Russia's most fearsome rocket artillery complexes

The powerful multiple rocket launcher systems of the Soviet Union and Russia have always been a nightmare for any enemy.

BM-13 artillery firing during World War II.

From Syria to Crimea, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) have accompanied the Russian military on all fronts. With their compact size and great destructive power, MLRS have been used effectively by the Soviet Union and Russia for the past 78 years, according to National Interest.

The RS-132 air-to-air rocket, born in 1931, is considered the first Soviet MLRS model.Unlike conventional artillery, the RS-132 round does not have a barrel to guide its initial flight path, making it very inaccurate. At close range, the deviation is negligible, but as the distance increases, the round can miss its target completely.

In 1938, the Soviet Red Army introduced the BM-13 rocket artillery system. The launcher consisted of 24 steel rails mounted on a ZiS-6 transport truck, each rail could launch a 132 mm diameter M-13 shell, equipped with a 5 kg high explosive (HE) warhead and had a maximum range of 8.7 km.

The ability to fire in rapid succession was a major advantage of the multiple rocket launcher. A battalion of eight BM-13s could unleash a ton of high explosives and shrapnel in just a few seconds. However, they still had many disadvantages. The reloading process was slow, taking up to an hour for each BM-13. The BM-13's accuracy was improved over the RS-132, but it was still not effective enough to destroy small targets such as bunkers or strongholds. The BM-13 only proved useful in bombarding large areas, softening up the Nazi position before each attack.

The BM-13 entered service shortly after Germany invaded the Soviet Union and fought throughout World War II. Truck-mounted rocket launchers were easy to build. The Soviets often mounted launchers on Studebaker chassis supplied by the United States under the Lend-Lease program. M-13 launchers were also installed on armored boats, trains, tanks, and other vehicles.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union developed the BM-21 "Grad" (Hail) main rocket artillery, consisting of 40 122 mm caliber launchers mounted on the Ural-375D truck chassis. More than 11,000 Grad launchers were built and deployed in the Soviet army and many countries around the world.

The BM-21 has many improvements over previous versions. The hydraulic locking mechanism on the launcher assembly and chassis increases stability, improving the accuracy of the shot. The launchers have spiral grooves (rifles) to stabilize the bullet trajectory, increasing accuracy similar to a rifle barrel. The Grad launcher assembly has a maximum elevation angle of up to 55 degrees, reaching a maximum range of 20.3 km.

BM-21 Grad rocket artillery battalion conducts night firing exercises.

A variety of ammunition models have been developed for the Grad, to meet the requirements of each mission. The most common variant is the 9M22U, which has a HE warhead weighing 18.4 kg, three times that of the BM-13. Incendiary warheads, anti-tank mines, high-explosive fragmentation, flares and smoke rounds add to the BM-21's utility in both offensive and defensive situations.

In the 1960s, the Soviet Union began designing larger MLRS systems. The first was the BM-27 "Uragan" (Storm) complex, mounted on a ZiL-135 8x8 truck chassis and equipped with 16 220 mm caliber launchers, reaching a range of up to 33.8 km. In addition to the same warhead types as the Grad complex, the Urugan also had anti-tank, anti-personnel and thermobaric ammunition.

Thermobaric shells, when exploded, will disperse a cloud of flammable fuel, then detonate to create extremely high pressure and temperature, destroying infantry huddled in underground bunkers and fortifications. A BM-27 can launch a series of 16 shells, covering an area of ​​17.4 hectares.

The BM-30 "Smerch" (Tornado) complex was put into service with the Soviet Red Army in 1987. At that time, it was the most powerful MLRS model in the world. To this day, Smerch is still among the most powerful rocket artillery complexes in the world, capable of launching 9M534 drones to the target area.

Each launcherBM-30Equipped with 12 300 mm caliber launchers. The standard 9M55 Smerch ammunition is 7.6 m long and weighs 800 kg. The system's firing range is 20-70 km, the 9M528 ammunition version has a firing range of up to 90 km.

BM-30 complex conducts live-fire exercise.

The projectiles all have trajectory and range correction systems to increase accuracy. The BM-30 can use a variety of warheads, including high-explosive fragmentation (HEF), thermobaric, incendiary, cluster munitions with anti-personnel or anti-tank capabilities, as well as guided anti-tank rounds.

This complex is especially effective against concentrated groups of troops, armored vehicles, artillery batteries, airfields and scattered enemy targets. A salvo of 12 shells from the BM-30 can cover an area of ​​up to 67 hectares. Smerch is sometimes called a weapon of mass destruction, because its anti-personnel warhead can destroy all living things in the area of ​​​​the kill.

One of the most unusual Soviet and Russian MLRS systems is the TOS-1A "Buratino", dubbed a "flamethrower". Some expertsThe US once called this weapons system "hell on earth" for any target it aimed at.

Russia's TOS-1A launch vehicle. Photo: Vitaly Kuzmin.

TOS-1A is designed to fire directly at targets within the gunner's line of sight, instead of shooting in a rainbow at a distance of tens of kilometers. The 220 mm shells are aimed by a digital computer, providing high accuracy. TOS-1A can completely destroy an area 400 meters long and 200 meters wide with just a salvo of 24 shells. Because the maximum range is only 10 kilometers, making it vulnerable to enemy attack, the TOS-1A system is mounted on the chassis of the T-72 main battle tank to protect the crew.

After nearly 80 years of service and development, MLRS are still powerful, versatile and highly mobile weapons systems. Complexes such as the BM-30 Smerch and TOS-1A Buratino will still have an important place in any future Russian military campaign, military expert Kyle Mizokami commented.

According to VNE