A long shot

Long before the term “Rocket Force” entered the modern military lexicon, an Indian ruler was reshaping warfare in the Indian subcontinent — with rockets. Mysore's Tipu Sultan introduced iron-cased rockets into battle during the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the 18th century. Known as the Mysorean Rocket, they were fired from wheeled launchers and pierced British lines and offered greater range and precision. He also pioneered “Cushoons”, India’s first rocket regiments, which rose to 5,000 personnel at its peak. After Tipu's defeat in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, the British gathered some of his rockets, studied them, and then reverse-engineered them. The