Since the time of the famous Katyushas, a lot has changed. Battle tactics, weapons, state borders… But Russian multiple launch rocket systems are still extremely important on the battlefield to this day. With their help, you can throw shells of enormous destructive power over tens of kilometers, destroying and disabling fortified areas, enemy armored vehicles and manpower.
Our country occupies a leading position in the development of MLRS: old developments are constantly being improved and new models of these weapons are emerging. Today we will look at what Russian multiple launch rocket systems are currently in service with the army.
Grad
MLRS caliber 122 mm. It is intended for the destruction of enemy manpower, remote laying of minefields, destruction of fortified positions of the enemy. Can fight light and medium armored vehicles. When creating the machine, the Ural-4320 chassis was used, on which guides for 122 mm caliber shells are placed. To transportGrad ammo is available on any vehicle that has the right dimensions.
Number of projectile guides - 40 pieces, arranged in four rows of ten pieces each. The fire can be carried out both by single shots and by a single salvo, which takes less than a minute (no more than 20 seconds). The maximum firing range is up to 20.5 kilometers. The affected area is four hectares. "Grad" can be successfully operated in the widest temperature range: from -50 to +50 degrees Celsius.
Fire control is possible both from the cockpit and outside it, and in the latter case, the calculation uses a remote wired remote control (range - up to 50 meters). Since the designers provided for the successive exit of the shells from the guides, the combat vehicle sways relatively weakly during firing. It takes no more than three to four minutes to bring the installation into a combat position. The chassis can overcome fords up to one and a half meters deep.
Combat use
Where did they use these Russian multiple rocket launchers? Firstly, their baptism of fire took place back in Afghanistan. As the Mujahideen who survived under the shelling (and there were very few of them) recall: “A real hell reigned around, clods of earth soared up to heaven. We thought it was the end of the world." The installation was widely used during both Chechen campaigns, during the "war of three eights", when forcing Georgia to peace.
However, the first experience of using these, then still secret installationswas received long before the events described. This happened during the incident on the Damansky Peninsula, subsequently given to China. When the second wave of Chinese troops was able to break through to its territory and gain a foothold there, the order was given to use Grads. At first, the Soviet Union generally wanted to use atomic weapons, but there were fears about the reaction from the international community. Be that as it may, but this was enough for the PLA: a directed volley of dozens of Grads simply plowed this piece of disputed territory.
How many Chinese died there, for sure it will not be possible to find out. Soviet military leaders believed that at least three thousand people crossed the territory of the peninsula. In any case, there were no survivors for sure.
The current state of affairs
Today it is believed that Grads are morally and technically obsolete. Many of these machines, which are currently in service with our army, have almost completely exhausted their resource. In addition, the rearmament of the troops and the saturation of their Tornado MLRS are underway. But for the "oldies" is still far from over. The fact is that the Ministry of Defense still wants to keep a well-proven, cheap and efficient car in the ranks of the army.
In this regard, a special project was created to modernize them and bring them to a modern look and efficiency. In particular, a normal satellite navigation system was finally installed on the old model, as well as the Baget computer, which controls the process of launching shells. According to the assurances of the military, a relatively simple renewal procedure went to Gradam forbenefit, as their combat potential has grown several times at once.
This technique is used by all parties to the conflict on Ukrainian territory. Militant Africans who received MLRS from the USSR also love this weapon. In a word, the installation has a huge geography of distribution. This is what characterizes the Grad multiple launch rocket system. The "tornado", which we will describe below, is many times more powerful and has terrible destructive power.
Smerch
A truly intimidating weapon. In comparison with it, "Grad" is really similar in efficiency to the natural phenomenon of the same name. Judge for yourself: the Americans believe that the Smerch is a multiple rocket launcher, the characteristics of which would be more suitable for a compact complex with a nuclear weapon.
And they are absolutely right. This installation, in just one salvo, "covers" an unrealistic 629 hectares of area with a firing range of up to 70 kilometers. And that's not it. Today, new types of projectiles are being developed that will already fly a hundred kilometers. In the area covered by these Russian multiple launch rocket systems, everything is burning down, including heavy armored vehicles. Like the previous MLRS, Smerch can be operated in the widest temperature range.
Designed for large-scale processing of enemy positions before the offensive, the destruction of especially strong bunkers and pillboxes, the destruction of large concentrations of enemy manpower and enemy equipment.
Chassis, guides for launching projectiles
Chassis based on off-road vehicleMAZ-543. Unlike the Grad, this installation is much more dangerous for the enemy because the battery includes the Vivarium fire control system, which allows you to achieve the highest efficiency, which is more typical for barreled artillery systems.
These multiple rocket launchers have 12 tubular projectile guides. Each of them weighs 80 kilograms, and 280 of them are accounted for by a powerful explosive charge. Weapons specialists believe that this ratio is ideal for unguided projectiles, as it allows you to combine powerful sustainer engines and huge destructive potential in the ammunition.
And one more feature of the Smerch shells. The designers worked on this for a long time, but made sure that the angle of their incidence on the ground was 90 degrees. Such a "meteorite" will easily pierce through any MBT of a probable enemy, and concrete structures are unlikely to resist such power. Currently, the production of new Tornadoes is not planned (most likely), since they will be replaced by new Tornadoes at the combat post.
