• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Artillery Rockets / Multiple Rocket Launchers

The development of artillery has generally advancing along the path of greater range and greater power. In order to achieve this goal, the barrel of the artillery is made longer and longer, and the explosive power of the shells is getting bigger and bigger. Due to the limitations of technology in each era, the range and power of the artillery of different countries of the same period are almost the same. If any party makes breakthroughs in artillery technology, it will greatly improve the battlefield advantage.

Rocket extended range ammunition is now a standard type of artillery in various countries, which can effectively increase the range of artillery. During World War II, most of the Army’s conventional artillery had a range of about 10 to 15 kilometers. During mechanized operations, the armored cluster could reach the artillery in a single assault, and the enemy’s artillery could also be used in artillery battles with the enemy. But the shells have additional power components, and the charge is much reduced. The original 150mm howitzer has a considerable explosive power, but the power of the rocket extended-range projectile is much smaller, and its impact on the enemy is naturally reduced.

The combat objectives of self-propelled artillery and self-propelled rockets are actually different. Self-propelled artillery is more responsible for continuous suppression or precision strike, that is, point suppression, while rockets are responsible for covering areas such as anti-artillery and attacking enemy assembly points.

Self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers are responsible for short-range and long-range artillery suppression tasks. Compared with the large-caliber artillery, the rocket launcher has a longer range and extends the ground fire coverage radius of the army, which is used to fill the gap between the battle tactical missile and the artillery.

Self-propelled tube artillery is a fire support weapon tailored for the mechanized infantry division. The main purpose is to demolish the bunker and firepower on the opposite side. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it will be dispersed to company-level units, and will be used in street fighting concurrently. Self-propelled rocket launcher is a fire suppression weapon tailored for field armored divisions. The main purpose is to delay the assembly speed of the opposing armored division and disrupt the opposing formation. Therefore, under normal circumstances, they are used intensively during field battles.

The self-propelled rocket launcher cannot replace the self-propelled artillery, even though there are many advantages of rocket launchers. The full projectile length and mass are limited, and it is easy to achieve high initial velocity and long range. Tube artillery is limited by service life, mobility and serviceability, and the initial velocity is not easy to increase. The muzzle velocity of the large-caliber artillery in service generally does not exceed 1200m/s, and the bottom row is used for drag reduction or the bottom row/rocket compound range increase. The range is generally not more than 50 kilometers. The rocket’s projectile diameter, projectile length, and ammunition quality are limited, and the reasonable design of the full projectile and engine can easily achieve higher speed and longer range.

Artillery rockets have small launch overload, easy part design. The overload of barrel artillery fired shells is extremely high. Recoilless guns and mortars can reach 5000g, and howitzers generally exceed 10000g. The design of shell guidance devices is very difficult, and it is often difficult to achieve good reliability. The overload of field rockets is generally about 100g, and the overload of anti-tank rockets with larger thrust and short working tine does not exceed 3000g, which greatly facilitates the use of electronic components. Rockets are easier to guide and use than artillery shells.

The force acting on the launcher is small, the launching platform is light and flexible, and the types are diverse. In order to resist the high chamber pressure, the barrel thickness of the tube artillery is large, the gun mount is self-heavy, which affects the mobility, and the recoil puts high demands on the self-propelled artillery chassis. When the rocket is launched, the force acting on the launcher is extremely small compared with barrel artillery, so it can be flexibly installed on a variety of platforms.

The rocket launcher can be loaded with multiple rockets on the launcher, and all of them are launched in a short time. A single vehicle can form a dense firepower and quickly destroy the target. Retreating quickly after completing the launch mission can greatly improve survivability.

Self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers are responsible for short-range and long-range artillery suppression tasks. Compared with the large-caliber artillery, the rocket launcher has a longer range and extends the ground fire coverage radius of the army, which is used to fill the gap between the battle tactical missile and the artillery. Plateaus and mountains account for about 26% of China's land area. Field rockets can effectively solve the logistics and mobility problems in traditional channel battles. Without wading through mountains and rivers, any invading forces within hundreds of square kilometers can be hit hard.

But the rocket artillery also has great shortcomings and cannot completely replace the barrel artillery: Even without considering guided rockets, the price of unguided rockets of the same specification is higher than that of ordinary shells. The acceleration of artillery shells is carried out in the barrel. Each occurrence only consumes cartridges and a certain amount of propellant, while rockets require rocket motors, shells and equivalent solid propellants. The amount of propellant and the cost of ammunition are both Higher than ordinary shells.

The muzzle velocity of the shells fired by the barrel artillery is extremely high, and the external ballistic trajectory is not obviously interfered by other forces except gravity and aerodynamics; while the rocket itself has an acceleration process after launching, and the volume and mass of its own projectile are relatively large. It is easily affected by disturbing factors, resulting in greater dispersion. For the gun, as long as the angle and charge remain unchanged, the entire acceleration is in the barrel, and the angle and speed of the gun when it pops out of the bore are unchanged. For the rifled gun, there is spin stability to resist interference. Even if it is not accurate once, according to Lagrange's median value theorem, it is enough to come several times (assuming that the environment does not change much during the period). However, after the rocket takes off from the launcher, the rocket engine still needs to work for a while to reach the maximum speed. Any error during acceleration will be accumulated and amplified, whether it is the rocket thrust change or the angle error. As for the spin (if any), whether it is a gas rudder or a wing, it is a process from slow to fast. Similarly, errors will accumulate and be amplified.

The rocket ejects a large amount of high-temperature and high-speed airflow backwards when it is fired. Compared with the muzzle flame of a barrel artillery, the sound, light, and infrared characteristics are more obvious, and the launch position is easily exposed. The rocket launcher needs to be reloaded after a long time, and the preparation time for combat is longer than that of a barrel artillery.