Multiple launch rocket system "smerch". Russian multiple rocket launcher "tornado" - a real natural disaster on the battlefield

Whose multiple launch rocket systems are better?

On November 19, 1987, the Smerch multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) was put into service. She became the heir to the famous “Katyusha”, which terrified the enemy during the war. Modern installations are approaching tactical missile weapons in terms of firing range and effectiveness in hitting targets.

Glorious Past

IN post-war years work on the creation of multiple rocket launchers was concentrated in the Tula Research Institute of Precision Engineering, now called NPO Splav. A huge breakthrough in this field was made in 1960, when good equipment began to enter service. known system BM-21 "Grad". It turned out to be so successful that the number of systems produced approached 9 thousand.

Installed on the Ural vehicle, it had a firing range from forty guides from 5 km to 40 km with a coverage area of ​​145 thousand square meters. m. "Grad", which is still in operation, has several types of 122-mm unguided rockets, among whom there are even smoke screen directors.

Over the 28 years of production of the Grad MLRS, several modifications of it were produced, differing both in firing power and in the chassis on which it is installed. The distribution of the system is unique; it is or has been in service with 70 armies around the world. And not only the former Soviet republics, countries of the socialist camp and countries that fought for independence with the active help of the USSR. “Grads” are, for example, in the USA, where they were sold from Romania and Ukraine.

The best in the world

In 1987, Tula residents released the 9K58 Smerch MLRS, thanks to which the idea of ​​the capabilities of multiple rocket launch artillery changed. A salvo from a battery of six such combat vehicles is capable of stopping the advance motorized rifle division.

Until 1990, Smerch, capable of hitting targets at a distance of 100 km, was the world's longest-range system. Then the Chinese took the lead, bringing this figure to a fantastic 180 km.

However, the effectiveness of the MLRS consists of many parameters, and in terms of the totality of its advantages, this development of the Tula “Splav” is the best in the world.

Long range is a double-edged sword. The Americans, when creating their own similar systems, during research work established that at a range of over 40 km, the dispersion of projectiles would be too great. But the shells developed for Smerch have a unique design that ensures hit accuracy 2-3 times higher than the same indicator foreign systems rocket artillery.

“Smerch” is not only a device that sends merciless projectiles beyond the horizon. The system includes:

Combat vehicle (BM) 9K58;

Transport-loading vehicle 9T234-2;

Missiles;

Educational and training means 9F827;

Special kit arsenal equipment and tool 9F819;

Automated fire control system (KSAUO) 9S729M1 “Slepok-1”;

Vehicle for topographic survey 1T12-2M;

Radio direction-finding meteorological complex 1B44.

Export modifications of Smerch cost $12.5 million.

The BM has 12 guides that provide salvo fire with 300-mm rockets. One salvo covers an area of ​​672 thousand square meters. m., i.e. 67 hectares.

In this case, the dispersion does not exceed 0.3% of the range. This is achieved through the operation of the flight control system, which corrects the trajectory in pitch and yaw. Thanks to this, the accuracy of Smerch's hits was increased by 2 times. The deviation does not exceed 150 m, which brings the system closer in accuracy to artillery pieces. And the accuracy of fire was increased 3 times. Correction is carried out by gas-dynamic rudders driven by gas high pressure from the onboard gas generator. Stabilization of the projectile in flight occurs due to its rotation around the longitudinal axis, provided by preliminary rotation while moving along a tubular guide and supported in flight by installing the blades of the drop-down stabilizer at a certain angle to the longitudinal axis of the projectile.

Another advantage of projectiles is that they hit the target at right angles to the surface.

The Smerch ammunition includes 7 types of 800-kilogram shells:

9M55K – cluster projectile containing 72 combat elements carrying 6912 heavy and 25920 light fragments;

9M55K1 has 5 self-aiming armor-piercing combat elements equipped with dual-band infrared coordinators;

9M55K4 contains 25 anti-tank mines with an electronic proximity fuse. In one salvo, 300 mines are laid in front of enemy military equipment units located at the attack line;

9M55K5 contains 588 cumulative fragmentation combat elements weighing 240 g and length 128 mm, capable of penetrating 160 mm armor;

9M55F and 9M528 - rockets with a detachable high-explosive fragmentation warhead;

When 9M55S explodes, it creates a thermal field with a diameter of at least 25 m (depending on the terrain) with a temperature of over 1000 degrees for 1.5 seconds.

The most important role parameters such as time spent on various kinds actions of a crew consisting of three people. Which is especially important in conditions of rapid enemy reaction. The system is transferred from traveling to combat position in 3 minutes. A salvo is fired in 38 seconds. And in one minute fighting machine capable of changing location, which allows you to escape from the enemy's return salvo.

