Katyusha rockets, Hezbollah Soviet-era missiles now primary weapon against Israel

As Israel launched a series of intense air raids on southern Lebanon early on Sunday, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it fired more than 320 Katyusha rockets at 11 Israeli military bases and barracks in a tit-for-tat attack.

Katyusha rockets, created by the Soviets during World War II, are among the primary weapons in Hezbollah’s arsenal, which it has used extensively in its offensive against Israel.

What are Katyusha rockets?

The term ‘Katyusha’ is a colloquial nickname that was derived from a popular wartime Soviet song of the same name, which became associated with the rocket launchers due to the song’s popularity among Soviet troops.

The development of the Katyusha rocket system began in the late 1930s when Soviet military engineers were exploring ways to improve artillery capabilities. They focused on creating a weapon that could deliver a high volume of explosives quickly over a wide area, which led to the concept of a multiple rocket launcher.

The first Katyusha rocket launchers, known as BM-13, were developed by a team led by Georgy Langemak, Boris Petropavlovsky, and Andrey Kostikov at the Reactive Scientific Research Institute (RNII) in the Soviet Union. The rockets were designated as M-13, where “M” stood for “Mina” (mine in Russian), and “13” represented the caliber (132mm) of the rockets.

The rockets were simple, unguided, and stabilised with a solid-fuel propulsion system. They were mounted on a variety of platforms, including trucks (most famously the Studebaker US6 trucks provided by the United States through Lend-Lease), which allowed for quick deployment and mobility. The launchers could fire multiple rockets in rapid succession, creating a “storm of fire” that was highly effective against enemy troop concentrations and fortifications.

When was it first used?

Katyusha rocket launchers were first used in combat by the Soviet army in July 1941, shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first recorded use was against a German artillery position near Orsha, Belarus.

The launchers proved highly effective due to their ability to deliver a large volume of fire in a short period, catching the enemy by surprise. Throughout the war, they became a symbol of Soviet artillery power and were used extensively on all fronts, often in large batteries.

After World War II, the Soviet Union continued to develop and refine multiple rocket launcher technology, leading to more advanced systems such as the BM-21 “Grad”. However, the basic concept of the Katyusha rocket launcher — cheap, simple, and effective — continued to be used by various countries and non-state actors around the world, including in modern conflicts.

How deadly are Katyusha rockets?

Katyusha rockets are deadly primarily due to their ability to deliver large numbers of explosives over a wide area in a short period. While they lack precision, their effectiveness in psychological warfare, their use in saturation bombardment tactics, and their ability to cause significant casualties and destruction make them a formidable weapon in many conflict scenarios. Their continued use by various military and non-state actors underscores their enduring lethality in both conventional and unconventional warfare contexts.

The distinctive howling noise made by the rockets as they are launched adds a psychological dimension to their impact. The sound is terrifying to those on the receiving end, contributing to the weapon’s fearsome reputation.

Hezbollah’s use of Katyusha rockets

Purpose and Capabilities: Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, has used Katyusha rockets primarily as a form of indirect fire weaponry against Israel. These rockets are typically employed to target populated areas, military installations, and infrastructure within Israel. Katyusha rockets are valued by Hezbollah for their simplicity, ease of transport, and ability to be launched from concealed locations, making them effective for guerrilla-style warfare.

Range and Impact: Katyusha rockets used by Hezbollah typically have a range of up to 20-40 kilometres, although some variants may reach up to 80 kilometers. They are unguided and can cause significant damage due to their high explosive warheads, though their lack of precision means they are often used in saturation attacks to compensate for accuracy.

Deployment and Tactics: Hezbollah usually deploys these rockets in salvos from concealed launchers, often mounted on trucks or placed in hidden launch sites. This tactic allows them to fire multiple rockets quickly and then relocate to avoid counter-battery fire. Hezbollah’s use of Katyusha rockets is part of a broader strategy to exert psychological and material pressure on Israel, contributing to a form of asymmetrical warfare.

Katyusha rockets gained particular notoriety during the 2006 Lebanon War, when Hezbollah fired thousands of these rockets into northern Israel, causing civilian casualties and significant disruption. The continued use of Katyusha rockets by Hezbollah has led to ongoing tension and conflict in the region, with periodic flare-ups resulting in rocket exchanges and military responses.

Katyusha rockets are a key component of Hezbollah’s military strategy, providing a cost-effective, relatively simple means to conduct offensive operations against Israel from Lebanon.

Other weapons used by Hezbollah against Israel

Hezbollah has used a variety of weapons against Israel. Besides Katyusha rockets, Hezbollah’s arsenal includes short-range rockets such as the Fajr-1 and Fajr-3 rockets, medium-range rockets like Fajr-5 and M-600 rockets, a variety of guided missiles including the Iranian Zelzal and Fateh-110 missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, locally made ‘Ayoub’ and ‘Mirsad’ drones, mortars and artillery, small arms and light weapons like assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades and some man-portable air-defense systems used to target low-flying aircraft.