Russian MRLS: Grad, Uragan, Smerch, Tornado-G/S

They need a variant with lancet drone launchers.

The case is open - Smerch can fire a missile carrying drone. Recon/hard kill one.
And this was presented as a part of Tornado-S.
Missiles carrying several small drones with AI targeting.

A bit more on this. Could it be regarded as modular as per the Serbian Morava MLRS.

Trollstoy
@Trollstoy88
First photos of the latest Russian bicaliber MLRS "Vozrozhdenie".

This system is capable of firing Hurricane, Smerch, and TOS Solntsepek missiles of various calibers from one chassis.

They need a variant with lancet drone launchers.

There is a special launcer for Lancets in the making.

Nice...

So:



The 5x5 launcher is either 122mm or 140mm mine launching rockets, and the 8 tube launcher is either a 220mm Uragan rocket launcher or a 220mm TOS launcher.

(122mm Grad and 220mm Uragan would be useful together depending on the target, where as an engineer vehicle with 140mm rockets for delivering mine fields and 220mm rockets for removing mines and enemy positions might be useful together too.)

So that means that vehicle with two 122mm pallets will have 50 ready to launch rockets... so more than Grad at 40 rockets, or two 220mm rocket pods it would have 16 rockets which equals the number for Uragan, or two 6 shot pods of 300mm smerch rockets we have seen would make it the same 12 rockets as Smerch.

The latter two likely limited by the rocket weight keeping the chassis lighter and cheaper as possible.



The 18 tube launcher in this image should be TOS... can it be carried by the first vehicle in two pods? (36 rockets)



That looks interesting... from what I can see 10-12 tubes across and a depth that should allow 4-6 rows of rockets.

I would guess they are 80mm rockets based on air launched rockets... based on a light 4x4 vehicle... that is rather interesting...

That lancet launcher vehicle looks rather cool too.

Interesting revelation... this vehicle seems to be Agriculture... used for rocket mine laying roles and able to carry TOS rockets.

If it can also carry 122mm rocket pods and 300mm rocket pods it could replace all the vehicles with one vehicle.

Which would be Grad, Uragon, Smerch, TOS, and the rocket launched mine laying vehicle used previously...

Would be rather clever if true, but I would suggest a lighter smaller vehicle that can only carry one pallet that could be used by special forces or mountain units or high mobility forces (ie Typhoon based or Boomerang based).

That would mean two vehicles could replace all the others.

The reason for the current system - a 122mm MLRS on the regimental level, a 220mm system
and the divisional level and a 300mm level and the Army level + TOS as part of the Chemical
Defence Troops and the ISDM minelayer as part of the Engineer Troops - is that you add firepower.
So I would guess that the number of vehicles will stay the same, but the system will get more
flexible with the added capability of the launchers to carry different sets of missiles in case the tactical
situation necessitates it.


Container for the Uragan-1M MLRS

There is one more difference.
BM-21 is using a simple truck chassis.
For Uragan and Smerch you need a specialized one, that is not much more costly to build, but to operate, too.

This new systems, starting with Tornado-S, are something in between.
And you can scale it up, using different chassis at different levels.

Starting with Kamaz ...

The shift to the wheeled TOS-2 vehicle means that it would make sense to have TOS and Grad and Uragan and Smerch and Agriculture mine rockets on a unified chassis as they all need to be mobile and cheap and fast.

With the 25 tube 122mm pallet the Grad should not be under estimated... if the target is not that far away then the 9M217 grad rocket that carries the top attack self forging fragment munition with MMW radar and IR sensor can carry two munitions per rocket. That does not sound as good as the 5 munitions the Smerch rocket can carry but a bit of simple maths means Smerch can carry 5 x 12 munitions per volley out to about 120km or so, but the Grad with this new rocket pod with two pods on the vehicle can carry 50 rockets with two munitions each so 100 munitions out to 30km range.

They are different tools but each has aspects that are appealing.

For use near the front line just showering HE and fragments on enemy positions an 80mm rocket pod from a helicopter or attack aircraft is one option but having a Tigr based vehicle with 80mm rocket tubes or even 57mm rocket tubes could be used to prep the enemy lines for an attack, or soften a target... or blunt an enemy advance.

BM-21 is using a simple truck chassis.

Russia didn't need a HIMARS because the Grad is already cheap and highly mobile and the upgrades to make it automatic have only made it better.

but the Grad with this new rocket pod with two pods on the vehicle can carry 50 rockets with two munitions each so 100 munitions out to 30km range.

A new rocket for the Tornado-G will have a range of up to 70km, according to some sources.

MD
@distant_earth83
The gas turbine engine “Tornado-S” was successfully tested using alcohol as fuel, demonstrating its versatility.

The test aimed to show that the engine can generate the necessary energy for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) regardless of the fuel type.
Three fuels were tested: kerosene, diesel, and technical alcohol, with alcohol being highlighted as a viable option despite its lack of lubrication.

The results were discussed by Eduard Bazhenov, the general director of the “Turbine” Design Bureau, on the “Military Acceptance” program.

with alcohol being highlighted as a viable option

Soldiers support this idea. 

Hole wrote:

with alcohol being highlighted as a viable option

Soldiers support this idea. 

For years to come the designers will be baffled by the high fuel consumption!

And the traffic accidents....

That sort of alcohol will make you blind as quickly as it will get you drunk.... blind drunk people in charge of a Smerch vehicle anyone?

For those HHGTTG fans, it would be at the opposite end of a big bang so it really would be Milliways... the restaurant at the end of the universe...

16kW of electrical power... You can power enough EW units to blanket the spectrum with this bad boy.

MLRS:

- By the beginning of 2022, serial production of the new Tornado-G and Tornado-S multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) was established at the Motovilikha Plants enterprise. Source: https://t.me/Rogatkinlive/212. With the beginning of the SMO, the production of MLRS doubled.
- The 232nd rocket artillery brigade ( Central Military District ) was re-equipped with Tornado-S systems . Before the start of the Northern Military District, the 79th rocket artillery brigade (Western Military District) and the 439th rocket artillery brigade (Southern Military District) received Tornado-S systems. According to unconfirmed reports, the standard number of launchers in the brigade has been doubled - from 12 to 24.
- Serious difficulties arose with the repair of 9K57 Uragan systems, but starting in 2023, the modernized 9K57-1 Uragan-1 systems on the BAZ-69092 chassis entered service with the troops. The Ministry of Defense recently published a video of the combat use of the new Uragan-1 system.

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4818118.html