what, if any, guidance system does a Katyusha rocket have?

Question

i have read that in order to be called a rocket in the military it doesn't have a guidance system. if that is the case, how is hezbollah able to hit haifa from over 30 miles? or are they using missles which have a guidance system? in addition what is hezbollah using as lauch pad as i assume their rocket batteries are unlikely to be truck mounted as katyusha rockets were when they were developed by the russians.

i understand that by adjusting the angle of departure of the rockets one can, somewhat, direct fire. however over a span of 30+ miles being out by a very small amount translates to, very likely, mising the target. particularily this case as hezbollah can't leave it's batteries in place after firing as they will be attacked by IDF artilery and aircraft. so if they have to move all the time they risk firing rockets that completly miss the target. and they have a very limited supply of rockets (3000) by some estimates so one would think that they would endevour to make each rocket count.

Answer 1

irst, Katyusha was the original BM-13 system (introduced during WW 2). But I guess you refer to more modern multiple rocket launchers of Soviet origin, like BM-21.

No, they have no guidance system. Not at all. Still, by controlling the launcher's elevation and direction you can acheive the accuracy that is considered "good enough".

I'm not fmiliar with the "kassam" rockets Hezbollah is using. But it works similar way, I suppose. There were numerous cases when guerillas have employed (often multiple) single, separate rocket tubes - just point them in general direction of your targer, under the right angle, fire and run away.

Take in mind "kassams are fired against a city. This means a large area. And those who fire them aren't iterested what would get hit. Military base, school, or cinema - everythng goes. Thus, the rockets do not need a guidance system.

Answer 2

What kind of guidence system does a rifle have? Or a mortar for that matter? Or any kind of artillery? It's a 122mm artillery rocket that with the proper launch angle & direction you can hit anything in the range. It's not that hard, just a little math & geometry, just in case you didn't pay attention in high school, apparently they did, or the Iranian advisors taught them how to do it anyway. They can't hit exact targets very well, but it's not hard to hit a city or even a residential neighborhood. The quesiton is if they want to be taken seriously, why would they not target military posts instead of civilians?

Answer 3

What kind of rocket are we talking about? jus your average Hamas standard issue rocket, or your Saturn V rocket that I believe could carry a nuke. Its all really in the same category. A missile, in my opinion, would be more thought of as a smaller object, like the ones on military jets, and a rocket, would be like the stuff the launch nukes with, or transport satellites to space...and either could have a guidance system, I believe both do. But you're question was very vague with the sixe of the rocket

Answer 4

Correct. Missiles are guided. Consider the US Army's MRLS rocket systems can hit targets 25 miles away. The standard weapons used by the terrorists are versions of the Soviet BM21 & bm14 rocket launchers. See Data on it below:

"The BM-21 122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. It consists of a Ural-375D six-by-six truck chassis fitted with a bank of forty launch tubes arranged in a rectangular shape. The vehicle is powered by a V-8 180 hp gasoline engine, has a maximum road speed of 75 km/h and a range of up to 750 kilometers. In 1976, the BM-21 was mounted on the newer Ural-4320 six-by-six army truck.

The crew of five men can emplace the system and have it ready to fire in three minutes. Before firing, two rear jacks are lowered to help support the vehicle and the rockets are turned away from the unprotected cab. The crew can choose to fire the rockets from the cab or from a remote initiating device at the end of a 64 m-long cable. All forty rockets can be away in as little as twenty seconds, but can also be fired individually or in small groups in several second intervals should the situation necessitate such fire. A PG-1M panoramic telescope can be used for sighting. The BM-21 can be packed up and ready to move in two minutes, which can be necessary when engaged by counter battery fire. Reloading is done manually and takes about ten minutes.

Each 2.87 meter long, 122 mm rocket is slowly spun by rifling in its tube as it exits, which along with its primary fin stabilization keeps it on course. Rockets armed with HE-Frag, incendiary, or chemical warheads can be fired out to a range of twenty kilometers. Newer HE and cargo (used to deliver AP or AT mines) rockets have a range of thirty kilometers. Warheads weigh around twenty kilograms depending on the type.

The relative accuracy of this system and the number of rockets each vehicle is able to quickly bring to bear on an enemy target make it a very effective system especially at shorter ranges. One battalion of eighteen launchers is able to deliver 720 rockets in a single volley. However, the system cannot be used in situations that call for pinpoint precision.

Used by over fifty countries, Grad is the most widely distributed MRL system in the world."

It's likely such weapons could be hidden in a garage or towed to a postion and fired in the genal direction of a target. As such, great precsion is not needed and is well with in the technical capabilities of Hezboliah.

Answer 5

rockets are classified as short range, usually a few miles. missles can go great distances of over 6,000 miles. they have guided, but the ones hexbollah is using came originally from china and iran modified it some. they can usually go up to 50 miles. the fly the surfacr at .079 mach. no guidance or control. it has to have a computer guidance system onboard and the system to use to track to send it to the location from mount, planes or ships. its very expensive as the average missle cost is over a million.

Answer 6

What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What do you mean? An African or European swallow?