In the 90s, units armed with the Smerch systems began to be equipped with the Vivarium automated fire control system, developed by Tomsk PA Kontur. The system combines several command and staff vehicles at the disposal of the commander and chief of staff of the MLRS brigade, as well as the commanders of divisions (up to three) and batteries (up to eighteen) subordinate to them. The equipment of command and staff vehicles of the Vivarium system ensures information exchange with higher, subordinate and interacting control bodies, solves the problems of planning concentrated fire and fire along columns, prepares data for firing, collects and analyzes information on the state of artillery units.

“Smerch” is not the latest Russian MLRS. At the moment, the armament of artillery units has begun with the first Tornado systems developed at NPO Splav. It fires forty 122mm rockets in one salvo and has the same range as the Smerch. At the same time, this is a deep modernization of the Grad MLRS. The main advantage of the Tornado is its increased maneuverability and rate of fire. It takes 30 seconds to prepare to fire, 20 seconds to fire a salvo, and 30 seconds to leave a position.

Ranged fire-breathing dragon

China now ranks second in terms of MLRS sophistication. This country is armed with almost a dozen systems, created both independently and copied from samples purchased from Russia. In particular, the Chinese A-100 resembles our Smerch. But there is a noticeable difference. For example, the firing range is shorter. And it takes almost 3 times more time to prepare for shooting, to fire a salvo and to leave a position.

Chinese MLRS A-100

The Chinese are much better at producing their own systems, which are produced by an aerospace corporation in Sichuan. The parameters of its latest system, WS-3, created in 2010, are impressive. In one salvo, it fires six 400-mm shells at a distance of 70 km to 200 km. At the same time, their trajectory is corrected using GPS, so the deviation from the target does not exceed 50 m.

However, the fascination with range had a bad effect on the lethality of missiles. Due to the installation of a powerful engine and a large volume of fuel, the warhead did not have much mass. If the 300-mm Smerch missiles have 280-kg warheads, then the WS-3 has 200 kg. And there are only 6 of them in a salvo, not 12. The disadvantages of this MLRS also include a small number of types of missiles - there are three of them: high-explosive, cluster and volumetric explosion.

Introduction

Jet system salvo fire SMERCH appeared back in the distant eighty-seventh year of the last century. The starting point for the design was a burning desire to shoot at the enemy from a distance, excluding a retaliatory strike. Therefore, a rocket with a caliber of three hundred millimeters and a length of almost eight meters was chosen. Initially, the firing distance was seventy kilometers. The dispersion of missiles at such a distance exceeds all reasonable limits. Therefore, the rocket was immediately equipped with a correction system. That is, the rocket contained an electronic unit that monitored the deviation of the rocket from its course and issued a signal to small jet engines that were located in the nose of the rocket. They returned the rocket to its original trajectory. The nozzles of these engines are directed perpendicular to the flight axis.

The top photo shows only light traces of smoke coming from the nose of the rocket. And in the bottom photo you can see that the correction engines are actively working.

MLRS SMERCH on the streets of our cities

They love to show off the SMERCH multiple launch rocket system at military parades. Therefore, it can often be seen on the streets of our cities. The second photo from the top is Moscow. On the three lower Rostov-on-Don Krasnoarmeyskaya Street. At the parade, from behind large quantity there is little to be seen of the people and the police cordon. And along Krasnoarmeiskaya Street, the military equipment returns back to its unit. Here you can safely take pictures, look and touch. You can click on the photos. Some of them grow to unprecedented sizes.

MLRS device SMERCH

The device is the simplest - twelve launch tubes are installed on a huge machine. Each tube has a spiral groove that gives the rocket a slight rotational motion. Long bodies It is not possible to stabilize the rotation. Rotation is necessary to eliminate the eccentricity of the jet engine thrust. Any jet engine, and especially those made in Russia, have a slight curvature. Accordingly, he pushes the rocket not only in front but also a little to the side. Rotation allows the lateral component of thrust to be reduced to zero.

Model of the nozzle - it can be seen that before the shot the tail unit is held in the folded position by a special ring.
A special machine is designed for loading the SMERCH MLRS.

The main thing, of course, is not the machine with the pipes, but the missiles in general and their warheads in particular.

Missiles for MLRS SMERCH

You must understand that over the thirty years of its existence, the missiles for the SMERCH MLRS have been modernized many times. Initially maximum range the launch was seventy kilometers. Then missiles were designed with a maximum firing range of ninety kilometers. Whether they are adopted is a big question. Now the range stated in advertising brochures is one hundred and twenty kilometers. But we must understand that the maximum launch range greatly depends on the weight of the warhead.

