A rocket launcher is a multi-shot launcher that launches rockets. The rockets it launches rely on the thrust of its own engine to fly. The rocket launcher has fast launch speed, fierce firepower, good assault, strong maneuverability, and can launch a large number of rockets in a very short time. Rocket launchers carry out sudden attacks on large-scale targets at long distances to annihilate and suppress active forces and technical weapons, which shocks the enemy's spirit greatly. Rockets can be divided into three categories: self-propelled, towed and portable according to their movement modes. Self-propelled type is divided into crawler type and wheeled type. According to the range, it can be divided into medium and short range rockets and long-range rockets.

The history of using rockets in China is not short. In September 1951, the PLA used the "Katyusha" rockets to participate in the first actual combat. In the Battle of Shangganling one year later, Chinese military rockets played a key role. Since then, the PLA has been deeply in love with this kind of weapon that dumps firepower.

To be precise, the rocket was invented by the Chinese, and China is the hometown of ancient rockets. The rocket created by the ancient Chinese scientists using the principle of gunpowder gas reaction force has developed into the Hercules carrying the spacecraft in the hands of the contemporary scientific elite. This is a brilliant achievement of which every descendant of the Yellow Emperor is proud.

The word "rocket" appeared in the Three Kingdoms era in the third century AD. In the Three Kingdoms period of 228 AD, Wei Guo first put a torch on the arrow that was shot. At that time, when Zhuge Liang led the army to attack Chen Cang (now Baoji East of Shaanxi), Wei Guoshou Hao Zhao used the rocket to burn the army. The siege of the ladder, holding Chen Cang. The word "rocket" has appeared since then. However, the rocket at that time was only attached to the back of the arrow with flammable materials such as burlap impregnated with grease. After igniting, the bow was shot to the enemy to achieve the weapon for arson.

The military officers of the Northern Song Dynasty, Feng Jisheng, Yue Yifang, Tang Fu, etc. (late 10th century AD), presented the rocket and rocket manufacturing methods to the court. At that time, the rocket had used gunpowder with better burning efficiency, but it was still shot by the bow. Thus, the earliest and most primitive "gunpowder arrow" in human history appeared. It uses a paper paste into a tube, compacts the gunpowder in a cylinder, attaches it to the arrow shaft, and launches it with a bow. Later, on the basis of the original rocket, the rocket was directly installed in the middle of the pole, and the sound was loud when it exploded, so as to intimidate the enemy.

After the establishment of the Southern Song regime in 1128, the Southern Song Dynasty, Jin and Mongolia fought frequently, and all parties used firearms. In November 1161, when the Golden State invaded the Central Plains, the Southern Song army used the rocket weapon for the first time - "The Cannon" fell back to the Golden Army. This is the first time human history has used rocket weapons on the battlefield.

After the 12th century AD, the original rocket was improved and used extensively in the military. In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the rocket weapon developed greatly in the war, and invented many rockets similar to the modern rocket type. There were two rockets, such as the second tiger chasing the arrow, the Kowloon arrow, and the swarm of bees. These all used the rocket. Multi-stage series or parallel (bundled) technology. A variety of rocket weapons were recorded in the history books of the Ming Dynasty. The important ones are the Earthquake Thunderbolt, the Fire Dragon Water, the Shenhuo Flying Cray, the Flying Sand Dish, and the Enemy.

The Ming Dynasty was a period of rapid development of China's rocket technology. Military technicians made a variety of rockets that were propelled by gunpowder reaction forces for military warfare. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son, Yan Wang Zhu Xi, was shot in the “Jing Difficult Campaign” of the regime, when he was fighting with the troops of the Emperor Wendi in Hebei’s Baigou River. This was the earliest in China. "Jet rocket" is used in the record of war.

Although the ancient rockets and gunpowder were invented by the Chinese, due to the long-term lack of attention to the development of science and technology, the ancient rocket technology failed to develop into modern rocket technology in China, and ultimately only stayed in the fireworks.

