Designation: | Teruel-3 |
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Manufacturer: | General Dynamics Santa Barbara Sistemas | |
Product type: | Weapons & Weapon Systems | |
Name: | Multiple rocket launcher |
The 140 mm (40-round) Teruel Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS) was developed by the Council for Rocket Research and Development of the Spanish Ministry of Defence to replace the older MRLS in Spanish Army service. Today the design and marketing authority for the system is the US-owned General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas.
Production of this system is complete and it is not expected that production will start again. As far as is known, the system was sold to two countries, Spain (18 systems) and Gabon (8 systems).
The launcher has two 20-round packs arranged in five rows of four 140 mm launcher tubes each, mounted on the rear of a Pegaso 6 × 6 truck chassis. The vehicle is fitted with an armoured, fully enclosed forward control six-man crew cab that can mount a light 7.62 mm machine gun on the roof for local defence and anti-aircraft purposes.
A longer rocket has also been developed and is fitted with a double-grain solid-fuel motor that, when fitted with aerodynamic airbrakes, allows three distinct trajectories to be flown using the same firing elevation.
The unguided 140 mm rockets also have pop-out fins for stabilisation in flight. The warhead can be either a 20 kg HE fragmentation or, in the case of the long rocket, a 21 kg submunition cargo warhead.
This is available in four versions carrying 42 anti-personnel grenades each, with either 950 3.2 mm diameter steel balls, 60 g of Composition B explosive and a PO model percussion fuze, or 28 High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) grenades with contact fuzes and capable of penetrating 110 mm of conventional steel armour, six pressure-activated anti-tank mines fitted with anti-disturbance features or 14 smoke grenades each providing 4 minutes of smoke. The fuzes for the rockets can either be the PD M34A2 contact type, proximity or timed. All six rockets can be mixed within the launcher and can be selected according to the target to be engaged.
A Pegaso 6 × 6 resupply vehicle with four blocks of 20 long-rocket reload rounds or six blocks of 20 short-rocket reload rounds is assigned to each vehicle as part of the battery. Reloading is manual and takes 5 minutes while the time taken to emplace a launcher is 2 minutes, to fire a complete salvo takes 45 seconds and to come out of action another 2 minutes.
The short HE rocket is 2.044 m in length, weighs 56.3 kg and has a maximum range of 18,000 m. The burn time of the motor is 1.6 seconds. The long rocket is 3.23 m in length, weighs 76 kg and has a burn time of 2.7 seconds, giving a maximum range of 28,000 m. Minimum range for both rockets is 6,000 m.
Production of this system was completed some time ago and if production did commence again then a different chassis would have to be provided. In the future these systems could well be upgraded to enhance their operational effectiveness.
It is understood that Spain is now considering replacing these systems with the US Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control 227 mm Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). As of early 2008 no orders had been placed for the MLRS by Spain.
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