Recently, Taiwan** disclosed that the Taiwan military has purchased 11 sets of American-made "Seahorse" rocket launchers, and plans to deploy them on the side of the mainland in 2024.
According to Taiwanese military experts, these "Hippocampus" rocket launchers can be disguised as civilian trucks, have high mobility, make it more difficult for the PLA to conduct reconnaissance, and are expected to pose a major threat to the PLA landing force. In the face of the imminent arrival of American-made "Seahorse" rocket artillery, how will the PLA respond to eliminate potential threats?
The American "Seahorse" rocket launcher is a rocket artillery system equipped on a highly mobile chassis, mainly used by the US Army and Marine Corps.
With the characteristics of rapid deployment and high mobility, the "Hippocampus" rocket launcher is a key force in the fire support of the U.S. Army, and is widely used in the United States and abroad. The rocket launcher is equipped with a six-tube launcher module that can be quickly loaded and unloaded, providing flexibility in different missions.
There are various types of rockets, including high-explosive bombs, cluster bombs, guided missiles, etc., with a range of more than 70 kilometers. In addition, the "Hippocampus" has a highly automated and command and control system, and the operators can carry out rapid deployment and firepower strikes through a digital interface, and has a strong information-based combat capability.
The flexibility and powerful performance of this rocket artillery system are its outstanding features, especially its compatibility with the army's tactical missile ATAC and its range of up to 300 kilometers, making it have the potential for wider application on the battlefield.
This type of system has been widely equipped by the US military and exported to the international market in large quantities. The "Hippocampus" rocket launcher used by the Ukrainian army has shown its great threat to the enemy in actual combat, causing serious ** to the Russian army. Thus, the introduction of similar rocket-like artillery systems made many countries begin to pay attention to their potential in terms of increasing combat capabilities.
The Taiwan authorities are also quite interested in the performance of the "Hippocampus" rocket launcher, which is regarded as an important piece of military equipment. The power of this artillery rocket system has led some groups to use it to achieve their political agendas, especially in Taiwan, where the "Hippocampus" rocket launcher is seen as a key defense against external interference, so in the eyes of some people, it could become a "support tool for "resisting reunification by force" that advocates are hoping for.
Regarding the potential impact of its deployment around the Taiwan Strait, the range of this rocket artillery can cover the area, making it important to respond to enemy landing operations**. The threat posed to the PLA landing force is obvious, especially during the build-up and loading of our troops, and fire attacks can cause unpredictable losses to the PLA landing operation.
There are also many important port cities in the Taiwan Strait region, such as Fuzhou and Xiamen, which form busy maritime transportation hubs and economic centers around the strait. Some islands near the strait are also within the range of Taiwan's military firepower, so they have potential strategic value.
Such an artillery rocket system not only poses a potential threat in terms of defense, but also has a significant impact on the strategic layout and stability of the situation.
We must realize that the "Hippocampus" rocket artillery deployed by the Taiwan military has posed a serious threat and directly threatens the security of China's coastal cities and surrounding islands. The People's Liberation Army will never tolerate such actions by any "** elements."
In order to effectively deal with the threat posed by the Taiwan military's "Hippocampus" rocket artillery, the PLA adopted the PHL-191 vehicle-mounted rocket artillery combat equipment during military patrols and combat readiness Xi exercises against Taiwan last year.
This rocket launcher has a six-wheel drive chassis and has excellent mobility and rapid deployment capabilities. It is capable of launching rockets and tactical missiles of various calibers, such as 300 mm rockets, 370 mm rockets, and tactical missiles of larger calibers.
In addition, the rocket artillery system is equipped with an advanced command and control system, which is capable of accurate guidance of rockets and the ability to update targets in real time.
PHL-191 vehicle-mounted rocket launcher is one of the key equipment of the PLA artillery brigade. Compared with the limited number of "Seahorse" rocket launchers in the Taiwanese army, the PLA has more artillery pieces of this model. The artillery brigades of the army groups on the southeast coast are equipped with this type of rocket artillery, and the entire army may already be equipped with hundreds of long-range rocket artillery.
Before the reform of the army, the Nanjing Military Region incorporated more long-range rocket artillery into brigade-level units, which were responsible for carrying out firepower strikes in the direction of Taiwan.
At present, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has made certain adjustments to the establishment of long-range rocket artillery, abolished the establishment of long-range rocket artillery brigades, and incorporated all long-range rocket artillery into the long-range fire battalions of artillery brigades, so as to strengthen the fire support of the army's amphibious combat units and marines.
In addition to the PHL-191 vehicle-mounted rocket launcher, the PLA also has other ** systems that can be used to counter the "Hippocampus" rocket artillery. The armed air force multi-role fighters and multi-role drones of the army aviation brigade, the navy's land-attack cruise missiles, and the conventional missile forces of the rocket force are all capable of striking rocket artillery targets on the island of Taiwan.
The dilemma facing Taiwan is that it is too close to the mainland, resulting in most of the PLA's most advanced equipment being able to pose a threat to targets on the island of Taiwan. The threat of 11 sets of "Hippocampus" rocket launchers is not enough to cause panic, because once discovered, they will be quickly hit and destroyed.
We stress that some Taiwanese should not hope that buying the United States will reassure them, and that "resisting reunification by force" is just an illusory idea that will only hurt the people of Taiwan in the end.