The PHL-03 is a truck-mounted
self-propelled 12-tube 300 mm long-range
multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
of the People's Republic of China.
The system is beginning to be replaced by the more modular and newer
PHL-16
The PHL-16, also known as PCL-191, is a truck-mounted self-propelled multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system developed by the People's Republic of China.
Development
It is based on the AR-3 MRL developed by Norinco. The AR-3 was marketed in 201 ...
.
Design
The design is based on the Soviet-made
BM-30 Smerch
The BM-30 ''Smerch'' ( rus, Смерч, "tornado", "whirlwind"), 9K58 Smerch or 9A52-2 Smerch-M is a heavy self-propelled 300 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system is intended to defeat personnel, armore ...
rocket artillery system. The main role for this multiple rocket launcher is to engage strategic targets such as large concentrations of troops, airfields, command centres, air defense batteries and support facilities. It is also used to engage in
counter-battery fire
Counter-battery fire (sometimes called counter-fire) is a battlefield tactic employed to defeat the enemy's indirect fire elements (multiple rocket launchers, artillery and mortars), including their target acquisition, as well as their command ...
missions.
The PHL-03 has the same configuration as the original Soviet counterpart with 12 launch tubes for 300 mm artillery rockets, along with a computerised
fire-control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...
(FCS) incorporating
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
/
GLONASS
GLONASS (russian: ГЛОНАСС, label=none, ; rus, links=no, Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, r=Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, t=Global Navigation Satellite System) is ...
/
BeiDou
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
.
Rockets
The PHL-03 uses the 300 mm rockets of the BRE family, namely the BRC4, BRE2 and the guided Fire Dragon 140A which have a range of .
A standard weight for each rocket is with a warhead. Maximum firing range is depending on warhead type with around . Standard warheads are high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG),
fuel-air explosive
A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, a vacuum bomb or a fuel air explosive (FAE), is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The fuel–air explosive is one of the be ...
, and
cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
warheads with anti-armor and anti-personnel submunitions. Cluster warheads can also carry self-targeting anti-tank munitions. A full
salvo
A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...
of this system could potentially cover an area of up to .
In October 2020, it was reported that a new type of rocket was being deployed on the PHL-03 with a range 30 km longer than normal, suggesting a range of .
Operators
;
*
People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...
– 175 systems
;
*
Ethiopian Ground Forces
The Ethiopian Ground Forces () is the land service branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. It is senior of the two uniformed military branches. It engages in land warfare and combined arms operations, including armored and mechanized o ...
– 4
See also
*
PHL-16
The PHL-16, also known as PCL-191, is a truck-mounted self-propelled multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system developed by the People's Republic of China.
Development
It is based on the AR-3 MRL developed by Norinco. The AR-3 was marketed in 201 ...
Multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
*
A-100 MRL
The A-100 is a 300 mm, 10-tube multiple rocket launcher developed by Beijing-based China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT, also known as 1st Space Academy) for the Chinese PLA ground forces. It is a derivative of Weishi Rockets WS-1 ...
– lost competition to PHL-03
*
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American-developed armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher.
The U.S. Army variant of the MLRS vehicle is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s wer ...
References
5. Go Ballistic: Tigray’s Forgotten Missile War With Ethiopia and Eritre
↑ https://ethiopanorama.com/?p=143767{{PRCAFVs
Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s
Multiple rocket launchers
Norinco
Self-propelled artillery of the People's Republic of China
Wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers