View source for RAS-66

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = RAS-66
| image              = File:M72A2_LAW.png
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = A RAS-66
| origin             = {{flag|Yonderre}}
| type               = {{wpl|Rocket-propelled grenade}}
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = 
| is_missile         = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service            = 1966–present
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars               = [[Operation Kipling]]<br>[[The Deluge]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer           = [[FNC]]
| design_date        = 1965-66
| manufacturer       = [[FNC]] (in [[Yonderre]])<br>[[Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering]] (in [[Burgundie]])<br>Factory No. 24 (in [[Daxia]])
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1966–present
| number             = 
| variants           = 
<!-- General specifications -->| spec_label         = RAS-16
| weight             = {{convert|2.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (1st-3rd generation)<br>{{convert|3.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (4th-7th generation)
| length             = 630 mm (24.8 in) (unarmed)<br>
881 mm (34.67 in) (armed)
| diameter           = 66mm
| velocity = 200m/s
| range = 300m
| max_range = 500m
| feed = 
| sights = {{wpl|Iron sight}}s
<!-- Explosive specifications -->| filling            = 200mm {{wpl|Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA}} penetration (1st generation)<br>300mm {{wpl|Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA}} penetration (3rd generation)<br>360mm {{wpl|Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA}} penetration (4th generation)<br>400mm {{wpl|Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA}} penetration (6th generation)<br>220mm {{wpl|Rolled homogeneous armour|RHA}} penetration (7th generation)
| filling_weight     = 
| detonation         = Impact fuze
}}
The '''RAS-66''', short for the [[Burgoignesc language|Burgoignesc]] ''Roquette Antichar System modèle 66'', literally "Rocket Anti-Tank System model 66", is a single-shot disposable lightweight anti-armour weapon designed by the Yonderian company [[FNC|Fabrique Nationale Collinebourg]]. Being lightweight, effective and reasonably priced, the weapon has been widely exported and is used by many militaries around the world, notably by every member of the 
[[Levantine Union Defense Council]], the [[Nysdra Sea Treaty Association]] and most members of [[Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association|LOTA]]. 

First introduced in 1966, the current production models are the 6th and 7th generation launchers. Firing a hollow charge {{wp|High explosive anti-tank|high explosive anti-tank}} rocket, the 1st generation RAS-66 was able to penetrate around {{convert|200|mm|in}} of {{wp|Rolled homogenous armour|rolled homogenous armour}}, while the 6th generation is able to penetrate some {{convert|400|mm|in}}. The 7th generation rocket, as introduced in 2022, uses a substantially changed warhead design that gives greater post-armoured interface effectiveness at the cost of a reduced armour penetration to {{circa}} {{convert|220|mm|in}}. The 7th generation is thus less capable against heavily armoured targets such as tanks than the 6th generation, but excels at disabling or destroying lighter targets such as armoured personnel carriers or Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles ({{wp|MRAP}}s).

In the [[Grand Ducal Army]] of [[Yonderre]], the RAS-66 is issued wholesale to infantry units where it is typically carried by soldiers who do not otherwise need heavy equipment to fulfil their roles, greatly augmenting the squad's anti-armour capabilities. The RAS-66 thus supplements the squad's [[RAS-16]] RPG as well as any other anti-armour equipment attached to the squad, such as that carried by their transport.

==Development history and design features==
Developed in the mid-1960s to replace previous rocket-based handheld anti-tank weaponry, the RAS-66 was designed to be sufficiently simple to use, lightweight and low-cost that it could be issued ''en masse'' to riflemen and soldiers with specialist roles (squad leaders, medics) that did not require them to already carry heavy equipment like a machine gun or backpack-radio assembly, rather than issuing them to specialist anti-armour soldiers as with the existing [[Yonderian Defence Force|YDF]] systems. 

At its core, the RAS-66 is a rocket-propelled HEAT warhead carried inside two tubes, one inside the other. While closed, the outer assembly serves as a watertight container for the rocket and the percussion-cap firing mechanism that activates the rocket. The outer tube contains the trigger, the arming handle, front and rear sights, and the rear cover. The inner tube contains the channel assembly, which houses the firing pin assembly, including the detent lever. When extended, the inner tube telescopes outward toward the rear, guided by the channel assembly, which rides in an alignment slot in the outer tube's trigger housing assembly. While the RAS-66 is a single-shot weapon, reloadable training versions exist that fire a proprietary 23mm shell with the same ballistic qualities as the rocket.

