The Kestrel is an individual shoulder-launched weapon system developed by

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST; ) is a Taiwanese state owned corporation, formerly part of the Republic of China Ministry of National Defense's Armaments Bureau, which is active in the development, manufactur ...

and currently in service with the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...

and

Coast Guard Administration The Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council (CGA; ), also known as the Taiwan Coast Guard or R.O.C. Coast Guard, is charged with maintaining law and order, protecting the resources of the territorial waters of the Republic of Chin ...

Description

The launcher is made from

fiber reinforced plastic Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon (in carbon-fib ...

(FRP) and features an optical sight as well as a mount for a night vision scope. Effective range is 400m with

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

warhead rocket and 150m with HESH warhead rocket.

Development

Development of the Kestrel began in 2008 following a request from the

Republic of China Marine Corps The Republic of China Marine Corps (ROCMC; ), also known colloquially as the Taiwan Marine Corps, is the amphibious arm of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) responsible for amphibious combat, counter-landing and reinforcement of the areas under th ...

. Eleven tests were carried out between 2009 and 2012 and the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation occurred in 2013. The Kestrel was first exhibited at the

Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition The Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE; ) is a biennial defense exhibition held in Taiwan. TADTE is organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). It is held biennially. Repeat exhibitors include both loca ...

in 2013.

Service history

Republic of China Military Police

The Kestrel entered service with the ROCMC in 2015. In 2018 the

Republic of China Military Police The Republic of China Military Police (ROCMP; ) is a military police body under the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan. Unlike military police in many other countries, the ROCMP is a separate branch of the ROC Armed Forces. ROCMP is resp ...

placed an order for 445 launchers. As of December 2019 the ROCMP had procured 397 combat systems, 238 test systems and five training simulators.

Coast Guard Administration

In 2019 the Coast Guard Administration placed an order for 84 launchers and 88 simulators. By April 2021 many had been deployed to units garrisoned on islands in the South China Sea.

Republic of China Army

The

Republic of China Army The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of the ...

has evaluated the system to replace their numerous

M72 LAW The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in th ...

systems. It is a standard Army issue for the Kestrel.

Rockets

HEAT

The standard rocket features a

high explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

warhead. The HEAT rocket has a 400m range and can penetrate 35 centimeters of armor.

HESH

The development of a

High Explosive Squash Head High explosive squash head (HESH) in British terminology, or high explosive plastic/plasticized (HEP) in American terminology, is a type of explosive projectile which uses a plastic explosive that conforms to the surface of a target before detonat ...

warhead began in 2012. It has been tested against brick walls and reinforced concrete. This warhead is particularly effective for making mouseholes (improvised doorways) in concrete walls during

urban combat Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and t ...

. The HESH rocket has a range of 150 meters and can penetrate 20-60 centimeters of reinforced concrete.

Long range

A long range rocket that can reach out to 1,200m is in development.

Guided

A guided missile based on existing Kestrel rockets is under development by NCSIST with an eye to providing a domestic equivalent to the

FGM-148 Javelin The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made portable anti-tank missile system in service since 1996, and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fire- ...

External links

* NCSIST feature video

(in Chinese) * NCSIST testing video

References

{{Military of the Republic of China Anti-tank rockets Weapons of the Republic of China Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2015