Relations between the Republic of China in Taiwan and mainland communist China have warmed in recent years. But, despite this, the military-political circles in Taiwan do not at all exclude the threat of amphibious landing on the island, as one of the possible types of invasion by the PRC army. The fact that China will someday want to regain control of the "rebel island" is not a topic for Taiwan that can be removed from the agenda.
This is also proved by the details released shortly after the New Year holidays about the Taiwanese program for the development of a new multi-caliber MLRS (multiple launch rocket system), known as the RT-2000. This MLRS is designed to counter a possible landing operation of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), the destruction of transports and ships of the Chinese fleet on the way to the Taiwanese coast, as well as the defeat of enemy people and equipment at the time of their landing on land.
Five-year delay
The full designation of the new Taiwanese MLRS RT-2000 is "Ray Ting 2000" (translated as "thunder"). Serial production of the "Thunder" MLRS was launched at the enterprises of the Republic of China last year. But only on the wave of materials in the media, which reported on the high combat potential of the installation and listed its combat characteristics, they forgot about one interesting fact. The adoption of the Thunder MLRS was almost 5 years behind the planned schedule, and the development of the MLRS itself faced a number of technical problems, some of which have not yet been resolved. So far, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of China has placed an order for about 50 warheads and the same number of transport-loading vehicles.
MLRS RT-2000
According to the existing plans of the Taiwanese command, the new multiple launch rocket system should go into service with all three army groups of the island. Each group will receive at least one artillery battalion of these systems. The battalion will include 3 batteries of the MLRS RT-2000, each of which has 6 combat vehicles.
The developer of the complex was the Changshan Scientific and Technological Institute, which belongs to the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic, which is the leading scientific and technical organization of the military-industrial complex of Taiwan. The institute, established in 1969 (located in the city of Longtan), developed and sent into serial production almost all missile systems adopted by the country, land and sea-based radar stations, as well as the KF-3/4 and KF type MLRS systems already in service on the island. -6 caliber 126 and 117 mm. Currently, the institute is actively involved in Taiwan's rocket and space program.
117 to 230 mm
The institute began actively developing a new multiple launch rocket system back in 1996. Taiwanese engineers decided to create it on the basis of a wheeled chassis of a heavy army truck M977 HEMTT, which has a wheel arrangement of 8x8, this truck is produced by the Turkish company Oshkosh Truck Corporation. It was on their chassis that the prototype of the MLRS RT-2000 was made, which was already demonstrated at arms exhibitions in 1997. Later, information appeared that the MAN HX81 wheeled truck, which has the same wheel formula, could be selected as a chassis. If we talk about the concept, then, developing the installation, Taiwanese engineers were inspired by the well-known American MLRS M270, which the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan even planned to purchase in the States at the beginning, but later refused, giving preference to a domestic manufacturer.
MLRS "Thunder" is a multi-caliber system, which is technically provided by the possible installation of various packages of guides. So, it can be 2 packs of 20 rockets Mk15 117 mm caliber, or 2 packs of 9 rockets Mk30 180 mm caliber, or 2 packs of 6 rockets Mk45 230 mm caliber. The firing range for these variants of rockets is encrypted in their name and is 15, 30 and 45 kilometers, respectively. Rocket projectiles of a larger caliber are supposed to be used to destroy PLA ships and landing detachments while still at sea, while 117 mm rockets are supposed to be used against enemy troops already landing on the Taiwan coast. Naturally, a larger caliber can be used not only to defeat an assault force while still at sea, but also on the coast, from a long distance, in the event that it is not possible to quickly reach the area in which the enemy will begin to conduct an amphibious operation.
The crew of the MLRS "Thunder" is 5 people, the combat weight is 13,700 kg, the speed on the highway is up to 60 km / h, the cruising range on the highway is almost 500 km. The RT-2000 is equipped with a fire control system that uses satellite navigation signals to automatically determine the coordinates and altitude of the installation location.
American MLRS M270
The composition of the MLRS RT-2000 military equipment includes rockets, which can have a high-explosive fragmentation warhead with pre-prepared striking elements (steel balls of different diameters and quantities, depending on the caliber of the projectile), as well as anti-personnel or other submunitions. So, for example, the 117 mm Mk15 rocket can be equipped with a warhead with 6400 steel balls with a diameter of 6, 4 mm., The Mk30 rocket can carry up to 267 M77 DPICM multipurpose ammunition, which can hit both infantry and unarmored and lightly armored vehicles or carry anti-personnel stuffing in the form of 18,300 steel balls with a diameter of 8 mm. The most powerful 230 mm Mk45 rocket is capable of carrying up to 518 M77 DPICM submunitions or 25,000 steel balls with a diameter of 8 mm. Currently in the Republic of China, work is underway to create new types of ammunition that can be used in the MLRS "Thunder"
New competitor?
The first public demonstration of the "Thunder" fighting qualities was the "demonstration" exercise of the Taiwanese ground forces, which took place in April 2001 on the west coast of the island. Then, in the course of firing military rockets, the target was successfully hit - a ship previously withdrawn from the fleet of the republic. However, already in the next year, during the shooting, the developers of the MLRS failed. What happened then is not known for certain, but some sources flashed information that what happened was "a very unpleasant surprise." It took a year to eliminate the identified shortcomings, but during test firing in 2003, the MLRS failed again, and local fishermen literally caught several unexploded submunitions near the range where the firing took place.
To date, all the comments that were identified during the military tests have been eliminated, and, according to the developer, the RT-2000 MLRS is ready for serial production. Moreover, Taiwanese gunsmiths have already entered the international market with their system, in particular, according to the American weekly Defense News, an advertising and information campaign for the new multiple launch rocket system was carried out at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi in 2003. True, nothing is known about the conclusion of contracts or at least interest on the part of foreign states. At the same time, the multi-caliber MLRS itself can be quite attractive and in demand on the market, although it has a significant drawback - a rather low firing range of 117 and 180 mm ammunition.
For comparison, we present the characteristics of domestic MLRS exported. So, MLRS "Grad" have a similar caliber of 122 mm (package of 40 guides) and 220 mm. MLRS "Uragan" (16 guides) have a firing range of 20-40 and 35 km, respectively. The American M270 MLRS, which the Taiwanese developers were equal to, has a firing range of 227 mm rockets from 32 to 60 km, depending on the type of ammunition. Naturally, it is not worth mentioning the Russian large-caliber MLRS "Smerch", which is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 70-90 km. So while the domestic defense industry should not be afraid of Taiwanese gunsmiths, most likely it was more important for the manufacturers of the Taiwanese "Thunder" to fulfill the order of their own Ministry of Defense than to plan competition in the world market.
