China’s military gives glimpse of updated long-range rocket system

Social media images show a new configuration of launchers on trucks as a backdrop to training drills

The system enables the PLA Ground Force to hit strategic targets with precision fire anywhere on the Taiwanese west coast

Reading Time:2 minutes

The PCL-191 was seen in the background of an artillery brigade training session of an artillery brigade in Guangdong province, according to photos published by the 74th Group Army. Photo: Weibo

Published: 3:00pm, 9 Jan 2021Updated: 10:55pm, 9 Jan 2021

The People’s Liberation Army marked the start of the new year by revealing a new variant of the powerful rockets it has targeting Taiwan.

The PCL-191 long-range multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), capable of firing 370mm rockets 350km (217 miles) or 750mm ballistic missiles 500km, was seen in the background of the year-opening training session of an artillery brigade in the southern province of Guangdong, according to photos published on the 74th Group Army’s official social media account.

It was the first public display of the updated weapon, one of the world’s most powerful of its kind, since its debut at China’s National Day parade in 2019. The demonstration followed the purchase by Taiwan of a truck-based MLRS with a comparable range from the United States in October.

The PCL-191 that appeared in Monday’s photos has a different fire load than previously seen in public, with 10 300mm rocket launchers in two five-pack containers, instead of the eight 370mm launchers in two four-packs viewed on the original version that rumbled through Tiananmen Square on the back of heavy trucks two years ago.

It had been reported that PCL-191 units were first assigned to the 72nd Group Army under the Eastern Theatre Command and deployed in Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province, the nearest point on China’s mainland to Taiwan-controlled territories.

Meanwhile, the 74th is under the Southern Theatre Command, which would also be part of a potential military campaign over Taiwan with a focus on the southern part of the island.

Images posted to social media show the PCL-191 – pictured behind the troops – in the first public display since its debut in 2019. Photo: Weibo

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has vowed to reunite it with the mainland, by force if necessary. Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have intensified significantly in recent years, particularly against a backdrop of the rapidly deteriorating China-US relationship and, by contrast, bolstered ties between Washington and Taipei.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x