A still from a video released on 23 July 2024 shows Norinco SR5 multiple rocket launchers at the base of Jordan's 28th Royal Launchers Battalion. (Jordanian Armed Forces)
Jordan's new Norinco SR5 multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) were seen being fired for the first time during Exercise ‘Heavy Rain 3', which was announced on 9 September.
Jordanian television coverage of the exercise showed two SR5s launching 122 mm rockets at a low trajectory and a third launching a larger calibre projectile at a much higher trajectory.
The Jordanian Armed Forces' (JAF's) acquisition of the Chinese-made MRL was revealed on 9 June, when two of them featured in the parade marking the 25th anniversary of King Abdullah II's reign. The parade's commentator said they entered service in 2023 and can launch 122 mm, 230 mm (actually 220 mm), and 300 mm projectiles with a maximum range of 150 km, the latter being a reference to the King Dragon 150 missile that Norinco now advertises as an option for the SR5.
They were seen again in a documentary the JAF released on its artillery corps in July, which revealed they are operated by the 28th Royal Launchers Battalion alongside an older type of Chinese MRL that was identified as the WM-80 by the commentator for the 9 June parade. The battalion's commander said the unit was called the 28th Royal Artillery Battalion and operated 203 mm M110 howitzers until 2008 when its name was changed.
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