SOFEX 2022: Jadara to begin Raptor production

The Jadara Raptor on display at the SOFEX 2022 show. (Mohammed Najib)

The new Raptor rocket launcher developed by Jadara Equipment & Defence Systems has completed testing and will enter production later this year, the Jordanian company's general director told Janes at the SOFEX 2022 show held in Aqaba from 1 to 3 November.

“By the end of this year, 2022, the Jadara factory will start producing the Raptor in marketing quantities,” Colonel Engineer (retd) Ayman Mashouqah said.

The Raptor uses the same reusable sighting system as Jadara's Nashshab RPG-32 but has a new 107 mm rocket. The GS-2R sight has a laser rangefinder that enables it to calculate ballistic trajectories and project a reticle aim-point for the operator for improved accuracy.

“The Raptor will use the same scope used in the RPG-32 because we do not want to diversify the scopes used in our products and the RPG-32 is a great sight that achieves the desired goal,” Mashouqah said.

At 500 m, the Raptor's effective range is less than the 700 m given for the anti-tank and thermobaric rockets used with the Nashshab, but Mashouqah said this is sufficient. The warhead can penetrate 500 mm of rolled homogenous armour that is protected by explosive reactive armour compared with 650 mm for the Nashshab's RPG‐32 anti-tank rocket. At 14 kg, the complete Raptor system is also slightly heavier than the Nashshab.

However, unlike the Nashshab, which was a joint development with Russia, the Raptor will be entirely made in Jordan, Jadara officials told Janes