[Foreign Media: China Equips World's Longest-Range Rocket Launcher with New "Steel Rain" Airburst Munition]
According to a September 2026 report from South Korea’s Military Watch Magazine website: The Chinese Army has further demonstrated how its extensive long-range firepower could be employed in potential conflicts—specifically, the PCL-191 multi-barrel rocket launcher system showcased a new “Steel Rain” airburst munition. Footage shows multiple rockets detonating overhead at a training ground, raining down a large volume of high-speed metal fragments onto target areas on the ground. This weapon is primarily designed to suppress personnel and lightly protected equipment, rather than penetrate fortified structures.
The significance of this munition lies in its expansion of the PCL-191’s target range. The system is a highly mobile, modular long-range rocket artillery platform capable of firing different types of ammunition. Its publicly displayed configurations include 300 mm and 370 mm rocket rounds, while larger modular launch systems can also accommodate tactical ballistic missile-grade weapons. Public estimates indicate that the PCL-191’s various munitions have ranges from approximately 150 km for smaller rockets up to about 280–350 km for the 370 mm variants, with larger tactical missiles estimated to reach around 500 km. Specific details regarding the newly demonstrated airburst munition remain unclear.
The value of an airburst fragmentation warhead lies in targeting personnel and equipment operating outside hardened facilities—such as radar operators, communication vehicles, air defense units, maintenance crews, logistical teams, and other forces that must periodically expose themselves to perform missions. This makes the munition particularly relevant during the opening phase of a large-scale conflict across the Taiwan Strait—Chinese artillery need not attempt to directly destroy every enemy military installation, but instead aim to disrupt the operational networks essential for those installations to function. Radar systems require human operation and maintenance; aircraft need ground crews for reloading and refueling; missile launch units must maintain communication with command networks; damaged runways and infrastructure must be repaired.
Thus, fragmenting weapons capable of covering large areas can inflict casualties and temporarily suppress such activities without necessarily destroying the underlying fortified infrastructure. The mobility of the PCL-191 is a critical component of this concept. Mounted on a wheeled chassis, the system can reposition after firing and launch from dispersed positions, eliminating reliance on large, permanent artillery bases. Its modular architecture also allows for selection of different ammunition types based on the target. This provides the army with a combination of area suppression and long-range precision strike capabilities derived from a single universal launch platform family. The system has already been demonstrated in exercises clearly involving potential emergencies in the Taiwan Strait, including a large-scale drill conducted around the island in December 2025.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875287243965444/
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