The RAS-66 was first issued to the [[Grand Ducal Army]] in 1966 and was soon after sold wholesale to the [[Army of Burgundie]], where it saw extensive use in [[Operation Kipling]]. The second generation of RAS-66 came in 1969, sporting improved sights and sling attachment points moved to elsewhere on the launcher. The third generation, introduced in 1974 had an improved warhead sporting {{convert|300|mm|in}} of {{wp|Rolled homogenous armour|rolled homogenous armour}} penetrataion. A fourth generation RAS-66 was introduced in 1980, optimized for anti-armour use with {{convert|360|mm|in}} of {{wp|Rolled homogenous armour|rolled homogenous armour}} penetrataion at the cost of adding {{convert|1|kg|lb}} to the overall weight. The fifth generation, introduced in 1987, came with an improved launcher assembly. The sixth generation, introduced in 1993, included an improved rocket that allows for {{convert|400|mm|in}} of {{wp|Rolled homogenous armour|rolled homogenous armour}} penetrataion while retaining the total {{convert|3.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} weight. The seventh generation, introduced in 2022, uses a completely new design of warhead that retains the flight characteristics of previous models but has a larger explosive payload, making its explosive force more effective at the cost of reduced armour penetration ({{convert|220|mm|in}} as opposed to {{convert|400|mm|in}} in the sixth generation).

==Users==
* {{flag|Anglei}}
* {{flag|Battganuur}} - supplied by [[Burgo-Darian Mercantile Port Corporation]]
* {{flag|Bulkh}} - produced locally under license by [[Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering]]
* {{flag|Burgundie}} - produced locally under license by [[Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering]]
* {{flag|Cetsencalia}}
* {{flag|Chenango Confederacy}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Copake}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Daxia}} - produced locally by Factory No. 24 as Type-75
* {{flag|Faneria}}
* {{flag|Fiannria}}
* {{flag|Hollona and Diorisia}}
* {{flag|Housatonic}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Kandara}} - supplied by [[Bulkh]]
* {{flag|Kiravia}}
* {{flag|Lapody}}
* {{flag|Netansett}}
* {{flag|New Harren}} - supplied by [[Yonderre]]
* {{flag|New Veltorina}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Nysdra Provisional Republic}}
* {{flag|Pachaug}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Pelaxia}}
* {{flag|Quetzenkel}}
* {{flag|Rhotia}}
* {{flag|Tapakdore}} - supplied by the [[Burgo-Darian Mercantile Port Corporation]]
* {{flag|Unnuaq Mission State}} - supplied by [[Urcea]]
* {{flag|Urcea}}
* {{flag|Yanuban}} - supplied by the [[Burgo-Darian Mercantile Port Corporation]]
* {{flag|Yonderre}}

===Non-state users===
* [[File:EI_Logo.png|18px]] [[Intrepid Enterprises]]: Purchased directly from [[FNC]]

===Former users===
* {{flag|Varshan}} - used captured examples during the [[Final War of the Deluge]]

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" caption="RAS-66" widths="190px" heights="160px">
File:USMC-110316-M-2740R-070.jpg|[[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal and Imperial Army]] soldier fires a RAS-66 during the [[Final War of the Deluge]]
File:2RAR_patrol,_August_1970.jpg|[[Burgoignesc Foreign Legion|Burgoignesc legionnaires during [[Operation Kipling]]
File:YDF LAT.png|Soldiers of the [[Grand Ducal Army]] on exercise with RAS-66
File:M72A2_LAW_1969.jpg|Demonstration of the backblast of the RAS-66, 1969
File:M72_LAW_66_KES_88_20180604.jpg|7th generation RAS-66
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[RAS-88]]
* [[RAS-16]]
* [[List of equipment of the Yonderian Defence Force]]

[[Category:Weapons]]
[[Category:Military technology]]
[[Category:Military]]
[[Category:AMY]]
[[Category:Burgoignesc Security Forces]]
[[Category:Armed Forces of Urcea]]
[[Category:Yonderian Defence Force]]
[[Category:Yonderre]]
[[Category:IXWB]]
{{Template:Award winning article}}
[[Category:2024 Award winning pages]]