The rocket developed by Congreve has improved in range, accuracy and stability, and its performance has almost reached the limit of the gunpowder rocket. Due to its huge lethality, countries have begun to pay attention to the research and use of rockets. Since then, another major advancement in the war rocket has been the improvement in stability. In the mid-19th century, the British inventor William Hale installed three tilting stable spiral plates at the end of the rocket. When the rocket was launched, the rocket itself rotated due to aerodynamic forces to stabilize. By the time of the Second World War, the development of gunpowder rockets had been perfected. Its basic structure consists of a rocket-cylinder with gunpowder, a propellant in the middle as a propellant, a high explosive charge and a fuze on the head, a spout at the end, and a stabilizing wing to stabilize the launch. More famous is the Soviet rocket gun - Katyusha.

China's development of rockets is much later than the former Soviet Union, but it is also earlier than the Western forecast. In 1948, the People's Liberation Army expert Zhong Lin set up a rocket technology room in Hebei, and began to develop the A3 type 6 tube 102 mm field rocket launcher, and then transferred to the Wu 2 factory to continue development. On the third day of the birth of New China, the gun was reported and shot in the Lugouqiao area of Beijing.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, science and technology personnel accelerated the development of rocket launchers. At the end of 1950, the A3 6-tube 102mm field rocket launcher was successfully developed with a maximum range of 5,000 meters. At the same time, China's army formed a rocket artillery. China's own rockets were quickly used on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid. The Chinese People's Volunteers used this type of trailer-type rocket launcher to achieve certain effects and caused deterrence to the enemy.

Commander Zhu De was greatly appreciated. In 1951, China successfully developed the 427 and 488 102mm rockets with a maximum range of 5 kilometers. Since China later adopted the Soviet-made equipment, the so-called "standardization", the field rocket was not included in the equipment sequence and was handed over to the Vietnam Army, but it made the Chinese rocket launcher a good start.

Many of the artillery of Chinese artillery were influenced by the Soviet Union, but the early artillery also had many characteristics of its own, such as rockets. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, China introduced the Soviet Union's World War II gun BM-13 rocket launcher. However, this kind of weapon was not equipped for a long time in China. It was quickly replaced by a domestic rocket launcher. China's arsenal had begun to develop rockets before the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first product, the 102mm 6-barrel rocket launcher, was launched. The rockets participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and achieved good results.

The 107mm rocket launcher was developed by experts such as Ji Songying and Yang Yintong in the late 1950s. At the end of the 1950s, Jisongqiu, the 487th factory, began trial production of 8km field rockets, and the unit of the 803th factory, Yang Yintong, presided over the development of rockets used in rocket launchers. In the absence of experience, overcoming many difficulties, after repeated experiments, the 1963-type 107mm rocket was designed in 1963. The gun has 12 launch tubes, which can be completed in 7-9 seconds, and the firepower is extremely fierce.

After the end of the Korean War, the research on rocket launchers in China has made great progress. It has developed 63-type 130mm, 63-type 107mm, 70-type 130mm, 71-type 180mm, 81-type 122mm, 82-type 130mm, 90-type 122mm long-range rocket launchers. And the "Guardian" remote multi-barrel rocket system, etc., formed a huge rocket family.

In the 1960s, China’s military industrial enterprises carefully designed and manufactured a kind of weapon, the 63-type 107-mm 12-barrel rocket launcher, which became one of the "star" weapons made in China, and it is still in the airborne troops and side. The coastal defense forces are still equipped and are popular in many countries, such as the Middle East and Africa. Later, the 63-type 130mm self-propelled rocket (19-tube wheel type) and the 70-type 130mm self-propelled rocket (19-tube track type) were successfully developed. Both of these artillery guns were used in the counter-attack against Vietnam.

In 2015, China Ordnance Industry Corporation announced a number of new weapons developed. The multi-type rocket launcher weapon system is compatible with launching uncontrolled, guided rockets and tactical missiles, equipped with fire control and unmanned reconnaissance functions.