Rocket 9M55F

The warhead is separated at the end point of the trajectory and lowered by parachute. If people stand in dense ranks, then there will be a lot of dead. But in my opinion this does not happen in war. It is practically safe for personnel in the trenches. The fragments are quite large and most likely designed to destroy light equipment.

1. rocket length - 7600mm
2. rocket weight - 810 kilograms
3. warhead weight - 258 kilograms
4. explosive weight - 95 kilograms
5. number of ready-made submunitions - 1100
6. mass of the finished damaging element - 50 grams
7. maximum firing range - 70 kilometers
8. minimum firing range - 25 kilometers

Rocket 9M55K

The warhead consists of seventy-two fragmentation elements. Designed to combat enemy infantry located openly. At a given point in the trajectory, the missile warhead is detonated by a small charge. This charge opens the body of the warhead and combat elements scattered across the area. The bottom photo shows a cross-section of the warhead of the URAGAN MLRS. The cluster warhead of the SMERCH MLRS differs in the number of sections - there are nine of them, not five as in the photograph. And in each section there are not six fragmentation elements, but eight.

After opening the warhead, such a skeleton remains.

1. rocket weight - 800 kilograms

3. warhead mass - 243 kilograms
4. number of combat fragmentation elements - 72 pieces
5. maximum firing range 70 kilometers
6. minimum firing range 20 kilometers

This is what a combat fragmentation element looks like. In a thin case there is a polyethylene pipe in the walls of which there are ready-made fragments. Inside the pipe there is a cylindrical block of explosive. The tail orients the element with the fuse down.

Element weight - 1.75 kg

Diameter - 69 mm

Length - 263 millimeters

Explosive mass - 32 grams

Rocket 9M55K1

The warhead contains five self-aiming Motiv-3M combat elements designed to destroy tanks and other armored targets with a cumulative strike core. When approaching a target, combat elements are pushed out of the warhead body and begin to descend on a small parachute and simultaneously scan the area for the presence of a target.

1. rocket weight - 800 kilograms
2. rocket length - 7600 millimeters
3. warhead weight - 243 kilograms
4. number of combat elements - 5 pieces
5. mass of one element - 15 kilograms
6. mass of explosive in one element - 4.5 kilograms

From a distance of one hundred meters, armor seventy millimeters thick can be penetrated.
Maximum firing range - 70 kilometers
Minimum firing range - 20 kilometers

Rocket 9M55K7

The difference from the previous version is that the warhead contains smaller combat elements from the hail system missile. There are twenty of them in the warhead.

1. element mass - 6.7 kilograms
2. element diameter - 114 millimeters
3. element length - 305 millimeters
4. mass of explosive - 1.6 kilograms

Rocket 9M55K6

In this version, the warhead contains five 9N268 self-aiming elements.

1. element mass - 17.3 kilograms
2. element diameter - 185 millimeters
3. element length - 384 millimeters
4. explosive mass - 5.8 kilograms

Rocket 9M55K5

The warhead contains 588 pieces of cumulative elements. Previously, there were more of them, but the dispersion on the ground was poor, so a part was added that pushes elements out of the warhead body, but the number of elements decreased.

The photo shows a cumulative element and the armor pierced by it. A tape of matter is attached to the upper part of the cumulative element, which orients it when falling with a cumulative funnel downwards. When it explodes, it also produces a small fragmentation field.

1. element weight - 240 grams
2. element diameter - 43 millimeters
3. element length - 128 millimeters
4. mass of explosive - 46 grams
5. thickness of pierced homogeneous armor - 160 millimeters

Rocket 9M55K3

The missile warhead contains anti-personnel mines in the amount of sixty-four pieces. At a certain point in the trajectory, a special charge opens the shell of the warhead and the mines are scattered in front of or directly on the head of the advancing troops.

Rocket 9M55K4

The warhead contains twenty-five anti-tank mines. They also disperse right in front of the advancing tanks.

Rocket 9M55S

The warhead contains one hundred kilograms of thermobaric mixture. When flying to the target, the warhead is separated and descended vertically by parachute. This is necessary for the correct formation of the fire cloud. The diameter of the fire field is twenty-five meters.

All of these missiles weigh eight hundred kilograms and are 7600 millimeters long. The maximum firing range is seventy kilometers.
Missiles with a range of ninety kilometers have a weight of 815 kilograms and warhead options similar to those listed above.
A missile with a light warhead weighing one hundred and fifty kilograms was created for sale abroad. Total weight 820 kilograms. The stated range is one hundred and twenty kilometers.

