H23G1B18 Pokpo

H23G1B18 Pokpo
The H23G1B18 Pokpo launch vehicle with two rockets on display.
Type	Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	1995-present
Used by	Menghe Azbekistan Ummayah
Wars	Innominadan Crisis
Production history
Designer	Buksŏng Industries Group
Designed	1985-1995
Specifications
Weight	47 tonnes
Length	11.36 m
Width	3.48 m (inc. mirrors)
Height	3.44 m
Crew	4
Caliber	230mm
Barrels	18
Rate of fire	30 rpm (18 rounds in 36 seconds)
Maximum firing range	34 km (D-type rockets) 80 km (J-type rockets)
Engine	WY-0400 V-12 diesel 540 hp
Transmission	8×8
Ground clearance	400mm
Operational range	600 km (road)
Speed	70 km/h (road)

The H23G1B18 Pokpo ("waterfall") is a Menghean multiple rocket launcher which carries 18 rockets of 230mm caliber. It entered service in 1995, though its development stretches back to the mid-1980s. It is traditionally assigned to corps-level rocket artillery brigades and used to strike concentrations of targets in the enemy's operational depth, including artillery batteries, command posts, ammunition depots, and resupply points. It is also able to attack front-line targets, including groups of armored vehicles and dug-in personnel, and can lay anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields behind enemy lines to obstruct offensive maneuvers or cut off a unit's path of retreat.

Description

The launch vehicle is built on a Taekchŏn T512 8×8 wheeled chassis. It has a forward cabin with seating for four, and is powered by a single 12-cylinder, 540-horsepower diesel engine. This gives it a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour on roads and adequate offroad performance. As on all T512 variants, it has a central tire pressure control system which allows the driver to optimize the vehicle's handling for roads and rough terrain. The cabin can be sealed against CBRN contaminants, though the crew must still exit the cabin to supervise reloading. The vehicle also lacks protection against mines, shrapnel, and small-arms fire.

The JHB-23/16 can transition from a road march to a fire-ready condition in as little as three minutes, though it may take longer to calculate a firing solution. Aiming of the tube can be accomplished automatically from within the cabin, though manual hand cranks for elevation and traverse also exist as backup options. Because a 230mm rocket launch produces considerable force and vibration, prior to firing the launch vehicle is braced on two hydraulic jacks, and crews are strongly discouraged from firing outside 30 degrees left or right of center. The launcher fires rockets at two-second intervals, allowing it to complete a full sixteen-rocket volley in half a minute. Once a firing mission is completed, the launch vehicle can de-emplace and begin moving again in less than two minutes.

The launcher itself carries 18 230-millimeter rockets in a 3×6 array of tubes. The tubes are rifled, inducing a slight spin in the rocket as it is launched to improve stability and reduce dispersion. A wide variety of rocket types are available, with maximum ranges stretching from 26 to 80 kilometers.

Once a launcher has fired off all of its rounds, it must be reloaded with the assistance of the H23G1G transloader vehicle. This uses the same T512 chassis as the launch vehicle itself. To reload, the two vehicles are placed end-to-end, and individual 230mm rockets are first lifted onto a ramming arm by means of a crane, then rammed nose-first into the rear of the launcher. A full 16-missile reload takes approximately 20 minutes, and requires all crew members in the launch vehicle and transport vehicle except the drivers to dismount and help work the loading apparatus.

Ammunition

When the JHB-23/16 first entered service, it was compatible with two types of 230mm rocket: the H-23GP, with a high-explosive charge, and the H-23Ya, with a thermobaric warhead. A CSNS-guided high-explosive weapon, designated H-23GPY, entered service in 2003. All three of these rocket types had ranges of 26 kilometers.

Augmented payload rockets

In 2007, the system was given a new set of upgraded rockets, which use a considerably shorter rocket section but a more efficient propellant. All missile types in this series have ranges of approximately 34 kilometers, eight kilometers further than the original type, despite carrying larger and heavier warheads. The added payload space is particularly useful on mine-dispensing and submunition-dispensing variants. Missiles in this series, bearing the suffix D (dangŏri, "short-range") include:

• H-23MD, with 30 JChM-2 anti-tank bar mines
• H-23ChD, with 546 Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunitions
• H-23JD, with 378 JIG-J anti-personnel mines
• H-23BD, with 10 Buŏng-i smart-fused anti-tank submunitions
• H-23SD, with cargo space for propaganda leaflets

In the H-23ChD and HB-23JD, the interlocking submunitions are stacked in columns, with 21 submunitions per layer. Stacked columns are separated from one another by acrylic blocks. As the missile nears the target, small charges midway down the rocket separate the engine section, then release the eight quarter-circle panels forming the warhead's cover, at which point a powder charge in the nose ignites and propels the submunitions in a roughly conical spread to the rear, allowing them to separate and arm. The process is broadly similar for the H-23MD and H-23BD warheads.

