The V4 Launcher


Designation: Artillery
Manufacturer: Vodnik Missile Arsenal
Country of origin: USSR
Mass-produced at: Soviet War Factory

Key features:

• ‘Molot’ multi-warhead firing mechanism
• Assembly of self-adhesive portable rockets
• Glass canopy offering wide visibility
• Graphic paper dispenser with compass
• Unsuitable for rough terrain



When the Soviet Union accidentally launched a man into space whilst experimenting with intercontinental ballistic missile technology, the nation also became the world leader in rocket science. Even now, Russia and its Sister Republics hold this position firmly and continue to develop new ways of mass-producing various types of rockets for scientific and military purposes. Although Soviet rocket science has not proved entirely successful or safe over the last three decades, a company based in Vladivostok has repeatedly come up with one self-propelled innovation after another. This company, of course, is the Vodnik Missile Arsenal, best known for its formidable V4 Rocket Launcher.

The Soviet army is brimming with specialised, efficiently designed vehicles, and the V4 Rocket Launcher is an excellent example, given its role as a self-propelled platform for long-range ballistic rockets. Although unsuitable for front-line combat, the V4 can unleash highly destructive salvos upon enemy encampments, demolishing virtually everything within the blast radius. It takes just a few minutes for a qualified V4 operator to triangulate the coordinates of the intended target and launch one of the machine’s powerful warheads. Unlike previous models, the warheads reach their top speed rapidly and minimise their heat signatures so that enemy detection systems simply cannot lock onto them – at least, not in time. In practice, this means that the V4’s rockets cannot be shot down in mid-flight, so the only sure way to avoid carnage is to prevent a launch in the first place. A less ideal solution is to flee the target area. Although the Soviets are working on a tracking version of the Molot Multi-warhead Rocket, current models cannot change their trajectory in flight, nor can they identify moving targets.


Various functional improvements, such as the self-reloading launch tube and dual-purpose warheads, make the V4 Rocket Launcher superior to previous versions.

Whilst the V4 Rocket Launcher may appear to be little more than a conventional lorry fitted with a launch mechanism, it conceals several important features. Firstly, its rockets can be specifically programmed prior to launch to burst into a cluster of multi-warhead fragments at the apogee of their flight, expanding the destructive potential of such an attack at a minimal cost to its concentrated firepower. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the V4 Rocket Launcher can rearm itself automatically. The science behind this is a closely guarded secret, although apparently the energy from a warhead launch is stored within the tube and is used to fuse together the materials required for the next launch and to ‘preheat’ the next rocket. Suffice to say that the V4 has all the firepower it needs for any given battle.

It is noted that the V4 Rocket Launcher lacks modern targeting computers and, as a result, the Union requires a correspondingly labourious certification process for V4 operators. This may be one of the reasons why V4 operators are mainly women, as Soviet men are still needed at the front. Recognising this trend, the Soviet Union created various incentives for women to pass the certification to operate a V4, including exonerating brothers, sisters or husbands from war crimes, or providing family grants in exchange for confirmed enemy kills. These programmes proved to be a success.


Reconnaissance on the battlefield has at least revealed the following facts about the V4:

• Multi-warhead– For each rocket launch, the V4 offers the option of a concentrated attack suitable for single targets, or a wide-area attack effective against groups of enemies. The reduced accuracy of the multi-warhead mode is compensated for when several V4s attack simultaneously.

-Extreme firing range- Despite the luxurious glass canopy which affords the operator a panoramic view of the battlefield, the firing range of the V4 Rocket Launcher is considerably greater than what the human eye can see... all the more reason to deploy the V4s behind frontline forces, who can designate targets.

-Compact design- The modest dimensions of the V4 Rocket Launcher mean it can be transported by Supply Drop Zone, particularly by one of the Soviet Union’s Twinblade combat helicopters.

-Indirect combat only - The V4’s thin armour and limited range make it unsuitable against enemies who manage to close in.