Taiwan is developing a new rocket artillery system to deal with landing craft before they can reach the beach. A single launcher (fitted to a 8x8 M977 HEMTT truck) could be armed with three different types of rockets. The Mk15 rockets are 117mm in diameter, have a range of 15km, and come in pods of 20. The Mk30 rockets are 180mm in diameter, have a range of 30km, and come in pods of 9. The Mk45 rockets are 230mm in diameter, have a range of 45km, and come in pods of 6. The launcher could carry three pods of Mk15 or Mk30, but only two pods of the huge Mk45s. Warheads will consist of various numbers of dual purpose M77 bomblets. The idea is to cover the area with bomblets, some of which are bound to hit landing craft and wreck them. --Stephen V Cole