Damage area of ​​MLRS SMERCH

Readers often ask what is the affected area of ​​the SMERCH multiple launch rocket system. In their answers, the authors refer to football fields and hectares, without specifying which combat unit they mean. Having heard about hectares, the reader immediately imagines an endless wheat field, although a hectare is only a square of one hundred by one hundred meters.
To understand what the actual damage area of ​​the SMERCH MLRS is, you need to use such a concept as REDUCED DAMAGE AREA. This concept defines the area over which, after the explosion of ammunition, only fifty percent of the targets are destroyed. Moreover, depending on the target, this area for the same ammunition will change. For a fragmentation warhead, when operating on a truck, the reduced area of ​​destruction is only fifteen square meters. This is a circle with a radius of just over two meters. There are seventy-two fragmentation warheads in the rocket, but only twelve missiles. It turns out that the MLRS SMERCH can destroy half of the vehicles in one gulp on an area of ​​12,960 square meters. This is just a little more than a hectare. For personnel, the reduced affected area can be much larger if the person is standing. Or the same as for a truck, if a person is lying down, and even wearing a bulletproof vest. If the personnel are in a trench, then the reduced affected area is equal to the width of the trench. And this is the most lethal warhead. When a thermoboric warhead explodes, personnel are destroyed one hundred percent in a fiery field. Outside its borders, a person simply gets hit on the ears. The radius of the fire field is twelve and a half meters. This is approximately five hundred square meters. That is, twenty rockets are needed per hectare.

Where did we end up?

Seventy kilometers is very far. To find out what was going on there, they made a rocket whose warhead is carried by a small jet plane. At a given point, the airplane is pushed out of the warhead and flies for some time, transmitting a television image of the area.

In this position, the airplane is inside the rocket.

After separating from the rocket, it opens its wings and turns on the jet engine. The engine is pulsed, that is, it works using the method of successive explosions. I don’t know why he needs three nozzles at once.

Exactly half of the MLRS SMERCH

The SMERCH multiple launch rocket system is a rather heavy machine. Therefore, six launch tubes were installed on a new Kamaz chassis.

We got a more compact system.

Live firing of a lightweight version of the Smerch multiple launch rocket system.

The option of a single block is being considered. That is, the block, together with the missiles, is installed by the loading machine, and after firing, the empty block is removed from the combat vehicle and a full one is placed in its place.

This is what the SMERCH MLRS version with two containers with missiles looks like.

Use of MLRS SMERCH in Ukraine

When dividing military property Soviet Union Ukraine received eighty SMERCH multiple launch rocket systems. Nobody knows how many missiles they got. Naturally after the start civil war Bandera’s supporters began to actively use them both in Lugansk and Donetsk.

The skeletons remaining after the warhead of the SMERCH MLRS fires cannot be confused with anything. It is also difficult not to recognize the tail part of the rocket, which remains after the explosion, because only one specific rocket has a diameter of three hundred millimeters.
Then the militia seized two installations and began shooting at Bandera’s supporters. Articles about inhumane weapons appeared in the press on both sides. To be honest, this is not clear to me. Should we either not fight at all, or if we started a war, then excuse us, what kind of humanism can we talk about? Personally, they will still stab me with a knife, cover me with hail, or drop a nuclear bomb. Although the explosion is near nuclear bomb This is the best option - you won’t have time to get scared and won’t suffer.
Moreover, the SMERCH MLRS was often used from a short distance.

The fact is that the minimum firing range of the SMERCH MLRS is twenty kilometers. To shoot at a shorter distance, a basin is put on the nose of the rocket, which creates additional resistance and reduces the firing range. In photographs, these basins are visible on the skeletons of combat units.

Combat effectiveness of MLRS SMERCH

The SMERCH multiple launch rocket system has a very narrow specialization. Its main task is to cover military equipment and enemy personnel on the march or at the moment when he turned to attack. All combat elements of the system are optimized for this purpose. It is practically impossible for the SMERCH MLRS to hit infantry in the trenches; for this there are other means. The same can be said about headquarters, bunkers and other similar objects. The tornado does not have a single missile with a penetrating warhead. The only place where you can successfully use tornado missiles is the position of anti-aircraft missiles - there you can damage yourself anti-aircraft missiles and locator antennas.
The effectiveness of the SMERCH MLRS when shooting at a city depends on where the residents are. If they are on the street, then the casualties will be enormous; if they are sitting at home, then there will be practically no casualties.

Some missiles and many combat elements of the SMERCH MLRS did not explode. Apparently in the Soviet Union there was a rather low production culture at defense enterprises.

Artillery of Russia and the world, guns photos, videos, pictures watch online, along with other states, introduced the most significant innovations - the transformation of a smooth-bore gun, loaded from the muzzle, into a rifled gun, loaded from the breech (lock). The use of streamlined projectiles and various types fuses with adjustable operation time settings; more powerful propellants such as cordite, which appeared in Britain before the First World War; the development of rolling systems, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire and relieved the gun crew from the hard work of rolling into the firing position after each shot; connection in one assembly of a projectile, propellant charge and fuse; the use of shrapnel shells, which, after the explosion, scatter small steel particles in all directions.

