Mapmakers Technology Reference
M261 Nineteen-Tube Rocket Launcher
Fictional or future equipment, with real-world baseline distinguished where applicable
Basic design
The M261 is a cluster of 19 launch tubes associated with the 70-mm / 2.75-inch aerial rocket family. The tube count distinguishes it from smaller helicopter rocket pods. The pod is a launcher, not itself the rocket motor, explosive payload, guidance section or fire-control system. Mechanical attachment, electrical interfaces and permissible rocket configurations depend on the integrated launch platform.
Integration and variants
In conventional use the launcher is attached to a compatible aircraft and operated through that aircraft’s weapon-control interfaces. The Mapmakers S2S-SMS repurposes a legacy M261 pod as a suspended expendable firing module after a separate ship-launched booster carries it upward. In that fictional arrangement the pod hangs beneath a tether and parachute rather than hovering on its own propulsion.
Engineering boundary
A parachute-suspended 70-mm rocket launcher is a fictional capability of S2S-SMS, not an established M261 product feature. The launcher, rockets, guidance and booster deserve distinct identities in the Technology reference system. This article describes their relationship without claiming that an unmodified modern launcher can undertake the fictional mission.
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