【Military Subplane】Author: Lele
On December 27, Xinhua News Agency quoted Pakistan's military as saying that its domestically produced "Fatah-2" rocket launcher had completed a test launch. This high-precision weapon with a maximum range of 400 kilometers and a "unique flight trajectory" is very consistent with the current development trend of rocket artillery, but it is not the same as the poor technical level of Basstan, and the story in this is really interesting.
▲The range of the domestic PHL-191 rocket launcher is almost at this level
Even in 2023, all types of artillery are still the most effective support weapons of the army, and they are mainly divided into two categories: barreled artillery and rocket artillery. With the development of guidance technology, both began to carry guided munitions, such as the American-made M-777 and M-142 "Seahorses" received by the Ukrainian Army, which have exclusive high-precision guided projectiles/rockets. However, although the barreled artillery has a shorter firing range and is not as powerful and accurate as the guided rocket launcher in the impression of the outside world, it is more difficult. The reason for this is actually very simple: the acceleration section of the barrel artillery is located in the breech, and the shell bears a large overload in a very short time, which puts forward high requirements for the bearing capacity of the internal high-precision guidance elements, while the rocket artillery accelerates slowly after flying away from the launcher, and the overload is relatively low, and the requirements are naturally reduced. Therefore, there are many countries in the world that can produce body-barreled artillery and rocket artillery, but only a handful can overcome the difficulties of guided artillery shells. Of course, high difficulty does not mean high price, guided rockets have higher demand for fuel, long-range accuracy of guidance parts, etc., and the actual price of a single unit far exceeds that of guided artillery shells.
▲The manufacturing difficulties of the barreled artillery are concentrated in the barrel before the barrel is discharged
Pakistan's military industry is not at a high level, and in fact, it is impossible to produce artillery and rockets independently, but both of them are the main equipment of the army that consumes a lot of money, and relying on outsourcing is not only costly, but also has a great risk of supply in wartime. After thinking about it, Pakistan finally focused on rocket artillery. There are two main considerations for this decision: first, most of the rocket artillery is less difficult to manufacture and can be completed independently; second, the range of guided rocket artillery is getting longer and farther, and it has more development potential than body-barreled artillery. In the early years, Pakistan introduced some basic rocket artillery and built a preliminary rocket production system, and the quality is not bad. In March this year, the outside world discovered that Ukraine actually had a batch of 122mm rocket launchers produced by Pakistan Ordnance Factory, with nearly 10,000 pieces. Later investigation found that other countries bought it from Pakistan in the early years, and after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the price of this Soviet-made caliber rocket rose sharply, so it was sold to Ukraine.
▲The A-100 is a relatively old piece of equipment
In 2008, Pakistan purchased 36 A-100 rocket launchers from China to counter the Russian-made Tornado equipped by the Indian Army. In terms of performance, the A-100 has a maximum range of 120 kilometers, surpassing the "Tornado", which is only 90 kilometers, and although the number of 36 units is slightly inferior to India's 42, it can still be roughly suppressed. However, as India continues to improve its domestically produced "Pinaka" rocket launchers, the range gradually moves from 38 kilometers to 100 kilometers, and the rocket inventory is not subject to import restrictions, Pakistan, which has been stimulated, finally launched the "Fatah-1" in 2021. This "domestic rocket launcher" in the mouth of the Pakistani media is somewhat similar in appearance to the A-100, and the firing range is even better (140 kilometers), which immediately suppressed the momentum of India's "piñaka". Pakistan has also experienced the charm of the "domestic rocket artillery base" plus the "imported advanced guidance components" model, and further deepened the "Fatah-2" with a range of 400 kilometers.
▲ The Russian-made "Tornado" was once the source of China's rocket artillery technology in the mouth of Western media
At this stage, the development of rocket artillery between India and Pakistan can be called a typical example of their respective military industrial enterprises. The main force of the Indian side is still the Soviet-made BM-21 series 122 mm rocket launchers (that is, the kind that is widely used by Russia and Ukraine on the battlefield at this stage), and the 42 Russian-made "Tornadoes" introduced are located at the top, but the rocket inventory is not much (according to the Indian Army, it can be finished in half a day), and in the middle is the "Pinaka" produced by India. This peculiar caliber 214mm rocket launcher has been developed since 1983, and it was only a few years ago that it really began to be installed in the Indian Army, which can be called the "army version of LCA". Since India has never been able to solve the problem of accuracy, the "Pinaka" was forced to use a ballistic correction system from Israel, which greatly reduced the color of its "domestic weapons".
The Pakistan Army also uses small-caliber rocket artillery as the main force, and then directly 300 mm large-caliber with a range of more than 100 kilometers. The A-100 from China and the self-produced "Fatah-1" can share resources in many fields, and the rocket stocks are acceptable. At the top is the "Fatah-2", with a range of 400 kilometers that has surpassed that of the early "Scud", and it is an out-and-out strategic equipment.
▲India's "piñaka" has not been mature for many years
It is clear that Pakistan's rocket artillery equipment structure is more rational and the resource utilization rate is higher. In fact, India is not without the idea of imitating the "Tornado", but Russia withdrew its technology transfer commitment in 2014, and India itself does not have the ability to copy independently, so it has to focus on the "Pinaka". Regardless of the long research and development time, the unique caliber of this rocket artillery is very different from the rising trend of rocket artillery caliber in various countries, and the low accuracy has always been a problem criticized by the Indian Army. The biggest advantage is that it can be launched and evacuated quickly, and there is still room for full use in mountain operations. Now that Pakistan's "Fatah-2" has made a stunning appearance, India will definitely have to put a burden on the "Pinaka", but with its technological potential and industrial level, it is impossible to complete this task, and outsourcing is actually the only option.
▲The performance of the American-made M-142 "Seahorse" is indeed excellent
Russia itself has not performed well in the field of long-range rocket artillery, and now it is mired in war, and it is impossible to provide long-range guided rocket artillery to India. The excellent performance on the battlefield in Ukraine has made the world remember this rocket artillery, and the US-India relationship can also support this level of arms sales, plus Pakistan has achieved a technological breakthrough, which is not considered to break the balance, so it is very likely that the "Hippocampus" will enter service with the Indian Army in the future. However, the "Seahorse" is not cheap, Australia bought 20 sets at the beginning of the year, plus various ancillary expenses, it spent 680 million US dollars, India should spend more, and the competition between the two sides in the field of rocket artillery will continue.
Resources:
https://www.toutiao.com/article/7317295405023167039/?channel=&source=search_tab