Munitions

Fire Dragon 140A rocket

Also known as
  • BRE3
  • FD140A
  • Fire Dragon 140
  • Fire Dragon 140A
  • 火龙140A

Fire Dragon 140A, also identified as BRE3 or FD140A, is a Chinese 300 mm guided rocket from NORINCO's Fire Dragon family. Official NORINCO material describes it for AR2 and AR3 multiple-rocket launchers, while Janes, Deagel, NASIC, and cmano-db sources place it in the PHL-03 / AR2 / AR3 launcher ecosystem with inertial-plus-satellite guidance and roughly 130 km range-class performance.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
China
Built by
Norinco
Type
300 mm guided rocket
Service note
2019-present export guided rocket
Designer
NORINCO
Unit cost
Not publicly established
Produced
2019-present
Number built
Not publicly established

Specifications

Caliber
300 mm
Guidance
Inertial navigation with satellite/GNSS guidance; NORINCO describes GPS guidance with GLONASS-aided positioning
Maximum range
About 130 km in Deagel/Janes/cmano-db references; NASIC lists BRE-3 / Fire Dragon 140 in the close-range ballistic missile table
Weight
800 kg
Length
7.3 m
Launcher family
PHL-03 / AR2 and AR3 / PHL-16-family launchers
AR3 carriage
Five 300 mm Fire Dragon 140 guided rockets per pod; ten per two-pod launcher
Variants

BRE designations cover several Chinese 300 mm rocket types used with the PHL-03 / AR2 family; Fire Dragon 140A is the guided BRE3 / FD140A member.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
BRE3 / FD140AVariant
BRE2 300 mm rocket, 300 mm high-explosive artillery rocket, MunitionsBRE2 300 mm rocket300 mm high-explosive rocket

Janes lists BRE2 alongside BRC4 and Fire Dragon 140A in the 300 mm rocket set used by the 8x8 PHL-03 family.

Sources: Janes PHL-03 guided rocket report

BRC4 300 mm rocket, Unguided 300 mm artillery rocket, MunitionsBRC4 300 mm rocketUnguided 300 mm cargo rocket

Janes names BRC4 as another 300 mm PHL-03-family rocket in the same range baseline as BRE2 and Fire Dragon 140A.

Sources: Janes PHL-03 guided rocket report

Carrier Launcher

Fire Dragon 140A is documented as a guided 300 mm rocket for PHL-03 / AR2-family launchers, with separate official and Janes reporting also tying Fire Dragon 140 to AR3 modular launch pods.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
AR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcher, 300 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher, ArtilleryAR2 300 mm multiple rocket launcherTruck-mounted multiple rocket launcher

Janes identifies Fire Dragon 140A as a guided 300 mm rocket used by the 8x8 PHL-03 family, and NORINCO describes the rocket as compatible with the AR2 300 mm multiple-rocket-launcher system.

Sources: Janes PHL-03 guided rocket report, NORINCO Fire Dragon 140A product image

Timeline

Fire Dragon 140A rocket Key Events

  1. BRE-3 / Fire Dragon 140 listed in US missile-threat reference

    NASIC's 2017 Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat report listed BRE-3 / Fire Dragon 140 among Chinese 300 mm PHL-03 / AR2 / AR3 close-range missile systems.

  2. Fire Dragon 140A active-service baseline

    Deagel lists Fire Dragon 140A / BRE3 with a 2019 initial operational capability and 130 km maximum range.

  3. AR3 export order documents five-round Fire Dragon 140 pods

    Janes reported the UAE's AR3 order and described each AR3 pod as able to contain five 300 mm Fire Dragon 140 INS/GNSS-guided missiles.

  4. NORINCO identifies Fire Dragon 140A compatibility

    NORINCO Group described the Fire Dragon 140A / BRE3 300 mm guided rocket as compatible with AR2 and AR3 multiple-rocket-launcher systems.

Media
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Sources