S-5 rocket

right|thumb|An S-5M rocket. It has a sharper nose than the original S-5 rocket and the fins do not fold back as far.

right|thumb|A cross section of an S-5M rocket.

The S-5 (first designated ARS-57) is a rocket weapon developed by the Soviet Air Force and used by military aircraft against ground area targets. It is in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and various export customers. It is based on the R4M, a German design from World War 2.

It is produced in a variety of sub-types with different warheads, including HEAT anti-armour (S-5K), high-explosive fragmentation (S-5M/MO), smoke, and incendiary rounds. Each rocket is about long and weighs about , depending on warhead and fuze. Range is .

Development

In 1946 the Soviet Nudelman Precision Engineering Design Bureau (then designated OKB-16) undertook technical research of unguided air to air missiles in aircraft armament. As part of the bureaus research, captured examples of the German 55mm R4M "Orkan" (Engl: Hurricane) unguided air to air missile were closely studied. After 5 years, the Soviet ministry of defense finally provided official status and funding of the project in 1951, originally as part of the air-to-air AS-5 weapon system for the MiG-19. The rockets were tested in a series of configurations on MiG-15bis and MiG-17 jets, with the final tests complete on a MiG-17PF in January 1955. The tests revealed that the rockets did not perform as expected against aerial targets. The rocket ARS-57 was accepted into service in April 1955, with a military designation S-5. As of 2013, the only producers remained Belarus and Bulgaria. In Romania, the LPR 57 launcher for 16 rockets was developed.

Operational history

thumb|right|[[MiG-21 Lancer firing S-5 rockets.]]

Afghanistan

S-5 rockets were used extensively by Sukhoi Su-25 and Mil Mi-24 aircraft in Afghanistan in the 1980s, where their effectiveness was considered poor. Pilots described the rockets fanning out after launch "like a tulip", and that the warhead was only good for "tickling the dookhi's (mujahedeen) heels". The Russian forces have shifted to higher-calibre weapons like the S-8 rocket instead. In addition the Soviet 40th Army made use of improvised launchers mounted on T-62 tanks, BTR-70 APCs and Ural-4320 trucks in a ground-to-ground role.

Chechnya

S-5 and S-8 rockets were used in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War. These rockets were then salvaged by Chechen fighters to be used as anti-tank rocket launcher in their “Shaitan” homemade weapons. Such weapons were unpredictable, as some were made from gear shafts of Russian trucks. Also such rockets were damaged during their capture. These rockets were taken from downed Mil-24 helicopters.

India

thumb|IAF MiG-21 firing its S-5 rockets over East Pakistan, 1971

During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, four of the Indian Air Force's MiG-21FLs led by Wing Commander Bhupendra Kumar Bishnoi fired its S-5 rockets on the East Pakistani Governor's mansion in Dhaka, leading to the governor resigning immediately thereafter the attack. On 13 December, an IAF MiG-21 shot down a Pakistani F-104 Starfighter from its Ub-16 rocket pods, which fired its S-5 rockets.

Israel

On Sunday, 6 January 2009, The Israel Defense Forces claimed they identified a rocket fired at Israel earlier in the day by Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip as a Russian-made S5K.

According to the IDF, the rocket fired at Kibbutz Alumim in the Negev marked the first time Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades have used this type of weapon.

Although the weapon is intended to be launched aerially, Al-Qassam forces chose to launch their rocket from ground-based launchers. Unlike a Qassam rocket, the S5K contains more explosives, but is less precise.

Libya

The S-5, along with S-8 and S-13 rockets, has been deployed from the backs of pick-up trucks (generally, technicals) during the 2011 Libyan civil war, serving as a makeshift MLRS. UB-16 and UB-32 pods were used in this role. The rebels have also developed a man-portable launcher for the S-5, turning the rocket into a makeshift RPG round.

Syria

The S-5 has seen use by the Syrian Air Force against opposition forces in the Syrian civil war. It has also been used as an improvised ground-launched rocket, fired from UB-16 or UB-32 pods.

Ukraine

The 57mm rockets were used during Russian invasion of Ukraine as improvised ground-launched MLRS (multiple launch rocket system) by the Ukrainians. On 18 June 2023, a Russian BTR-80 APC that had two UB-32 rocket pods attached to it was sighted and damaged by loitering drones. In 2026, FP-2 drones equipped with 8 rockets began being used

Launcher characteristics

ORO-57K

Source:

• rockets: 8
• length × diameter: 1,447 × 220 mm
• weight, empty: 33 kg
• weight, loaded: 74 kg
• launch platform: MiG-19/F-6

UB-16-57

thumb|[[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21MF with R-3S air-to-air missile and UB-16 launcher with S-5 rockets.]]

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