JHB-23/16
| JHB-23/16 | |
|---|---|
| File:RB 23 16.png JHB-23/16 launch vehicle | |
| Type | Multiple Rocket Launcher |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1995-present |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Taekchŏn Rocketry |
| Designed | 1985-1994 |
| Manufacturer | Taekchŏn Rocketry Plant, Hwaju |
| Unit cost | $550,000 (empty launcher) |
| Produced | 1994-2012 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 23 tonnes with combat load |
| Length | 10.6 m |
| Width | 3.2 m |
| Height | 3.09 m |
| Crew | 5 |
Main armament | 16x 230mm R-23 artillery rocket |
| Engine | Taekchŏn-400 diesel 358 kW (480 hp) |
| Power/weight | 20.8 kW/tonne |
| Suspension | wheeled 8x8 |
Operational range | 1000 km |
| Speed | 90 km/h (road) |
The JHB-23/16 (Menghean: "Rocket launcher, 23-cm, 16-tube") is a sixteen-tube, 230-millimeter multiple rocket launcher developed in Menghe. It uses an eight-wheeled, unarmored chassis, and has a crew of 5 in the launch vehicle. The system entered service with the Menghean Army in 1995, though development work had been ongoing since the mid-1980s. In Menghean service, it is a corps-level asset, with one 54-launcher Regiment per corps.
Description
The launch vehicle is built on a J408 8x8 wheeled chassis manufactured by Taekchŏn Heavy Industries. It has a forward cabin with seating for five, and is powered by a single 8-cylinder, 480-horsepower diesel engine. This gives it a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour on roads, and adequate offroad performance. As on all J408 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 four 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 sixteen 230-millimeter rockets in a 2x8 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 HUCh-23/16 transloader vehicle. This uses the same J408 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 R-23YA, with a thermobaric warhead. A GPS-guided high-explosive weapon, designated H-23GPY, entered service in 2003. Original development plans drawn up by the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe had called for mine-dispensing and submunition-dispensing warheads, but work on these stopped after Menghe unilaterally withdrew its cluster munitions from service in the early 1990s. 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 bear the suffix KT (커진 탄두, Kŏjin tandu) include:
- H-23JDCh-KT, with 30 JChM-2 anti-tank bar mines
- H-23MJ-KT, with 546 Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunitions
- H-23JDI-KT, with 378 JIG-J anti-personnel mines
- H-23MJY-KT, with 10 Buŏng-i smart-fused anti-tank submunitions
- H-23SJ-KT, with cargo space for propaganda leaflets
In the H-23MJ-KT and HB-23JDI-KT, 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-23MJY-KT and R-23JDCh-KT warheads.
Notably, the H-23KT 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 JR, for Janggari (장거리), "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. This allows them to 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-23GPY-JR, with an 80-kilogram ground-penetrating high-explosive charge and GPS guidance
- H-23MJ-JR, with 252 Chŏl-u dual-purpose submunitions and inertial guidance
- H-23JDI-JR, 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 JHB-23/12 or reverse-compatible with the JHB-23/16.
Ammunition summary
A full table of H-23 rockets and their capabilities can be found below. Note that in this context "warhead weight" for cargo-type rounds excludes the weight of the packing material and blasting charge which also form part of the cargo assembly.
| Type | R-23GP | H-23YA | H-23JDCh-KT | 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 weight | 150 kg | 138 kg | 186 kg | 166 kg | 120 kg | 80 kg | 86 kg | 74 kg | |
| Range | 26 km | ~34 km | 80 km | ||||||
| Total weight | 320 kg | 389 kg | 437 kg | 417 kg | 346 kg | 380 kg | |||
| Year in service | 1995 | 1998 | 2006 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | |||
Battery components
The JHB-23/16 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 23/16-HBS. A standard battery, of the type used in the Menghean Army, consists of the following vehicles.
- 1x 23/16-HBJS (화전 발사기 중대 사령차, Hwajŏn Balsagi Jungdae Saryŏngcha): Mobile command post and centralized fire control center for the rocket battery executive officer. Has a crew of 6, in a wheeled chassis based on the BSCh-7 APC.
- 6x JHB-23/16 launch vehicle, in three firing platoons of two launchers each.
- 3x 23/16-HBSS (화전 발사기 소대 사령차, Hwajŏn Balsagi Sodae Saryŏngcha): Mobile command post and centralized fire control center for each individual firing platoon. Has a crew of 5 in a standard BSCh-7 APC with additional radio equipment.
- 6x HUCh-23/16 (화전 운반 차, Hwajŏn Unjang Cha): Ammunition transport vehicle with sixteen 230mm rockets and a loading crane, based on the same 8x8 chassis as the launcher itself. Has a crew of three.
Other assets stationed at the Battalion level include:
- 1x 23/16-HHTG (화전 화력 통제 관제소, Hwajŏn Hwaryŏk Tongje Gwanjeso): Forward artillery control and observation post for the battery commanding officer. The 23/16-BHTG is capable of determining the GPS coordinates of a target, and assessing the damage inflicted by a barrage, as well as transmitting this information back to the battalion and battery command posts. Has a crew of 5, in a wheeled chassis based on the BSCh-7 APC.
- 1x 8Ch972 4x4 repair and maintenance truck.
- 1x 8Ch973 4x4 truck with training and simulation equipment.
- 6x HUCh-23/16in an additional ammunition transport unit.
Future development
In 2012, Taekchŏn Heavy Industries began work on a potential replacement for the system, which bore the designation JHB-23/12. It has fewer rocket tubes, but is able to reload from six-tube rocket pallets placed on the ground, rather than feeding rockets one by one into the rear of the launcher. This method reduces the time between salvos to just 3-4 minutes, greatly improving long-term rate of fire and reducing vulnerability to counter-battery attacks.
The first operational launchers were delivered to the Menghean Army in June 2016, and the system has been marketed for export. So far, the Army has procured 108 launchers of this system, which serve in the 73rd and 18th Artillery Divisions within the 4th Army. The spare launchers they replaced were moved to the 12th Army, a largely reservist formation. According to some accounts, the Menghean Army may seek to replace all of its active-service JHB-23/16 launchers with JHB-23/12s by 2025, though high-profile generals have been quoted as saying that larger-scale orders have yet to be finalized.
Operators
- Menghe: 972 launchers