Russian artillery, capable of firing large shells, acutely highlighted the problem of weapon durability. In 1854, during Crimean War, Sir William Armstrong, a British hydraulic engineer, proposed a method of scooping wrought iron gun barrels by first twisting iron rods and then welding them together using a forging method. The gun barrel was additionally reinforced with wrought iron rings. Armstrong created a company where they made guns of several sizes. One of the most famous was his 12-pounder rifled gun with a 7.6 cm (3 in) barrel and a screw lock mechanism.

The artillery of the Second World War (WWII), in particular the Soviet Union, probably had the largest potential among European armies. At the same time, the Red Army experienced the purges of Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin and endured the difficult Winter War with Finland at the end of the decade. During this period, Soviet design bureaus adhered to a conservative approach to technology.
The first modernization efforts came with the improvement of the 76.2 mm M00/02 field gun in 1930, which included improved ammunition and replacement barrels on parts of the gun fleet. new version the guns were called M02/30. Six years later, the 76.2 mm M1936 field gun appeared, with a carriage from the 107 mm.

Heavy artilleryall armies, and quite rare materials from the time of Hitler’s blitzkrieg, whose army crossed the Polish border smoothly and without delay. The German army was the most modern and best equipped army in the world. The Wehrmacht artillery operated in close cooperation with the infantry and aviation, trying to quickly occupy territory and deprive the Polish army of communication routes. The world shuddered upon learning of a new armed conflict in Europe.

The artillery of the USSR in the positional conduct of combat operations on the Western Front in the last war and the horror in the trenches of the military leaders of some countries created new priorities in the tactics of using artillery. They believed that in the second global conflict of the 20th century, mobile firepower and precision fire would be the decisive factors.

Soviet and Russian 300 mm multiple launch rocket system.

History of creation

The Smerch multiple launch rocket system was created in the USSR by specialists from TulgosNIitochmash (then NPO Splav, and now FSUE State Research and Production Enterprise Splav, Tula), as well as related enterprises. Before its development in 1990 by China, the WS-1 was the longest-range system.

The artillery unit is mounted on a modified MAZ-79111 or MAZ-543M truck chassis. For India, a variant of the combat vehicle was developed based on the Tatra 816 6ZVR8T10x10.1 R/41T off-road truck.

Preparing the Smerch for battle after receiving target designation takes three minutes; a full salvo is fired within 38 seconds. After firing, the battery is ready for marching in one minute, which allows you to quickly escape from the enemy's retaliatory strike.

Ammunition

-9M55K

300-mm rocket with a 9N139 cassette warhead with 9N235 fragmentation warheads. Contains 72 combat elements (BE), carrying 6912 ready-made heavy fragments designed to destroy unarmored vehicles, and 25920 ready-made light fragments intended to destroy enemy personnel in places where they are concentrated; in total - up to 32832 fragments.

The affected area of ​​the element is 300-1100 m2. Armor penetration at a distance of 10 m is 5-7 mm, at a distance of 100 m - 1-3 mm. 16 shells contain 525,312 finished fragments. Most effective in open areas, steppes and deserts. Serial production of 9M55K (and 9M55K-IN - with BE inert equipment) began in 1987. Delivered to Algeria and India.

-9M55K1

A rocket with a 9N142 cluster warhead (KGCh) with self-aiming combat elements (SPBE). The cassette warhead carries 5 SPBE "Motiv-3M" (9N349), equipped with dual-band infrared coordinators that search for the target at an angle of 30 degrees. Each of them can penetrate at an angle of 30 degrees. from a height of 100 meters, 70 mm armor. Suitable for use in open areas, steppes and deserts; use in forests is almost impossible; operation in the city is difficult. Designed to destroy groups of armored vehicles and tanks from above. Tests completed in 1994 and accepted in 1996. By order of the Minister of Defense No. 372 of October 13, 1996, the 9M55K1 projectile was put into service Russian army. Delivered to Algeria.

A rocket with a KGC 9N539 for anti-tank mining of terrain. Each projectile contains 25 anti-tank mines “PTM-3” with an electronic proximity fuse; in just one salvo of the installation there are 300 anti-tank mines. Designed for operational remote placement of anti-tank minefields in front of enemy military equipment units located at the attack line, or in the area where they are accumulated.

