The Taian HTF5680A1 is a large
transporter erector launcher
A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can transport, elevate to a firing position and launch one or more rockets or missiles.
History
Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles ...
with a 12x12 configuration. The vehicle comes in two primary variants. The conventional HTF5680 is a 12x12 flatbed vehicle for transport purposes. However, the most common and famous variant is the HTF5680A1 which carries
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
s, most famously, the
DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile
An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range between (), categorized between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ball ...
.
Description
The HTF5680A1 is a 35-ton TEL that is produced and developed by the Taian Special Vehicle company and is currently one of the main workhorse of the
People's Liberation Army Rocket Force
The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, formerly the Second Artillery Corps, is the strategic missile, strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th military branch, branch of the People's Li ...
. The HTF5680A1 has a dimple on the roof in order to better accommodate the
DF-26 ballistic missile it carries. Like the
WS2600
The WS2600 is a 22.5 ton 10x10 transporter erector launcher (TEL) used by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force of the People's Republic of China. It is, along with the smaller WS2500, one of the principal mobility platforms in mounting Chin ...
, the large size of the HTF5680A1, allows it to carry ballistic missiles with far heavier payloads. The most common type of ballistic missile the HTF5680A1 carries, are IRBMs such as the aforementioned DF-26.
The DF-26 missile itself is an IRBM with a range, and is capable of striking
Guam
Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
. The warhead of the DF-26 have made it suitable for
anti-ship usage.
Although it is meant for conventional hard surfaced roads, the HTF5680A1 has some degree of cross-country mobility and can travel over rugged terrain, which makes it less vulnerable to counterattacks and far more lethal.
Variants
*HTF5680 - 12x12 flatbed transport variety
See also
*
HTF5980
*
TAS5380
*
WS2400
The WS2400 is a 8x8 special heavy-duty truck developed and built by Wanshan Special Vehicle and used by the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China as a transporter erector launcher (TEL) platform and is a reverse engineered ve ...
*
MAZ-7310
The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (/Hurricane) is a Soviet/Belarusian 8×8 artillery truck designed and developed by MAZ (Minsk Automobile Plant), in what is now Belarus.
MAZ-543
Designed in the 1960s, the MAZ-543 was presented on 7 November 196 ...
*
HEMTT
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, tactical truck. The M977 HEMTT first entered service in 1982 with the United States Army as a replacement for the M520 Goer, and since that date ha ...
*
WS2600
The WS2600 is a 22.5 ton 10x10 transporter erector launcher (TEL) used by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force of the People's Republic of China. It is, along with the smaller WS2500, one of the principal mobility platforms in mounting Chin ...
*
WS21200
The WS21200 is a large transporter erector launcher built and developed in the People's Republic of China. Like the WS51200, the WS21200 is not actually used by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, instead, the primary customer is Pakista ...
*
WS51200
The WS51200 is an extremely large heavy goods vehicle built by Wanshan Special Vehicle in China, converted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea into a single-use transporter erector launcher (TEL). The WS51200 is one of the largest in th ...
References
{{Chinese Missiles
Military trucks of China
Military vehicles of the People's Republic of China