View source for PF-89

{{Short description|Anti-tank, anti-bunker rocket launcher}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=Type 89 Individual Anti-tank Rocket
|image= Rocket-propelled Grenade (9884856836).jpg
|caption= A dissected PF-89 rocket launcher (top) at the [[China People's Revolution Military Museum]] in [[Beijing]].
|origin=China
|type=Anti-tank, anti-bunker
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_ranged= yes
|is_explosive= yes
<!-- Service history -->
|service=1993–present
|used_by=See [[PF-89#Users|''Users'']]
|wars=
<!-- Production history -->
|designer =China North Industries Group Corporation
|design_date=1980s
|manufacturer =[[Norinco]]
|unit_cost=
|production_date=1989
|number=
|variants=
<!-- General specifications -->
|weight=Total: {{cvt|3.7|kg|lb}}
|length ={{convert|900|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|part_length=
|width=
|height=
|crew= 1 (single-use, disposable)
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
|cartridge_weight = {{convert|1.84|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|cartridge=80×900 mm rocket-assist grenade 
|caliber={{convert|80|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|action=Single-shot
|velocity={{convert|147|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
|range={{cvt|100|m|ft|lk=on}} to {{cvt|250|m|ft|lk=on}}
|max_range = {{cvt|400|m|ft}}
|feed=
|sights=Optical 1x/2.5x (day sight)
<!-- Explosive specifications -->
|diameter=
|filling=
|filling_weight=
|detonation=
|yield=}}

The '''PF-89''' or '''Type 89''' is a portable, disposable, unguided, [[Shoulder-fired missile|shoulder-launched]], [[anti-tank]] [[rocket-propelled grenade|rocket-propelled]] [[rocket launcher]]. Developed by [[Norinco]] for the [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA), the PF-89 was designed to replace the obsolete [[Type 69 RPG]], providing a man-portable, single-use assault weapon system that could be used mainly by infantry squads to engage and defeat [[Armoured fighting vehicle|light armor]] and bunkers.<ref name="mt_89"/>

Its design permits accurate delivery of a rocket-propelled 80mm [[high-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT) warhead, with negligible recoil. The PF-89 entered mass production in 1993, and generally replaced the [[Type 69 RPG]] in the PLA throughout the 1990s.<ref name="mt_89"/> Since 2010, the system is being used along with the more advanced [[DZJ-08|Type 08]] recoilless gun.<ref name="mt_08"/>

==Description==
The PF-89 is a lightweight, self-contained, anti-armor weapon comparable to the Swedish [[AT4]] (U.S. Designation M136). However, unlike the AT4, the PF-89 is a rocket-propelled weapon instead of a [[Recoilless rifle|recoilless gun]], which makes the PF-89 more similar to the [[M72 LAW]] and the [[RPG-26]]. The weapon consists of a free-flight, fin-stabilized, rocket-propelled cartridge packed in a one-piece, one-off, fiberglass-wrapped tube.<ref name="data">{{cite web|website=NetEase News |language=zh |url=http://war.news.163.com/09/0724/00/5EUS8IS000011232.html |title=成熟适用的PF89式80毫米系列单兵火箭筒 |date=24 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629203132/http://war.news.163.com/09/0724/00/5EUS8IS000011232.html |archive-date=29 June 2011}}</ref>

It is [[Man-portable anti-tank systems|man-portable]] and is fired from the right shoulder only. The launcher is watertight for ease of transportation and storage. The PF-89 has a simple 2.5x, 12° field of view optical sight for aiming, with no night combat ability.<ref name="data_2">{{cite web|website=NetEase News |language=zh |url=http://war.news.163.com/09/0724/00/5EUS8IS000011232_2.html |title=成熟适用的PF89式80毫米系列单兵火箭筒 (2) |date=24 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630135422/http://war.news.163.com/09/0724/00/5EUS8IS000011232_2.html |archive-date=30 June 2011}}</ref>

The user must be able to see and identify the target and estimate the range to it. The round of ammunition is self-contained in a disposable launch tube. The system weighs only eight pounds and can be used effectively with minimal training.<ref name="mt_89">{{cite web|url=http://www.military-today.com/firearms/pf_89.htm |title=PF-89 Single use anti-tank rocket launcher|website=Military Today}}</ref>

