H41G1B6 Dolpung

H41G1B6 Dolpung
The H41B1G6 Dolpung in traveling and ready positions, with a H41ChW rocket on display above.
Type	Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	2018-present
Production history
Designer	Buksŏng Industries Group
Produced	2017-present
No. built	200+
Specifications
Weight	48 tonnes
Length	12.08 m
Width	3.48 m (incl. mirrors)
Height	3.8 m (rockets stowed)
Crew	4
Engine	WY-0400 V-12 diesel 540 hp
Power/weight	11.25 hp/ton
Transmission	8×8
Ground clearance	400mm
Operational range	600 km (road)
Speed	70 km/h (road)

The H41G1B6 Dolpung ("Squall") is a type of heavy multiple rocket launcher designed in Menghe. It is armed with six 41-centimeter artillery rockets, and can strike targets out to a maximum range of 300 kilometers. It entered service in 2018, but was officially unveiled to the public during the 2019 Victory Day parade.

Design

The H41G1B6 multiple rocket launcher is built on the Taekchŏn T512 heavy 8×8 utility chassis, with the engine in the center of the cab. It has a crew of four. Four more crew members ride in the accompanying transloader vehicle.

Each launch vehicle carries six 41cm artillery rockets in individual launch boxes. The launch boxes are reusable, and reloading involves transferring new rockets into the rear of spent launch boxes. Pairs of launch boxes can also be removed by crane in a brigade-level depot, though this is mainly done for repairs and maintenance.

The longest-range warheads in the H41 family can reach distances of 300 kilometers, but do so by sacrifing payload mass. Shorter-range rockets with larger warheads also exist.

Ammunition

The rockets fired by the H41G1B6 system share the base designation H41. The following major types are known to exist:

Designation	Warhead type	Warhead mass	Guidance	Range	Notes
H41GP	Unitary high-explosive	250 kg	Inertial	270 km	Appears to be marketed for export only.
H41ChW	Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunition	200 kg	Inertial	300 km
H41JW	JIG-J anti-personnel mine	200 kg	Inertial	300 km
H41DJ	3× anti-radiation projectile	???	PRH	200 km	Experimental
H41ChD	Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunition	350 kg	Unguided	180 km

Of these types, the H41ChW and H41JW appear to be most common in Menghean Army service; some reports indicate that the H41GP is only marketed for export. The H41ChD is known to be in Menghean service, but in smaller numbers. The H41DJ was first revealed to the public in a 2021 press release, and reportedly contans three submunitions which home in on radar signals as they descend. The submunitions are released at high altitude to increase coverage and complicate interception. Little else is known about this system, including whether the submunitions have rocket boosters of their own or are purely gravity-driven. It is believed to be in testing as of July 2021.

Role

The H41G1B6 Dolpung is designed to conduct long-range strikes against fixed, unprotected area targets, such as airfields, fuel storage sites, large concentrations of parked vehicles, and open-air ammunition and supply storage facilities. It can also strike temporary concentrations of vehicles, such as armored columns assembling for a road march, surface-to-air missile batteries, and enemy long-range rocket and missile vehicles, though only with datalinked targeting information from fixed-wing aircraft over enemy territory.

In the opening hours of a war against Maverica and the People's Republic of Innominada, large numbers of Dolpung batteries would fire at pre-planned targets in enemy rear areas. In addition to destroying aircraft on the ground and temporarily disabling airfields, these strikes could force enemy surface-to-air missile batteries to reveal their locations by activating their guidance radar sets and firing missiles. This, in turn, could open the way for follow-up SEAD strikes. For maximum effectiveness, opening strikes would use a combination of rocket types: H41ChW rockets at the beginning of a barrage to cause immediate damage, and H41JW anti-personnel mines at the end of a barrage to delay cleanup operations and prevent surviving jets from scrambling. The damage from a H41 rocket strike is faster to repair than the damage from advanced runway-cratering munitions, but in the high-intensity opening phase of operations, even shutting down an airfield for a few hours could give subsequent waves of Menghean strike aircraft a decisive advantage.

Compared to short-range ballistic missiles like the TY-7 Tongil and TY-8 Sŭngri, the H41G1B6 has a shorter range, a smaller warhead, and less accuracy. It is unable to defeat hardened targets, such as bunkers and concrete aircraft shelters, and inefficient against point targets, such as individual headquarters buildings and radar installations. Its main advantages over these systems are its reduced cost and mass, with the latter characteristic allowing one TEL to carry six missiles rather than one or two. This makes it more effective at saturating enemy air defenses with a large number of rockets, depleting anti-ballistic-missile stocks to pave the way for follow-up strikes. The most commonly used rockets in the H41 family are also submunition dispensers, making the Dolpung system more effective against dispersed but unarmored targets such as aircraft parked in open-topped blast shelters.

Organization

As with other Menghean rocket and missile systems, H41G1B6 is the designation for the six-tube launcher (balsagi), while H41G1 is the designation for the broader system or family of vehicles supporting it. Other components in the H41G1 system are the H41G1G6 six-missile transloader, the H41G1ST fire control calculation vehicle, the H41G1JS battery command post, and the H41G1DS battalion command post. All vehicles in this family use either the Taekchŏn T512 heavy 8×8 chassis or the Samsan S915 medium 8×8 chassis.

A typical H41G1 battery has the following organization:

• 1 × H41G1JS battery command post
• 1 × H41G1ST fire control calculation vehicle
• 6 × H41G1B6 multiple rocket launcher (3 firing platoons of 2 vehicles each)
• 6 × H41G1G6 transloader vehicle
• 1 × reload platoon command vehicle
• 1 × light signal lorry

A typical 41cm rocket artillery battalion has three batteries and a rocket transport company with 18 transloaders, and a typical 41cm rocket artillery brigade has three battalions, for a total of 54 launchers and 162 transloaders per brigade. This allows a single 41cm rocket artillery brigade to fire 324 rockets in the opening barrage and 972 more before having to rendezvous with a corps-level logistics unit to resupply.

In the Menghean Army, each 41cm rocket artillery battalion also has a security platoon, which consists of three light rifle squads in 4×4 armored utility vehicles. The security platoon is responsible for escorting the artillery battalion during road marches, scouting launch and reloading sites, and maintaining a protective screen around camps and bases. The light rifle squads in the security platoon are mainly armed to protect against special forces and airborne units, but they also carry light anti-tank weapons to delay enemy mechanized attacks.

Owing to its long range and specialization in attacks on deep area targets, the 41cm rocket artillery brigade is typically placed under the command of a numbered Army, with the 4th Army in Argentstan operating two such brigades as of 2020. Individual battalions can, however, be detached from the formation and placed under the command of an individual corps, especially when armed with the H41ChD anti-armor rocket.

Operators

• Menghe
• Template:Country data Ummayah

See also

• BM-30 Smerch (Letnia)