaf and RPG-7. During filming there was a catastrophic accident with an RPG-7 resulting in an RPG explosion right next to the shooter’s head. They have come out with a video explaining, to the best of their ability, what they think happened that caused this catastrophic accident to happen.

More High-speed @ TFB:

• Slow Mo Guys – Bullets Vs Steel at 800k Frames Per Second
• Slow Mo Guys Elephant Gun .577 Tyrannosaur In Slow Motion\
• Slow Mo Guys Bouncing Bullets On Water In Slow-Motion

Ballistic Highspeed

For those of you not familiar with Ballistic Highspeed, they are a YouTube channel dedicated to studying firearms under high-speed cameras. There are two guys, Adam and Bryce and they have access to good high-speed cameras like Phantom cameras. They decided to document what happens to ballistic dummies if they are caught in the back blast of a rocket launcher. Well, three weeks ago they released this video about rocket launchers and included a blurred-out video of the catastrophic RPG explosion. Adam was the one shooting an inert rocket and Bryce was the one operating the camera.

photo by Ballistic Highspeed

In some of the other shots with the RPG-7, there was someone kneeling next to Adam. Fortunately, they were not there when the RPG exploded. Otherwise, there could have been another casualty.

RPG Explosion Caught On Camera

I saw the video above and at the time there was not a lot of information about what caused the RPG explosion. There was a lot of speculation, even I speculated given my unique experience with launchers. But my speculation was incorrect.  Ballistic Highspeed just released a video where Adam watches the video of his accident for the first time. WARNING: the video below may be difficult to watch so if you are sensitive you may not want to watch the video.

As you know, I had my own rocket launcher accident but it was pale in comparison to what happened to Adam. It was not a great experience but it was the best-case scenario in my case. Like many others, I am truly amazed that Adam survived this catastrophic RPG explosion.

Watching the RPG explosion in slow motion it is amazing how it removed Adam’s helmet, eyepro and peeled his plate carrier off his chest. According to Bryce, it helped protect Adam from the fragmentation even though it ripped itself out of the vest and went flying.

Bryce did an amazing job explaining what they think happened that caused the RPG explosion. The RPG-7 inert rocket uses a black powder booster to push it out of the tube. If the booster separates, it can potentially block the venturi thus preventing the normally controlled explosion from being uncontrolled. Then the explosion takes the path of least resistance.

I spoke with John Wild and it looks like the rockets Ballistic High Speed used are not RPG7 rockets but more like RPG2. They are very similar in function as John’s Panzerfaust. However he only uses 2.5 oz of black powder to the booster. The size of the one used in the RPG explosion looks a lot bigger. Granted they were using CNC inert warheads and those weigh a lot more than the Panzerfaust projectiles. Another issue is that expansion chamber can cause issues. Whereas John’s launchers are straight smooth bore barrels. Less chance of on obstruction.

photo by Ballistic Highspeed

Watching the slow motion is just jaw-dropping and I wonder how Adam was able to survive the RPG explosion.

There is also a podcast on Unsubscribe with Brandon Herrera and Eli Cuevas and they interviewed Adam and Bryce. There is a lot of dark comedy but Adam and Bryce go into more detail about the accident and Adam’s recovery. Adam mentions the debride procedure where they scrubbed his arms with scouring pads. I had a taste of that and I can concur it is a horrifically painful procedure. At least I was given topical lidocaine but Adam had to suffer it without any pain medication due to his brain repairing itself at the time.

Adam was very lucky. I was surprised to learn, in the video above, that they did not have an EMS at the time. Although it sounds like Adam was going to fulfill that role, they should have had a backup. I was lucky that Lucas and Dustin were both medically trained when I was hit by the M202 rocket motor. Although my injuries were pale in comparison to Adam’s. He received TBI, a fractured skull, a brain bleed, a broken jaw, a laceration to the face and full-thickness burns on 10-15% of his upper torso requiring skin grafts. His medical bills are astronomical. I have a small taste of that with my accident and I sympathize with what he is going through. I wish him the best.

This unfortunate RPG explosion was a freak accident. It was not a failure of the reactivated launcher or the person who reactivated it. In fact, according to Bryce, had the launcher not failed like it did, the force of the RPG explosion could have been potentially worse. Thankfully they filmed the actual high-explosive rockets before this accident and they did shoot the rockets on a stationary stand. They did not shoulder fire them.