The problem of back blast became prominent after the PF-89's adoption. Collateral damage is especially concerning for the PLA, which uses [[Motorized infantry|motorized infantry]] fighting tactics. To address this, China developed the [[DZJ-08|Type 08]] multipurpose recoilless gun with a countermass balance mechanism to replace the PF-89, especially the multipurpose PF89A variant.<ref name="mt_08">{{cite web|url=http://www.military-today.com/firearms/dzj_08.htm |title=DZJ-08 |website=Military Today}}</ref>

==Variants==
The PF-89 has six variants with each variant corresponding to a specific type of ammunition. The earliest variant, simply called the PF-89, uses high-explosive double [[shaped charge]]s (with 8701 explosives) to achieve 628mm of [[Rolled homogeneous armour| rolled homogeneous armour]] (RHA) penetration at 90° angle in static tests. In kinetic tests, the RHA penetration is more than 400mm at 0° angle or 180mm at 68° angle.<ref name="data_2"/><ref name="gunsworld">{{cite web|url=http://pewpewpew.work/china/rl/pf89/pf89.htm |title=PF-89 |language=zh |website=Gun's World |date=10 September 2004}}</ref>

The second variant, the PF-89A, employs specialized multipurpose [[Incendiary ammunition|incendiary rounds]]. These multipurpose rounds can penetrate 300&nbsp;mm of reinforced concrete, and release steel fragments and [[zirconium]]-based incendiary composition to kill targets and light up wood and fabric upon impact.<ref name="mt_89"/><ref name="data_2"/>

The third variant, known as the PF-89B or PF-89-1, uses [[tandem-charge]] HEAT warheads to improve penetration against [[reactive armour]].<ref name="data"/><ref name="gunsworld"/>

The WPF-89-1 is the [[Thermobaric weapon|thermobaric]] version of the PF-89. The WPF-89-1 is reusable, but did not see much use due to its complex reload process. As a result, China developed the improved single-use WPF-89-2 in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.military-today.com/firearms/wpf_89_1.htm |title=WPF-89-1|website=Military Today}}</ref>

A training replica version is also available for operation practice.<ref name="data"/>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|+ PF-89 variants
! Designation 
! PF-89
! PF-89A
! PF-89B
! WPF-89-1<ref name="data"/>
! WPF-89-2
|-
! Ammo type
| [[High-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT)
| Multipurpose incendiary
| HEAT tandem-charge
| [[Thermobaric weapon|Thermobaric]] 
| HEAT/thermobaric tandem-charge
|-
! {{nowrap|Cartridge diameter (mm)}}
| 80
| 80
| 80
| 80
| 80
|-
! Cartridge weight (kg)
| 1.84
| 2.35
| 2.5
| >4
| >4
|-
! Launcher weight (kg)
| 1.85
| 1.85
| 1.85
| 1.85
| 1.85
|-
! Full mass (kg)
| 3.7
| 4.2
| 4.7
| 6.5
| 6.5
|-
! Length (mm)
| 900
| 900
| 900
| 900
| 900
|-
! Length w/o cover (mm)
| 880
| 880
| 880
| 880
| 880
|-
! Zeroing
| {{convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|180|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| N/A
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! Sight range
| {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| N/A
| {{convert|850|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|850|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|-
! Penetration
| 628 mm/90°<br/> >400 mm/0°<br/>180 mm/65°
| 20 mm/65°
| Higher than PF-89
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! Velocity
| {{convert|147|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|147|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|140|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|120|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|120|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
|}

==Users==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

* {{flagcountry|Cambodia}}: Used by the [[Royal Cambodian Army]].<ref name="Report">https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/171425/SIPRIPP38.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|China}}: Used by the [[People's Liberation Army]].

===Non-state actors===
* {{flagcountry|Libya}}: WPF-89-2s used by [[Fajr Libya]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Saisie d'armes à El Oued: l'empreinte de Fadjr libya|date=11 March 2016|website=menadefense.net|url=https://www.menadefense.net/afnord/saisie-darmes-a-el-oued-lempreinte-de-fadjr-libya/}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{lwc|PF-98}}
* {{lwc|DZJ-08}}
* {{lwc|M72 LAW}}
* {{lwc|AT4}}
* {{lwc|RPG-26}}
* {{lwc|Kestrel (rocket launcher)|Kestrel}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080321220241/http://www.sinodefence.com/army/small_arms/pf89.asp ''PF-89''] at [[SinoDefence]]

{{Modern Chinese Infantry Weapons}}

[[Category:Cold War weapons of China]]
[[Category:Weapons of the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Anti-tank rockets]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1990s]]