-9M55K5

A rocket with a KGC 9N176 with cumulative fragmentation combat elements (KOBE). The cassette warhead contains 646 combat elements with a length of 118 mm, or 588 elements with a length of 128 mm, weighing 240 g each, and having a cylindrical shape. Elements with a length of 118 mm are capable of normally penetrating up to 120 mm of homogeneous armor, and elements with a length of 128 mm can penetrate up to 160 mm. Maximum effective against motorized infantry on the march, located in armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. A total of 12 shells contain 7752 or 7056 combat elements. Designed to defeat open and covered manpower and lightly armored military equipment.

A rocket with a detachable high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Designed to destroy manpower, unarmored and lightly armored military equipment in places where they are concentrated, to destroy command posts, communication centers and infrastructure facilities. It was adopted by the Russian Army in 1992, and has been in mass production since 1999. Delivered to India.

-9M55S

Missile with thermobaric warhead 9M216 "Excitement". The explosion of one shell creates a thermal field with a diameter of at least 25 m (depending on the terrain). The field temperature is over +1000 degrees C, the lifetime is at least 1.4 s.

Designed to destroy manpower, open and hidden in fortifications open type and objects of unarmored and lightly armored military equipment. It is most effective in the steppe and desert, in a city located on non-hilly terrain. Testing of the ammunition was completed in 2004. By Order of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1288 of October 7, 2004, the 9M55S was adopted by the Russian Army.

-9M528

A rocket with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Contact fuse, instant and delayed action. Designed to destroy manpower, unarmored and lightly armored military equipment in places where they are concentrated, destroying command posts, communication centers and infrastructure facilities.

An experimental missile with a small-sized reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the "Tipchak" type.

Designed to conduct operational reconnaissance of targets within twenty minutes. In the target area, the UAV descends by parachute, scanning the situation and transmitting information on the coordinates of reconnaissance targets to the control complex at a distance of up to 70 km, for quickly making a decision to destroy the reconnaissance object.

Ammunition developments

Minimum range 40 km, maximum range 120 km. Length 7600 mm, total weight 820 kg, warhead weight 150 kg, explosive weight 70 kg, loaded with 500 pieces of finished fragments weighing 50 g.

Options

The long-range multiple launch rocket system is designed to hit almost any group targets at long range. Due to its range and efficiency, the 9K58 MLRS is close to tactical missile systems. The accuracy of the complex is close to that of artillery pieces. The hit accuracy is 2-3 times higher than analogues. A salvo from a battery of six combat vehicles is quite capable of stopping the advance of a motorized rifle division.

The firing range increased from 70 to 90 km, the combat crew decreased from four to three people, the automation of the system increased, in particular, topographical mapping began to occur automatically via satellite systems. Adopted into service in 1989. The affected area is 67.2 hectares. Preparation time for a salvo is 3 minutes, reloading time is 13 minutes.

At the MAKS-2007 aerospace salon, a prototype of the 9A52-4 combat vehicle with a six-barrel package of guides as part of an artillery unit mounted on the basis of a four-axle all-wheel drive chassis of the KAMAZ family was shown for the first time. The use of such a system allows dispersed crews to conduct coordinated fire. the main objective modernization - increase the mobility of the complex by reducing weight and dimensions. It is expected that this will expand export opportunities. New option a prototype combat vehicle, as well as a prototype transport-loading vehicle, were shown in 2009 at the REA-2009 arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil (Sverdlovsk region).

Currently, the Splav enterprise is creating a new generation MLRS - the Tornado. Automation of firing will reach such a level that the installation will be able to leave the position even before the projectile reaches the target. There is no reliable information about it yet, but it is assumed that the Tornado will be able to hit targets both in a salvo and with single high-precision missiles, and in fact, will become a universal tactical missile system.

Combat vehicle options

-9A52

Basic version on MAZ-79111 chassis

-9A52B

Combat vehicle of the automated MLRS formation control system 9K58B

Combat vehicle on the MAZ-543M chassis of the 9K58 MLRS complex

Command combat vehicle on the MAZ-543M chassis of the modernized 9K58 MLRS complex

Combat vehicle on the Tatra chassis of the modernized 9K58 MLRS complex

-9A52-4

Lightweight MLRS combat vehicle "Kama" on a KamAZ chassis

Transport-charging machines

Transport-loading vehicle BM 9A52 on MAZ-79112 chassis

Transport-loading vehicle BM 9A52-2 on MAZ-543A chassis

Transport-loading vehicle BM 9A52-2T on Tatra chassis

Transport-loading vehicle BM 9A52-4 on a KamAZ chassis

Operating countries

Azerbaijan - 30 units 9A52, as of 2016
-Algeria - 18 9A52 units, as of 2016
-Belarus:
-Ground Forces of the Republic of Belarus - 36 units 9A52, as of 2016
-Collective Defense Troops - 36 9A52 units, as of 2016
-Venezuela - 12 units 9A52, as of 2016
-Georgia - 3 Smerch complexes delivered from Ukraine
-India - 28 units 9A52, as of 2016

