HYDRA 70

The Hydra 70 rocket is a 2.75-inch (70 mm) diameter fin-stabilized unguided rocket used primarily in the air-to-ground role. It can be equipped with a variety of warheads.

                                 source: internet

Type; Rocket

Place of origin: United States

Unit cost: $2,799

Mass: 13.6 lb (6.2 kg) (Mk66 Mod 4 rocket motor only)

Length: 41.7 in (1,060 mm)

Diameter: 2.75 in (70 mm)

Muzzle velocity: 2,300 feet per second(700 m/s)

Effective firing range: 8,700 yards (8,000 m)

Maximum firing range: 11,500 yards(10,500 m)

Maximum speed: 2,425 ft/s (739 m/s)

Guidance system: unguided

                                     source: internet

It is not only used in RAH 66 but also used in Launch Platform like North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco, AH-64 Apache, AH-1Z Viper, Bell AH-1W Supercobra AH-1 Cobra, OH-58 Kiowa, T-129, Eurocopter Tiger, A-10 Thunderbolt II, UH-60 Black Hawk, P-3 Orion, MH-6 Little Bird, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier Development. The Hydra 70 is derived from the 2.75-inch(70 mm) diameter Mk4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket developed by the United States Navy for use as a free-flight aerial rocket in the late 1940s.

                                     source: internet

The main change made to produce the Hydra was the Mk. 66 motor which uses a new propellant that offers considerably more thrust, 1,335 pounds-force (5,940 N) (Mod 2/3) 1,415 pounds-force (6,290 N) (Mod 4). The fins of the Mk 40 flipped forward from the rear when the rocket left the launching tube, but in the Hydra they are curved to match the outside diameter of the rocket fuselage and flip sideways to open, which is referred to as WAFAR (Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket) instead of FFAR (folding-fin aerial rocket).

                                           source: internet

Designation Description

Mk 66 Mod 0 70 mm (2.75 in) WAFAR universal motor; common motor for the GD Hydra 70 series of rockets; original prototype; for US Army Mk 66 Mod 1 Mk 66 variant; production variant; for US Army Mk 66 Mod 2 Mk 66 Mod 1 variant; HERO (Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance) safe; for US Navy and US Air Force Mk 66 Mod 3 Mk 66 Mod 1 variant; HERO safe; Mk 66 Mod 2 for US army Mk 66 Mod 4 Mk 66 Mod 2/3 variant; incorporates a Salt rod to reduce exhaust gases; for all services Mk 66 Mod 5 Mk 66 Mod 4 variant; Incorporates propellant venting during fast cook off Mk 66 Mod 6 Mk 66 Mod 4/5 variant; designed to reduce the tendency of secondary launch gasses to combust in the parent aircraft’s engine, primarily with the AH-64 helicopter Warheads Hydra 70 warheads fall into three categories: Unitary warheads with impact-detonating fuzes or remote-set multi-option fuzes. Cargo warheads with air burst-range, with settable fuzes using the "wall-in-space" concept or fixed standoff fuzes.

The most common warhead for the Hydra70 rocket is the M151 "10-Pounder," which has a blast radius of 10 meters and lethal fragmentation radius of around 50meters.