Can you ID this rocket that was abandoned in Milan’s suburbs?

A rocket was found in the outskirts of Milan.

On Oct. 24, a rocket was found in Parco Lambro, a large park located in northeastern Milan, Italy.

About 70 cm in length, the rocket is painted olive-drab and has a yellow nose, as if it contains an explosive warhead. Although it may be a fake (it looks too clean, without rivets, bolts, labels etc.), its shape reminds that of a 5-Inch HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) or a 3.5-Inch FFAR (Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket) – old rockets whose length is twice that of the ordnance found under a tree at Lambro park in Milan.

In 2011, a rocket “used by Italian helicopters” (most probably an 81-mm Medusa rocket) was found in a field near the tracks of a Rome-Naples high-speed railway bridge in the area of the settlement Ceccano, near Frosinone. The rocket, hidden below some black plastic bags, is about 1.5 meters in length and, although filled with propellant, it had no explosive material.

Image credit: Newpress via Corriere.it

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.