Following public demonstrations of the S-5U air-launched rocket, Russia is set to resume manufacture of 57-mm unguided rockets after a gap of almost 30 years. A previous design of the same caliber, the S-5M, was produced in the country from 1959 through to 1990. IPF (local acronym for Novosibirsk Institute of Applied Physics), responsible for the development of the S-5U, issued a statement saying that “the re-birth of the low-caliber [rockets] is explained by the appearance of new explosives, solid-fuel motors and shooting platforms.”
Compared to its predecessor, the S-5U is longer, at 1,090 mm (3.28 feet) compared with 882 mm (2.89 feet), and heavier, at 6 kg (13.23 pounds) versus 3.86 kg (8.51 pounds). Instead of solid fuel (ballistite powder), its motor runs on composite propellant: a mixture of oxidizer, binding agent, energetic compounds, and plasticizers. The S-5U’s effective firing range is given at between 0.5 and 4 km (0.27 and 2.16 nm), which is comparable to the older generation.
