Hidden Content
A new video shows one of the most fascinating and terrifying weapons in modern military arsenals: the multiple rocket launcher. The video shows a full barrage of nearly 240 artillery rockets launched by Finnish artillerymen, their five-inch rockets training orange flames at night. A second barrage impacts at the edge of a forest, flower-like explosions throwing lethal shrapnel in all directions.
It’s one of the most effective examples of the power of artillery ever recorded.

The video, shot by Finnish Defence Forces Combat Cameraman Operator Samuli Haapla, was previewed by him on his Twitter account. Over the course of nearly a minute, scores of 122-millimeter rockets impact in the training area. The rockets, their solid fuel expended, fall from the sky, detonating their high explosive warheads. The video was actually a preview for a much larger video which you can see here:
Artillery barrages are typically among the most difficult to film properly. The nature of artillery, shells and rockets designed to fall from the sky and kill and destroy over a wide area, understandably makes it hard to film properly without dying or having camera equipment blasted into pieces. Haapla solved this by using a DJI Phantom drone and flying it 40 meters over the impact area. The drone actually flew inside the impact area and, according to Haapla, some rockets flew behind the drone.

The rockets in the video are from a RM-70 multiple rocket launcher system. Built by Czechoslovakia during the Cold War, the RM-70 is an armored truck chassis with 40 122-millimeter rocket tubes on a swivel mount. The system has a range of 22 kilometers (13 miles). Each rocket has a high explosive payload of 19.18 kilograms (42 pounds). While that may be much compared to larger artillery shells, systems like the RM-70 are designed to quickly saturate wide areas with smaller rockets, devastating unprotected opponents. Rocket launchers like the RM-70 are also useful for suppressing enemies before a ground attack.