H12G2B40 Ubak

The H12G2B40 Ubak ("hail") is a Menghean 122mm 40-barrel multiple rocket launcher produced from the 1970s until the 2000s. It is a derivative of the Letnian BM-21 Grad, mounting the latter's rocket launch assembly on a Chŏnsŏ J288 medium utility lorry. It has given rise to a number of variants and derivatives of its own, some of them using different chassis designs or loading systems.

Description

The H12G2B40 Ubak is built on a modified Chŏnsŏ J288 6×6 medium utility lorry. The chassis is slightly modified: the frame does not extend out as far behind the rear pair of roadwheels, and the placement of the exhaust pipe is slightly different. The structure above the frame is also custom-built to support the launcher and its associated equipment.

Apart from the domestic chassis, the H12G2B40 is functionally identical to the BM-21 Grad. The launch vehicle has a crew of three, but three additional crew members ride in a separate loading vehicle designated H12G2S40. This is a basic Chŏnsŏ J288 lorry with rockets carried in the rear bed under a tarp. The rocket launcher can be fired from a hand crank inside the cab or from a control unit at the end of a 64-meter cable.

Bringing the vehicle into a fire-ready state from a road march takes three minutes, firing a full salvo takes 20 seconds, and bringing the vehicle back into a road-march state takes two minutes. Thus, the full process of driving into a firing position, preparing the launcher, firing a full volley, and exiting the launch area can be completed in slightly under six minutes, making it difficult for an enemy to respond with counter-battery fire. The vehicle itself, however, is entirely unarmored, making it vulnerable to counter-battery fire and small-arms fire.

Organization

The Menghean Army typically assigns 122mm multiple rocket launchers at the divisional level, in a multiple rocket launcher battalion which is part of the division's artillery regiment. In the last decade, there have been some reports that the Menghean Army is transferring some 122mm multiple rocket launchers to the regimental level, with individual regiments in a division gaining one 122mm rocket artillery battery each.

A 122mm multiple rocket launcher battalion is divided into three multiple rocket launcher batteries. Each battery contains two firing platoons with three vehicles each, for a total of six launchers per battery or 18 per battalion. The battery also contains a H12G2JS rear command post, which uses a Chŏnsŏ J288 chassis; a H12G2JG forward observer vehicle, which uses a JJCh-1 chassis; a signal lorry based on the Chŏnsŏ G586; a staff car or 4×4 armored car for the reload platoon commander; and a reload platoon with six Chŏnsŏ J288 lorries serving as reload rocket carriers.

Variants

• H12G1B40 - Designation for BM-21 Grad vehicles on the original Ural chassis, imported from Letnia in the early 1970s.
• H12G2B40 Ubak - Designation for the domestic multiple rocket launch system described above.
  • H12G2B40G Ubak-G - Original production version with a manually aimed launcher.
  • H12G2B40N Ubak-N - Improved variant introduced in 2002. It features a CSNS navigation unit, which checks the vehicle's position for increased accuracy and autonomy, and powered elevation and traverse controls for the launcher, which allow the crew to aim the weapon without exiting the vehicle and operating the hand crank controls. These and other changes reportedly shave close to 1 minute off the time required to bring the launcher into action, and they allow a single launch vehicle to execute a firing mission at a greater distance from the battery fire-control post, though the battery FC post must still calculate a firing solution. The H12G2B40N also added compatibility with new types of 122mm rocket ammunition, increasing the launcher's range and versatility.

Related systems

H12G3B12

A 12-round 122mm rocket launcher on a Chŏnsŏ G586 chassis with a folding cab roof, for use by airborne forces and border units. The associated system of vehicles is known as H12G3 Ubak-GB and includes fire-control and command vehicles on airborne-capable G566 hulls.