Rocket projectile diameters are generally between 100 and 200 mm, with a few being below 100 mm and above 200 mm. Because of the solid-fuel rocket engine, the rocket body is relatively long, generally about 1 to 3 meters, and the weight of the projectile is 15 to 100 kg. In addition to rockets equipped with blasting killing, burning, and anti-armor warheads, foreign forces are also equipped with multiple warheads such as sub-munitions , fuel-air explosives , smoke screens , lighting, electronic jamming, and chemical poisons. The warheads can be interchanged. The weight of the warhead is generally 30% to 40% of the total bomb weight. In addition to the trigger type, the fuze is also equipped with a time fuze and a radio proximity fuze . Turbine bombs were mostly developed in the 1950s; after the 1960s, they were mostly stabilized fin bombs. The tail stabilizer projectile is installed on the tail of the rocket, with 4 to 6 symmetrical fixed or folding tail fins, so that the rocket remains stable in flight. Some tail fins are also installed on the projectile body at a certain oblique angle, the purpose is to make the rocket have a certain rotation speed throughout the flight section to improve shooting accuracy. The foldable tail projectile is folded in the launch tube. When the rocket is ignited out of the launcher tube, the tail wing automatically opens by spring force, gas force and centrifugal force.

The rocket launcher is composed of a launcher, a high-low steering gear slewing mechanism, a sighting device, a power source (battery or generator), a launch ignition control device and a carrier vehicle. Rockets are composed of warheads, fuzes , rocket engines , electric ignition devices and tail fins (except for turbo bombs). Today, foreign military equipment and rocket launchers to be equipped have a few, a dozen, or dozens of guns, with 114 guns at most. The launcher is mostly installed on tracked vehicles or wheeled off-road vehicles, and travels faster than ordinary self-propelled artillery. Many rocket launchers are designed for multiple purposes. Therefore, some launchers can also be mounted on monoplanes, helicopters, and surface ships to become air-to-ground, ship-to-ground or ship-to-ship. rocket.

Rocket launcher is a powerful and high-performance weapon system. In combat, it is necessary to fully consider factors such as the mission, enemy situation, terrain, time, and the characteristics of the rocket launcher itself, so that its capabilities can be brought into full play. Rockets are mainly responsible for long-range and deep combat missions.

Long-range combat rockets cover a large area and can hit multiple aiming points. They are most suitable to attack targets with large areas and less precise positioning. However, they cannot be used to attack targets that are too close to one's own troops, nor can they be used for upcoming occupation or occupation by one's own troops. Passed area.

The deep combat rocket launcher can launch tactical missiles to support deep combat. At this time, most of its shooting missions are planned in advance. When formulating a firepower plan, factors such as the number and location of existing rocket launchers, missile inventory and location, target reconnaissance methods, and C4 network conditions should be considered. Generally speaking, missile resources are limited and should be planned carefully.

Military rocket artillery battalions and divisional rocket artillery companies usually perform general support tasks, they can also perform general support and reinforcement tasks, and they can also be organized to complete enhanced tactical tasks.

General Support Tasks - The multi-barreled rocket launcher unit , which is responsible for general support tasks, provides field artillery fire support for the entire unit . For the unit commander, this is the most centralized control task. Multiple rocket launchers mainly provide pre-planned firepower and strike high-performance targets. The commander can set a priority firing sequence for the multiple rocket launcher unit in order to exert influence on a specific combat area.

General support and strengthening tasks - When undertaking this task, the multiple rocket launcher unit must first provide fire support for the entire supported unit, and secondly, strengthen the firepower of another artillery unit. It still forces artillery commander controls, and priority response to their needs.

Reinforcement tasks - When undertaking reinforcement tasks, multiple rocket launcher units should join the combat/firing communication network and command network of the reinforced artillery battalion, while still maintaining communication with the army’s field artillery headquarters. The multi-launch rocket battalion is organized into liaison and platoons, which is helpful for the implementation and completion of the strengthening tasks. The multiple rocket launcher company has no established liaison capability, and the company commander can be responsible for it. When assigning reinforcement tasks to the multiple rocket launcher unit, the issue of ammunition consumption needs special consideration. When undertaking a strengthening task, the ammunition consumption may exceed the replenishment capacity of the unit.

