The People's Liberation Army of China has equipped its PCL-191 multiple launch rocket systems with new airburst munitions designed to shower target zones in a cloud of high-speed metal fragments.
Western defense publication Military Watch Magazine evaluated the capabilities of the updated system following a demonstration of the new rockets in operation.
Analysis of the demonstration highlighted how the airburst projectile detonates above ground level, dispersing a high concentration of metallic striking elements across the target zone. Military Watch Magazine reported that the weapon appears intended primarily to suppress enemy personnel and lightly armored military vehicles.
Airburst fragmentation warheads are engineered to detonate at a predetermined altitude, maximizing their blast radius and fragment distribution over open ground rather than cratering the earth upon impact. Defense analysts often refer to this anti-personnel saturation capability as steel rain due to the lethal curtain of flying metal produced by the detonation.
Airburst capability and target range
The author noted that the introduction of steel rain munitions significantly broadens the variety of battlefield targets that can be engaged by Chinese rocket artillery. The high-velocity fragments are capable of neutralizing troops in the open, disabling aircraft parked at airfields, destroying soft-skinned vehicles, and damaging specialized military equipment positioned outside hardened shelters.
The People's Liberation Army operates as China's primary military force, maintaining extensive ground artillery units. Adding specialized fragmentation rockets gives commanders greater flexibility to conduct area-denial strikes against soft targets without consuming heavier armor-piercing munitions.
System specifications and missile options
The PCL-191 system, which also appears under the alternative military designations PCH-191 and PHL-16, is a modern heavy multiple launch rocket launcher operated by Chinese ground forces. It features a modular launch container configuration capable of accommodating multiple weapon types.
The launcher can carry eight 300 millimeter caliber artillery rockets or a pair of larger missiles. Its available arsenal includes a ballistic missile with an operational range of up to 480 kilometers, as well as a cruise missile capable of striking targets at distances up to 180 kilometers.
Heavy rocket artillery firing 300 millimeter projectiles provides long-range strike capabilities that overlap with conventional short-range ballistic missiles, allowing artillery units to deliver heavy firepower deep behind enemy lines.
Comparative battlefield developments
The evaluation of China's rocket arsenal comes amid ongoing interest in advanced multiple launch rocket systems worldwide. In August, defense columnist Andrey Kots reported that Russia's Sarma rocket system is capable of rapidly relocating from its firing position immediately after launching a high-precision salvo to avoid counter-battery fire.
