On December 27, when the war raged, Xinhua News Agency reported a striking news: the Pakistani military successfully test-fired the domestically produced "Fatah-2" rocket launcher. With an impressive maximum range of 400 kilometers and a "unique flight trajectory", this rocket launcher has become a highlight of Pakistan's military development. However, behind this news lies a series of thought-provoking stories, with twists and turns that make people look sideways.
In today's world, artillery is still one of the most important support weapons of the armies of various countries, and it is divided into two categories: barreled artillery and rocket artillery. With the continuous advancement of guidance technology, these two began to gradually carry high-precision guided munitions, such as the American-made M-777 and M-142 "Seahorse" rocket launchers. Although the barreled gun has certain advantages in terms of short firing range, its technical difficulty is greater, and the requirements for internal high-precision guidance elements are more demanding. On the other hand, rocket artillery accelerates slowly after flying away from the launcher, and the guidance difficulty is low. It can be seen from this that there are not many countries in the world that can overcome the technical difficulties of guided artillery shells.
Pakistan's military industry is relatively low, and it is difficult to complete the production of barreled artillery and rockets independently. However, these two are the main equipment of its army, and relying on outsourcing is not only costly, but also faces great risks of wartime supply. Therefore, Pakistan decided to focus on rocket artillery. There are two main reasons: first, the difficulty of manufacturing rocket artillery is relatively low, and Pakistan is expected to complete the production independently; second, the range of guided rocket artillery is gradually increasing, and it has greater development potential. Pakistan introduced some basic rocket artillery in the early days, and gradually established a preliminary production system for rockets. In March this year, a piece of news showed that Ukraine actually had a batch of 122mm rocket launchers produced by Pakistan Ordnance Factory, and the number was as high as nearly 10,000.
In 2008, Pakistan purchased 36 A-100 rocket launchers from China to counter the Russian Tornado rocket launchers equipped by the Indian Army. Although slightly inferior in numbers to India, the A-100 has a certain advantage in terms of performance, with a maximum range of more than 120 kilometers. However, India did not compromise because of this, and successively introduced American-made M-142 "Seahorse" and other rocket artillery, and the rocket artillery contest between India and Pakistan gradually escalated.
Pakistan's military industry gradually realized that it was difficult to meet the needs of the army by relying on outsourcing, so it began to deepen its cultivation in the field of rocket artillery. In 2021, Pakistan launched the "Fatah-1" rocket launcher, with a range of 140 kilometers, successfully suppressing the arrogance of India's "Pinaka" rocket launcher. And at the end of 2023, Pakistan again attracted attention with the release of the "Fatah-2" with a range of 400 kilometers. This is undoubtedly a technological breakthrough and shows that Pakistan is at the forefront of innovation in rocket artillery manufacturing.
On the Indian side, despite the introduction of some Soviet-made BM-21 series 122-mm rocket launchers, the main force is still dominated by Russian-made "Tornado". The Indian self-produced "Pinaka" rocket launcher had a unique feature in caliber, but due to the inability to solve the problem of accuracy, it was forced to introduce an Israeli ballistic correction system. The army version of the LCA for the Indian army, which has not been able to be developed for a long time, has not been able to make it really mature. In the face of Pakistan's technological breakthrough, India will have to reassess its own rocket artillery equipment and may increase the purchase of American-made M-142 "Hippocampus".
On the whole, the development of India and Pakistan in the field of rocket artillery has shown a clear difference. Pakistan is more rational in terms of resource utilization and has gradually improved its technological level, while India faces problems such as precision in long-term research and development. With the emergence of Pakistan's Fatah series of rocket launchers, India may need to readjust its strategic layout to better cope with the fierce regional security situation.
However, India is not without other options. The American-made M-142 "Hippocampus" has already attracted the attention of India by showing itself well on the battlefield in Ukraine. Although it is expensive, it may be the only way to win in the rocket artillery contest between India and Pakistan. India's arms race in the field of rocket artillery will continue, and we have reason to believe that this race will achieve even more noticeable developments in the future.
To sum up, India and Pakistan have shown different development paths in the competition for rocket artillery technology, which contains more variables of military technological innovation and regional balance. As military bloggers, we will continue to follow developments in this area, provide users with more in-depth analysis and perspectives, and provoke more thinking about the military balance in the region. Let's witness the future of this India-Pakistan rocket artillery race together!