The firing took place in front of an international audience of military experts, procurement officials and defence ministry representatives. Officials said the trials confirmed compatibility with the German Armed Forces’ future rocket artillery system.
The new training rocket was developed jointly with Elbit Systems Land. The system is based on existing components and is designed to meet current operational and training requirements.
A key feature of the rocket is its spotting charge warhead with a newly developed propellant. This allows impacts to be observed through visual and acoustic effects such as flash, smoke and sound, without creating a fire hazard on training ranges.
The rocket’s aerodynamic performance was validated through a series of tests conducted in Israel in 2025 and further firings in early 2026. Officials said the results demonstrated low error angles and stable flight characteristics.
The Altengrabow firing marked the first test of a German training rocket at the site in more than 30 years. The event also signals the restart of artillery rocket production at Diehl Defence.
“The successful launch of the 122 mm training rocket, fired from MARS 3 at the Altengrabow military training area, is a milestone,” said Gunnar Pappert. “It confirms the full compatibility between our training rockets and the launcher system and at the same time opens up new paths for artillery technology manufactured in Germany.”
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