H12G4B80 Ichung Ubak

The Ichung Ubak ("Twin Hail" or "Double Hail") is a new type of multiple rocket launch vehicle introduced in the mid-2000s. It consists of a Samsan S915 8×8 wheeled chassis with a 40-rocket Ubak-N type launcher and a separate bank of forty 122mm rockets between the launcher and the cab. To reload, the empty launcher rotates to face the rear, the reload bank elevates to match its angle, and a moving plate rams all forty reload rockets into the launcher's tubes. This process takes slightly under two minutes and can be completed with the crew inside the cab, though the vehicle must be stationary. This allows an H12G4 battery to fire a second barrage from its original launch position just a few minutes after finishing the first one. Alternatively, if the threat of counter-battery fire is too high, it allows the launch platoon to relocate to a new position and reload there without having to rendezvous with a rocket transport section.

Early-production variants, tested in 2004, had a standard sheet metal cab and no defensive armament. These vehicles are designated H12G4B80G, and were only produced in small numbers. In 2007, the H12G4B80N variant entered service as the mass-production version. This variant has an armored cab which protects the crew against small-arms fire and shrapnel, though it can be penetrated by 12.7mm fire and nearby shell impacts. The launcher and the rocket reload pallet are both unprotected, though the crew can pull a tarp over the reload pallet to protect it from the elements. This tarp must be removed for reloading.

The H12G4B80N variant also carries defensive armament in the form of a 12.7mm machine gun on a swiveling pintle mount with 360-degree coverage. This allows the gunner to defend the vehicle against infantry, light vehicles, and helicopters if it comes under attack.

The H12G4 system is structured differently from the H12G2 system. The number of launch vehicles in a battery is the same, but there are two fire plotting vehicles (H12G4ST) with one in each firing platoon, instead of one for the entire battery. The battery executive officer rides in a separate command post vehicle, H12G4JS, with built-in signal and networking facilities, eliminating the need for a separate signal vehicle. The forward fire observer vehicle, H12G4JG, contains a dismounted target spotting team in addition to the vehicle's built-in ranging equipment. The H12G4ST, H12G4JS, and H12G4JG vehicles are all based on the BSCh-7 wheeled APC, and the latter two vehicles retain its 12.7mm defensive armament, providing further protection against enemy units which break through the front lines.

The six rocket transport vehicles in the battery are organized as in the H12G2 system, though each rocket transport vehicle carries 80 rockets instead of 40, to fully replenish an Ichung Ubak launcher which expended two barrages. These rocket transports share the H12G4B80N's armored cab and defensive armament.

Ammunition

There are a wide variety of ammunition types in the H-12 rocket family. The most common types in current service are the H-12GP1 long-range high-explosive rocket, the H-12ChW extended-range anti-tank submunition rocket, and the H-12JI extended-range anti-personnel minelaying rocket. All three have ranges of 35-40 kilometers. Most of the remaining types have been withdrawn from active units or are kept in small numbers for specialty missions. The H-12HM chemical weapons delivery rocket is no longer in service, with all stockpiles safely dismantled in the 1990s.

Designation	Warhead	Warhead mass	Rocket mass	Length	Minimum range	Maximum range
H-12GP	HE-frag	18.4 kg	66.6 kg	2.87 m	5,000 m	20,380 m
H-12GPW	HE-frag	19.2 kg	70.3 kg	2.85 m	8,000 m	28,700 m
H-12GPW1	HE-frag	16 kg	68 kg	3.04 m	12,000 m	40,500 m
H-12GPD	HE-frag	26 kg	70 kg	2.92 m	1,500 m	16,000 m
H-12JCh	3× AT mine	22.8 kg	57.7 kg	3.04 m	1,000 m	13,400 m
H-12ChW	63× Chŏl-u	21.5 kg	67 kg	3.04 m	5,000 m	35,500 m
H-12JI	42× JIG-J	18.5 kg	64 kg	3.04 m	6,000 m	39,000 m
H-12JM	Illumination flare	---	66 kg	3.04 m	6,000 m	18,000 m
H-12HM	Sarin reagents	---	58 kg	2.58 m	5,000 m	24,200 m
H-12JJ	Radar jammer	---	64 kg	3.04 m	5,000 m	18,500 m
H-12YM	Smokescreen	20.2 kg	66 kg	2.95 m	5,000 m	20,000 m

Operators

• Argentstan
• Template:Country data Azbekistan
• Dzhungestan
• Republic of Innominada
• Menghe
• Polvokia
• Qusayn
• Template:Country data Ummayah