IDEX 2025: UAE’s Calidus Revolutionizes Artillery with New BARQ Multi-Caliber Rocket Launcher Vehicle.

At IDEX 2025, a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, UAE-based defense company Calidus unveils the BARQ, a cutting-edge High Mobility Multiple Rocket Launcher (HIMRL) designed to revolutionize modern artillery warfare. Mounted on a 4x4 truck chassis, the BARQ combines high-speed maneuverability, multi-caliber rocket capabilities, and loitering munition integration, offering a highly flexible and lethal fire support solution for modern armed forces.

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The new BARQ multi-caliber rocket launcher vehicle unveiled by UAE-based Calidus at IDEX 2025, showcasing its advanced mobility and firepower capabilities for modern battlefield operations. (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)

The new BARQ’s multi-caliber rocket launcher mobility ensures it can rapidly respond to battlefield demands. Powered by a 375-horsepower engine, it achieves a top speed of 125 km/h with a fuel range of 700 km, allowing extended operational endurance. Its automatic six-speed transmission, 4x4 drivetrain, and 400 mm ground clearance make it exceptionally capable in challenging terrains, including deserts, mountains, and urban environments. Designed for rapid deployment, the system is also air-transportable via C-130 and larger aircraft, enabling strategic mobility.

What sets the BARQ apart is its unique capability to fire three different calibers of standard rockets—122 mm, 220 mm, and 300 mm—alongside loitering munitions from a single launch station. This multi-mission flexibility allows forces to adapt their firepower according to the threat level and mission objectives. The 122 mm rockets provide rapid saturation fire for close and medium-range engagements, the 220 mm rockets deliver enhanced firepower for deeper strikes, while the 300 mm rockets offer long-range precision attack capabilities up to 70 km. The addition of loitering munitions expands the system’s operational spectrum, enabling real-time target tracking and engagement of high-value and moving targets with pinpoint accuracy.

This dual-capability design significantly enhances tactical effectiveness, reducing the need for separate artillery and drone strike platforms. The BARQ enables seamless transition from area suppression to precision engagement without requiring additional logistics or complex support systems. This makes it a force multiplier, particularly in asymmetric warfare and counter-insurgency operations, where adaptability and rapid response are critical.

The BARQ is also designed for fast engagement and redeployment, minimizing its exposure to counter-battery fire. It can transition from driving to firing mode in just three minutes and reposition to a new location within one minute after launching, ensuring battlefield survivability.

By integrating multi-caliber firepower with modern loitering munition technology, Calidus has created a next-generation artillery system that bridges the gap between traditional rocket artillery and modern precision strike capabilities. The unveiling of the BARQ at IDEX 2025 solidifies the UAE’s leadership in indigenous defense innovation, offering a highly versatile and powerful solution tailored for conventional, hybrid, and asymmetric warfare environments. This makes the BARQ an attractive option for armed forces seeking a highly mobile, adaptable, and technologically advanced rocket artillery system for the modern battlefield.