Kazakhstan - 6 BM-30 units, as of 2016
-PRC - produces a copy of the MLRS on its own chassis. Information for 2007.
-Kuwait - 27 units 9A52, as of 2016
-UAE - 6 units 9A52, as of 2016
-Peru - according to Motovilikha Plants OJSC, 10 Smerch MLRS were sold. According to other information, 25 MLRS were delivered in 1998 from the Republic of Belarus (possibly re-exported from Russia)
-Russia - 100 units 9A52, as of 2016

Syria - some 9A52, as of 2016
-Turkmenistan - from 6 units 9A52, as of 2016
-Ukraine - 75 units 9A52, as of 2016, a total of 95 Smerch MLRS sold

TTX

Dimensions

Weight without shells and crew, kg: 33,700
-Weight in firing position, kg: 43,700
-Length in stowed position, mm: 12,370 (9A52); 12 100 (9A52-2)
-Width in stowed position, mm: 3050
-Height in stowed position, mm: 3050

Armament

Caliber, mm: 300
-Number of guides: 12
-Minimum firing range, m: 20 thousand.
-Maximum firing range, m: 120 thousand.
-Area affected, m2: 672 thousand.
-Maximum elevation angle, degrees: 55
-Accuracy (dispersion), m: up to 0.3%
- BM calculation, people: 3
-Transfer of the system from traveling to combat position no more than, min.: 3
-Valley time, s no more than: 40
-Time to urgently leave a firing position after a salvo, no more than, min.: 2.83

Mobility

Engine type: V-12 diesel D12A-525A
-Engine power, hp: 525
-Maximum speed on the highway, km/h: 60
-Highway range, km: 900
-Wheel formula: 8x8

Rocket artillery, presented today by the Tornado MLRS, is a completely different type of military. New powerful weapon, created by Russian designers and engineers, radically changes the idea of ​​​​the massive use of rocket artillery in the front line. The rocket launcher can now fire not just at areas, but is precision weapons, capable of causing irreparable damage to the enemy in a matter of seconds.

Looking back to history

Even during the Second World War, it became known what destructive capabilities rocket artillery had. On the Soviet-German front, BM-13 multiple launch rocket launchers mounted on the chassis of a ZIS-6 truck appeared in the summer of 1941. The fire test of the new rocket artillery system took place on July 14, 1941, during stubborn battles with the advancing by German troops near the city of Orsha. As a result of combat use, it turned out that the new soviet weapons produced a colossal psychological effect. Talk about high efficiency rocket launchers it was not necessary, since the rockets fired from conventional metal guides did not provide the required accuracy of impact. Despite obvious shortcomings in the design of the installation, rocket artillery made its contribution to achieving victory over the enemy.

Only after the war, when completely different technologies appeared, did the USSR manage to create powerful multiple launch rocket systems capable of inflicting serious damage on the enemy, both in manpower and in logistical terms. The first success came in missile system salvo fire BM-21 "Grad", which for the first time showed its firepower during the Soviet-Chinese armed conflict on Far East, near Damansky Island. Having received excellent results from the work of Soviet rocket artillery, the Soviet Union decided to create more powerful multiple launch rocket systems. The power could be increased by increasing the caliber of the rockets and increasing the accuracy when firing. Following the Grad MLRS into service Soviet army Hurricane and Smerch rocket systems were adopted.

All three multiple launch rocket systems, which appeared during the Soviet Union, continue to be in service with the current Russian army. However, even such successful and successful developments have their own technical and technological resource limits. The main drawback that all of the listed reactive systems suffered from - low accuracy - has now been overcome. Today, the new Tornado MLRS has the best tactical and technical characteristics for rocket artillery. This system can easily be called a weapon of the 21st century, formidable, powerful and high-tech.

Today, when it is already 2017, the new missile launcher has passed State tests. There is no official information yet about the adoption of the new missile system. However, according to data from various sources new system continues to be produced in limited quantities. Today, across the entire armed forces of the Russian Federation, there are only 30-40 new rocket systems, which can be included in individual missile and artillery divisions. It was assumed that the new multiple launch rocket system would be able to completely replace the Grad, Uragan and Smerch MLRS in the troops by 2020, which in most cases have exhausted their technological resource.

The future of new weapons

When creating a new multiple launch rocket system, the designers decided to follow the path of unifying the main systems of the new weapon. It was planned to create two modifications at once:

• MLRS 9K51M “Tornado-G” to replace the “Grad” artillery missile systems;
• complex 9K515 “Tornado-S”, to replace the Smerch combat missile systems.

