The SNEB rocket (French: Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Edgar Brandt) is an unguided air-to-ground 68 mm (2.7 in) rocket projectile (RP) manufactured by the French company TDA Armements, designed for launch by combat aircraft and helicopters. Two other rockets were developed in the 37 mm (1.5 in) and 100 mm (3.9 in) caliber. The 37mm caliber was one of the earliest folding fin free flight rockets developed after WW2 and was developed mainly for air to air engagements and is no longer in service. The 100mm caliber is in service with the French Air Force and a few other air forces. The 68mm caliber is by far the most popular in use today in both the time span of service and numbers produce, even out pacing the Russian 57mm air to ground rocket, and is commonly referred in both military and civilian publications as the "SNEB rocket pods". Besides France, several other nations produce the SNEB 68mm rocket under license. In France today, the SNEB has been reorganized to the firm of Thomas-Brandt.
The caliber of 68 mm was preferred by the French over other international designs of 57 mm,[1] 70 mm,[2] or 80 mm.[3] The SNEB rocket projectile is propelled by a single rocket motor, and, depending on the warhead loadout on the launchers, it can be used against armoured fighting vehicles, bunkers, or soft targets.
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Recent development [edit]
The Systeme de Roquette A Corrections de Trajectoire (SYROCOT) is a program where a laser-guided seeker is incorporated into the design. It is compatible with the existing SNEB system. It is comparable to the US Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System project.
Warheads [edit]
The SNEB rocket projectiles could be armed with the following warheads:
- High explosive (HE)
- High explosive anti-tank warhead (HEAT)
- Multi-purpose fragmentation
- Flechette anti-personnel/material
- Smoke
- Illuminating
- Training rocket
Rocket launchers/pods [edit]
The French armament company of Matra produced the following types of rocket launcher for use with the SNEB 68 mm RPs:
- Matra Type 116M rocket launcher — This was lightly constructed and is used as an expendable rocket launcher pod with a frangible nose cone, loaded with 19 SNEB 68mm rockets which were fired in a single rippled 0.5 second salvo with a time interval of 33 milliseconds between each rocket firing, the pod is automatically jettisoned after all the rockets are expended.[4]
- Matra Type 155 rocket launcher — Widely produced, this was a reusable device manufactured completely from metal with a fluted nose cone through which the RPs were fired. Loaded with 18 SNEB 68mm rockets, it can be pre-programmed on the ground to fire in shots or in one single ripple salvo as the Type 116M.[4]
- Matra JL-100 drop tank/rocket pack — This unique arrangement combines a 66 US gallons (250 L) drop tank with a rocket launcher containing 19 SNEB 68 mm rockets in front to form an aerodynamically-shaped pod which can be mounted on over-wing or under-wing hardpoints. One notable aircraft equipped with this was the English Electric Lightning F.53 of Royal Saudi Air Force.[5]
Use by [edit]
| SNEB 68 mm rockets Helicopter | |
 22 round 68mm helicopter pod by Brandt |
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| Fact Sheet 68mm Multi-Dart Rocket |
External images- Helicopters
- Bell UH-1H of the Lebanese Air Force were modified locally to carry Bombs and Matra SNEB 68 mm rocket pods taken from unserviceable Hawker Hunters
- Aérospatiale Puma
- Eurocopter AS332
- Eurocopter AS 532
- Eurocopter EC 725
- Eurocopter Tiger
| SNEB 68 mm rockets Fixed Wing Aircraft | |
| Harrier GR.3 firing entire salvo of 4 rocket pods |
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| Harrier GR.7 in flight with 2 SNEB rocket pods |
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| 1962 Manufacture's ad for various Matra/SNEB rocket pods |
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| French Navy Super Etendard fitted with Type 155 SNEB rocket pods to outer pylons |
- Fixed-wing aircraft
- Atlas Cheetah
- BAE Sea Harrier
- BAE Harrier II
- Blackburn Buccaneer
- Canadair Sabre
- Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard
- Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet
- Dassault Étendard IV
- Dassault Mystère
- Dassault Mystère IV
- Dassault Mirage III
- Dassault Mirage 5
- Dassault Mirage F1
- Dassault Ouragan
- Dassault Super Mystère
- de Havilland Sea Vixen
- Douglas A-26 Invader
- English Electric Canberra
- English Electric Lightning
- Fiat G.91
- Hawker Hunter
- Hawker Siddeley Harrier
- IAI Kfir
- McDonnell Douglas F-4J/K/M in service with Royal Air Force/Royal Navy
- North American F-86 Sabre
- SIAI-Marchetti S.211
- SEPECAT Jaguar
- Sud Aviation Vautour
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Such as the S-5 rocket.
- ^ Such as the Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket, the Hydra 70, the Roketsan Cirit, and the CRV7.
- ^ Such as the S-8 rocket and the RS-82 rocket.
- ^ a b "SNEB rocket launcher pods". Flight Global Archive. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
- ^ "Multi-mission Lightning". Flight Global Archive. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
External links [edit]
- T.D.A. Armements SAS website
- Jane's info on TDA SNEB 68 mm rockets[dead link]
- Jane's info on Matra rocket launchers
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