Huolongchushui (fire dragon issuing from the water; Chinese: 火龙出水; pinyin: huolóngchushui; lit. fire dragon out of water) were the earliest form of multistage rockets and ballistic missiles used in post-classical China. The name of the weapon was used to strike fear into enemy troops. If the enemy was out of range, the fire dragon had a contingency: a magazine of three rocket driven arrows located within the mouth of the missile. It acted as one of the world's earliest multistage rockets and ballistic missiles, and was fired at enemy ships in naval battles.