Rocket launchers generally do not undertake direct support tasks. The reason is that the accuracy is not high enough and the coverage area is large, which may endanger their own troops. At its maximum range, the danger zone is 2km. The ammunition protection is not easy. It is not equipped with direct support ammunition, such as flares and smoke bombs. Wait. And multiple rocket launchers are not suitable for rear operations. Multi-rocket combat emphasizes autonomy, and tactical tasks can be directly transferred to company or platoon level. The company can separate from the control of the battalion and fight independently, and the platoon can perform standard or non-standard tactical tasks alone within a limited time, that is, semi-independent operations.

Compared with large-caliber barrel artillery, rocket launchers have the advantages of large caliber, greater power, high salvo efficiency, and long range. However, several inherent problems also make it impossible to replace barrel artillery:

1. The cost of ammunition is high. Compared with artillery shells, rockets have larger volumes, more propellants/fuels, and rocket engines, etc., which cost more. A 300mm rocket is about 750,000 yuan, and 122 seems to cost nearly 100,000 yuan. And a 155mm shell is about 20,000.
2. The accuracy of unguided rockets is not as good as the barrel artillery. Because the shell only accelerates in the artillery barrel for a short time, the speed and angle when exiting the chamber is basically the same; while the rocket is different, the rocket engine operates for a long time, and the wings and other structures are greatly affected by the air, so the accuracy is generally not as good as the barrel artillery. However, guided rocekt accuracy can be very good, but the cost is even higher.
3. The launching movement is large, with a large amount of high-temperature and high-speed airflow and tail flames, which are more obvious than the muzzle characteristics of the barrel artillery, which easily exposes the launching position.

The future of rocket launchers is in the direction of informatization, digitization and intelligence. Strengthening the information collection and digital processing capabilities of the rocket launcher system is the inevitable development of the rocket launcher, and the realization of the rocket launcher tactical command automation becomes the key. In the future, the rocket launcher will be equipped with a computer system with better performance, and a high-precision directional positioning system, satellite positioning receiving system and weather radar system will be installed to turn a single rocket launcher into a rocket launcher, integrating reconnaissance, geodesy, command, communication and A mobile-in-one complex, the rocket launcher can automatically level, automatically locate and direct, automatically send and receive calculations, automatically load, automatically aim, and automatically launch. The level of intelligent operation continues to improve, so that the rocket launcher can truly "stop, hit, hit The ability to run as soon as possible. Russia’s proposal to develop a new generation of "intelligent" weapon systems is that a rocket launcher system is divided into four subsystems, namely, an information system, a sighting system, a control system, and a firepower system, to achieve the integration of reconnaissance and firepower.

In the next war, the rocket launch technology must be integrated with the guidance technology. The rocket launches terminally sensitive guided rockets and missiles to attack the enemy's high-value targets. Versatility has also become an important principle in the development of current weapons and equipment. Multiple uses of the rocket allows the rocket launcher not only to launch ordinary rockets with different functions and different ranges, but also to launch terminal-sensitive guided rockets and missiles. This will enable the versatility of the rocket launcher. The utilization rate is improved, which can greatly save money, and at the same time ensure the reliability and efficiency of the ammunition system supply on the digital battlefield .

In the future, rocket launchers will be lighter to adapt to air transport and airdrops, so as to meet the basic requirements of the digital battlefield for the mobility of rocket launchers. Many countries have widely used non-metallic composite materials to develop new rocket launchers to reduce the weight of the rocket launchers. The BM-21B 122mm light rocket developed by Russia is an improvement from the BM-21 rocket and can be transported by helicopter.

The rocket launcher will be developed into a launch platform that integrates a variety of weapons. At the same time, the rocket launcher is required to have a rapid response capability and be able to drop a large number of rockets at the target in a very short period of time to receive the best combat effect.

The application of stealth technology to rocket launchers can reduce the characteristic signals of weapons and equipment, making it difficult for the enemy to find, identify, track and attack; use compartment technology, three defense equipment and other technical equipment to protect the crew from nuclear, biological, chemical and electromagnetic pulses s damage.