Hydra-70 rocket system
Origin--USA
Type----a family of 2.75-inch rocket launchers and rockets

The Hydra-70 rocket system is a multi-purpose weapon system. The development of the Hydra-70 (70mm) rockets and rocket system began in the US as early as the 1940s. It was originally designed to suit the needs of the US forces. It was intended to be a rocket system, which could fulfil air-to ground, air-to-air and ground-to-ground roles. Since then this system has been constantly improved.

This system was extensively used by the US forces in a number of conflicts including the Vietnam War and the Korean War.

The Hydra-70 air-to-ground missile system enjoys immense popularity. It is one of the widely used weapons system on the attack helicopters throughout the world. For instance the US built attack helicopters like the AH-64D Apache Longbow, the OH-54D Kiowa Warrior, the AH-1G Huey Cobra and the Comanche RAH-66, are all equipped with the Hydra-70 rocket system. A number of other countries are also making use of this deadly system.

The Hydra-70 rocket system is made up of three major components: the rocket motor, the warhead (rockets), and the fuse. These components are selected and combined to provide a custom-made solution according to individual requirements. The Hydra-70 rocket is a versatile system. It comprises of multi-barrel rocket launchers and a variety of rockets. The launchers come in two models: one having 7 and the other with 19 launch tubes in it. These launchers can easily be mounted on most helicopters and fighter aircraft.

Each warhead (rocket), used in the Hydra-70 system, has been built for a special purpose. Some warheads carry as much as 17 lb (7.71 kg) of high explosives. The warhead detonates on impact and breaks up into thousands of small high-speed fragments. These flying fragments can pepper a target within a radius of 164 ft (50 m).

The White Phosphorus warhead is used as a smoke marker to locate and demarcate the enemy targets. The Illumination rocket is used for lighting up enemy positions during darkness. This warhead can go up in the sky to an altitude of 4000 ft (1,220 m) and comes down at the rate of 15 ft (4.57 m) per second. It can generate light equal to that of one million candles lighting up an area of more than 0.62 miles (1 km). Other warheads can pierce the armour in excess of 4 inch (10.16 cm).