In the first case we're talking about about rocket artillery equipped with 122 mm rockets. The second option involved creating rocket launcher, capable of firing 300 mm caliber rockets.

Information that there is also a third version of the Uragan-U MLRS has not been confirmed. Probably, the confusion arose due to the similarity of the name with the Ural car brand, a modification of which was called “Tornado”.

The main innovation that distinguishes the new weapon from its old counterparts is the presence of an automated fire control system (AFCS) “Kapustnik-BM”. Besides missile system received a more advanced transport base. The installation is equipped with new unguided rocket projectiles of 112 and 300 mm caliber.

The maximum flight range of 300 mm caliber rockets is 120 km. This is significantly more than the data possessed by the Smerch missiles. New unguided missiles can be equipped with high-explosive fragmentation or cluster warheads. It is possible to modernize the rocket engines of the missiles, which will increase the flight range to 200 km. During a full salvo, all 40 fired Tornado-G MLRS shells can cover an area of ​​65 hectares. A missile and artillery division can accordingly cover an area 3-4 times larger.

The system can fire in one volley or in single shots, which indicates the versatility of the system.

Design Features

Like its predecessors, the new MLRS has tubular guides assembled into a single unit. On the new Tornado-G vehicle, the number of guides was 30 pieces, two blocks of 12 launch tubes each. For the Tornado-S system, the number of guides is 12 pieces, six pipes in two blocks. Significant changes have also occurred in terms of maintenance of the missile system. The crew of the Tornado MLRS was reduced to 2 people. Full automation of the process reduced the control time allocated for deployment, even taking into account a poorly prepared position. It should be noted that the launcher received a new loading mechanism. Previously, loading of launch tubes was carried out using a crane, one rocket into each tube. The entire loading process could take 15-20 minutes.

In a modern installation, the loading process by the crew is carried out in a matter of minutes. Reload speed is key for this weapon system. The shorter the time interval between salvoes, the higher the probability of fire hitting targets. Delay in reloading can lead to vulnerability rocket launcher before retaliating.

The missile system is installed on the Ural automobile chassis and on MAZ-543M and Kamaz tractors, which have increased cross-country ability. Both variants have completely new guidance systems remote control, thanks to which projectiles are aimed at the target inside the launcher cabin. Manual aiming mode can only be used in exceptional cases. The operator's main job is to control the position of the missile system in relation to the location of the target. Navigational satellite system GLONASS is a mandatory attribute of the new missile and artillery complex. Thanks to its presence, the accuracy of a missile salvo has increased.

Our own satellite navigation system GLONASS, the development of which began back in 1982, can significantly improve guidance accuracy modern systems weapons. Today, more than two dozen satellites deployed in orbit, together with relay satellites, provide high accuracy in determining coordinates. Modern missile weapons are equipped with receivers that provide control over compliance with target designations.

Operating principle

The artillery missile system operates on the following principle. After obtaining the exact parameters of the target, it is linked to the coordinate system. The collection of such data is carried out by aerial and space reconnaissance, which has optical and radio engineering means of data collection. In the current conditions, combat work is being carried out to train personnel in the methodology of collecting data on targets on their own, without the involvement of funds and components of the Military Space Forces of the Russian Federation.

The emphasis is on using unmanned aerial vehicles for these purposes. aircraft. By making a preliminary launch of a drone into the target area, the combat crew will be able to obtain the necessary information about the target and coordinates after some time. After receiving target data, the necessary parameters are transmitted to each launcher, who have already taken the pre-launch position.

Further fire control is carried out using the combat control and communications hardware complex, which replaced the conventional radio station, guidance and fire control systems. Both the first and second systems have a single computer information base, which is used to integrate all computational processes regarding the ballistics of a flying missile.

In other words, new modern electronic equipment allows you to accurately aim a missile at a target in a matter of minutes, prepare it for launch and control the flight of the missile during autonomous flight.

The electronics and navigation system adjust the control surfaces taking into account meteorological factors. As a result, the missile during flight retains all target designation parameters specified before launch.

Possessing similar characteristics, the Russian new-generation Tornado multiple launch rocket system is significantly superior to its outdated Soviet counterparts, the BM-21 Grad and the Smerch MLRS. The domestic missile and artillery system is not inferior to foreign analogues, which also have an automated loading mechanism and satellite control over the flight of combat projectiles.

In the current conditions, work is underway to improve the warhead of the MLRS. It is planned to equip the missiles with radio-electronic filling, used for reconnaissance purposes as a target designator. According to some reports, a missile system capable of firing cruise missiles can be deployed on the basis of the Tornado-S MLRS.