However, there is some possibility that the old complexes will still be subjected to modernization. It is absolutely certain that new types of active-guided missiles can be included in their ammunition load, so the combat capabilities of the complex are still far from exhausted today.
What other multiple rocket launchers do we have?
Hurricane
Adopted in the 70syears of the last century. In terms of combat effectiveness, it occupies an intermediate position between the Grad and Smerch. So, the maximum firing range is 35 kilometers. In general, the "Hurricane" is a multiple rocket launcher, during the design of which many principles were laid down, which still guide the developers of such weapons in our country. It was created by the famous designer Yury Nikolayevich Kalachnikov.
By the way, "Hurricane" is a multiple rocket launcher, which at one time the Soviet Union supplied in considerable quantities to Yemen, where hostilities are now beginning to be intense. Surely soon we will find out how effective the old Soviet equipment proved to be in battles. Domestic armed forces simultaneously with the "Grad" also used the "Hurricane" during the war in Afghanistan.
Also, the installation was widely used in Chechnya, and then in Georgia. There is evidence that with the help of Hurricanes, a column of advancing Georgian tanks was once completely destroyed (according to other sources, these were Grads).
Composition of the complex
16 tubular guides were mounted on the chassis of the ZIL-135LM cross-country vehicle (it was originally planned that there would be 20 of them). The Ukrainians at one time modernized the cars they got, putting them on the chassis of their Kremenchug KrAZ. The composition of the fighting compartment of these installations includes the following components:
- Direct machine 9P140.
- Vehicle for transporting and loading shells 9T452.
- Ammo kit.
- Fire control vehicle based on the 1V126 Kapustnik-B installation.
- Tools for learning and training calculation.
- Topographic reconnaissance station 1T12-2M.
- Complex of direction finding and meteorology 1B44.
- A complete set of equipment and tools 9F381, designed for the repair and maintenance of machines from the complex.
What else characterizes Russia's Uragan multiple launch rocket systems? Artillery part is made on the rotary base of the balancing mechanism, and is also equipped with hydraulic and electromechanical drives. The massive rail package can be hovered between 5 and 55 degrees.
Horizontal aiming can be carried out at an angle of 30 degrees to the right and left of the central axis of the combat vehicle. So that during a massive volley there is no risk of a heavy chassis falling over, two powerful lugs are provided in its rear part. The complex is also equipped with night vision devices, and therefore can be operated at night.
Currently, about one and a half hundred of these machines are still in operation in the Russian Armed Forces. Most likely, they will not be subjected to modernization, but will be written off immediately after the full development of the combat resource. This is due to the fact that a new MLRS was adopted, which includes all the advantages of old models.
Tornado
This is Russia's new multiple launch rocket system. Its development began indue to the fact that the old Grads, which had been in service for more than forty years, urgently needed replacement. As a result of intense design work, this machine was born.
Unlike its predecessors, Russia's Tornado multiple launch rocket systems are much more advanced in targeting and firing accuracy, as they can use topographic data transmitted from satellites. But not only this is unique to the newly created MLRS.
The fact is that earlier, for each task, the Soviet industry created a separate installation: in fact, this is how the meteorological "zoo" appeared in the form of "Grad", "Smerch" and "Hurricane". But modern Russian multiple launch rocket systems ("Tornado") will be produced in three versions at once, using the shells of all three vehicles described above. It is assumed that the designers will provide for the ability to quickly replace the artillery unit, so that one chassis can be used in different capacities.
New projectiles
In addition, all previous systems had one big drawback associated with the uncontrollability of ammunition. Simply put, it was impossible to correct the course of already fired shells. All this was quite suitable for the wars of the past decades, but in the current conditions it is already unacceptable. To solve this problem, new types of projectiles with active optical and laser guidance were created for the Tornado. From now on, MLRS have become a fundamentally new, extremely dangerous type of weapon.
Thus, modern jet systemsRussian salvo fire can currently be compared in efficiency with the most advanced examples of cannon artillery, hitting a target tens of kilometers away. Unlike the most advanced Smerch in this regard, the firing range of the Tornado is already up to 100 kilometers (when using the appropriate projectiles).
Meeting of new and old
As we already wrote at the very beginning of the article, at the present time, work is also underway to improve the old Grads, of which there are still quite a few in service. And then the designers came up with the thought: “What if we use a simple, technological chassis from the Grad, installing a new combat module from the Tornado of the appropriate caliber there?” The idea was quickly put into practice.
So a completely new car "Tornado-G" was born. Officially, it was put into service in 2013, at the same time deliveries to the troops began. At the "Tank Biathlon - 2014" the new MLRS was shown to everyone.
Unlike both predecessors of this technique, the design includes the Kapustnik-BM control system, which increases the combat capabilities of the complex several times. In addition, the process of aiming and live firing has been significantly simplified: now the crew does not need to go outside at all, since all the necessary topographic data is displayed in real time on monitors installed inside the cockpit. From there, you can also set a target and launch projectiles.
Such upgrades not only modernizedthe old complex, but also significantly secured the crew. Now the machine can quickly fire a volley from a closed position and leave it, spending no more than a minute and a half on everything. This drastically reduces the risk of detection and destruction of the complex by an enemy retaliatory strike. In addition, through the use of new projectiles with a detachable warhead, it is now possible to significantly expand the range of possible combat modules.
Here are the current Russian multiple launch rocket systems. Photos of them are given in the article, so you can get a rough idea of their power.
