The demonstration of the Fatah-II guided rocket launcher sparked a discussion about the classification of **, especially when its range reaches 400 km, and one cannot help but ask: is it rocket artillery or missile?
First, let's understand the basic concept of rocket artillery. Rocket artillery is usually a ** system that uses a rocket engine as a power source, relying on one-time power propulsion when launched, followed by inertial flight. This type of ** is mainly used for fire coverage of large area targets, not for precise targeted strikes. Ammunition for rocket artillery is usually fired simultaneously from several launch tubes to achieve the effect of a saturation attack.
Fatah-II, however, seems to have broken with this conventional wisdom. It not only has the long-range strike capability of rocket artillery, but also has a certain guidance capability, which makes its strike accuracy significantly improved. This new **, which combines traditional rocket artillery and modern missile technology, raises questions about its classification.
Internationally, there is no uniform standard for defining what constitutes a missile. In general, a missile refers to a ** system with autonomous guidance capabilities, which can make navigation corrections during flight, so as to achieve precision strikes. Missiles are usually equipped with complex navigation and guidance systems, including but not limited to inertial navigation, satellite positioning, infrared guidance, and other technologies.
Although the Fatah-II exhibits certain missile characteristics in both range and accuracy, its core design and functionality are still closer to those of conventional rocket artillery. It may have used some form of auxiliary guidance technology to improve strike accuracy, but this is not enough to classify it as a missile.
In addition, the definition of what constitutes a missile is influenced by a number of international conventions and treaties. For example, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) defines and classifies missiles, which stipulate that a range of more than 300 km** should be considered a missile. However, this does not mean that all ** with a range of more than 300 km will be classified as missiles, since other factors need to be taken into account, such as how the ** is used, technical characteristics, etc.
In general, the demonstration of the Fatah-II guided rocket launcher sparked a discussion about the classification of **. Although it has certain missile characteristics, its core design and functionality are still closer to traditional rocket artillery. The emergence of this new type of classification not only enriches the diversity of the library, but also poses a new challenge to our understanding of classification. In the future, with the continuous advancement of technology and the emergence of new systems, we have reason to believe that the boundaries of classification will become more blurred and complex.