Notably, the H-23 heavy rocket series does not include additional unitary-charge weapons. Where necessary, basic H-23GP and H-23Ya rockets may be used for this purpose, but in general the Menghean Army deems the Chŏl-u cluster submunition dispenser a superior method of dispersing high-explosive force against targets in the open.

Extended range rockets

Another subset of missiles with the suffix J, for janggŏri (long range), entered service with the Menghean Army in 2011. These incorporate a considerably longer motor section, even when compared to the original missile types, and an even more efficient sustainer propellant. This gives them ranges in excess of 80 kilometers, depending on the warhead type used. Long-range missiles can strike enemy targets in greater depth, such as airfields, supply depots, similar-ranged artillery batteries, and large unit headquarters. Missiles in this series include the following models:

• H-23GYJ, with an 80-kilogram ground-penetrating high-explosive charge and GPS guidance
• H-23ChJ, with 252 Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunitions and inertial guidance
• H-23JJ, with 168 JIG-J anti-personnel mines

The Menghean Army is reportedly developing a new rocket for the H-23 family, which will carry a powerful radio or radar jamming device over the hostile battlefield. This unit of ammunition is likely to use the extended-range rocket body. It is not clear, however, whether it will be optimized for the H23G1B18 or its successors.

Ammunition summary

A full table of H-23 rockets and their capabilities can be found below. Note that in this context "warhead mass" for cargo-type rounds excludes the weight of the packing material and blasting charge which also form part of the cargo assembly.

Type	H-23GP	H-23Ya	H-23JChD	H-23MJ-KT	H-23JDI-KT	H-23MJY-KT	H-23GPY-JR	H-23MJ-JR	H-23JDI-JR
Diameter	220 mm
Length	4.37 meters		4.95 meters	5.04 meters	4.99 meters		5.17 meters
Warhead	unitary HE warhead	thermobaric charge	30 × JChM-2 mines	546 × Chŏl-u submunitions	378 × JIG-J anti-personnel mines	10 × Buŏng-i submunitions	ground-penetrating HE warhead	252 × Chŏl-u submunitions	168 × JIG-J anti-personnel mines
Warhead mass	150 kg		138 kg	186 kg	166 kg	120 kg	80 kg	86 kg	74 kg
Range	26 km		~34 km				80 km
Total mass	320 kg		389 kg	437 kg	417 kg	346 kg	380 kg
Year in service	1995	1998	2006	2007		2009	2011

Organization

The H23G1B18 is designed to operate as part of a networked, integrated firing battery, in order to better coordinate targeting information between launchers. Launch batteries are meant to be procured and exported as single units, though variations on their organization are possible. The full battery system is designated H23G1. A standard battery, of the type used in the Menghean Army, is organized as follows:

• 1 × H23G1JS battery command post (Chŏnsŏ G288 chassis, crew of 5)
• 1 × H23G1ST fire-control vehicle (Chŏnsŏ G288 chassis, crew of 5)
• 6 × H23G1B18 multiple rocket launcher (3 firing platoons of 2 vehicles, crew of 4)
• 6 × H23G1G transloader (crew of 3)
• 1 × armored utility car (crew of 4; commands rocket transport platoon)

A 23cm multiple rocket launcher battalion contains three batteries like the one above, as well as three more rocket transport platoons (18 transloaders and four utility cars). The battalion command platoon contains the following special vehicles, in addition to a signal lorry and a staff car with a political officer:

• 1 × H23G1DS battalion command post (BSCh-7 chassis, crew of 5)
• 1 × H23G1DM battalion command vehicle (Chŏnsŏ G288 chassis, crew of 5)

Since the early 2010s, each multiple rocket launcher battalion is also assigned a "security platoon" consisting of three light rifle squads, usually in 4×4 armored cars. This security platoon protects individual batteries against enemy special forces and airborne forces, and also provides some protection against enemy motorized or mechanized units which have broken through the front line.

Operators

• Template:Country data Azbekistan
• Menghe
• Template:Country data Ummayah