Since the days of the famous Katyush much has changed.The tactics of the battle, weapons, state borders ... But the Russian volley fire systems are still extremely important on the battlefield. With their help, you can throw the shells of enormous destructive power for tens of kilometers, destroying and disabling fortified areas, enemy armored vehicles and their living force.
Our country occupies a leading position in the fieldMLRS development: old designs are constantly being improved and new samples of these weapons are emerging. Today we will look at which Russian volley fire systems are currently used by the army.
MLRS caliber 122 mm.It is intended for the destruction of enemy manpower, remote setting of minefields, the destruction of the enemy’s fortified positions. Can fight with light and medium armored vehicles. When creating the machine, the Ural-4320 chassis was used, on which guides for shells of 122 mm caliber were placed. It is possible to transport ammunition to the “Hail” by any machine that has suitable dimensions.
The number of guides for shells - 40 pieces,arranged in four rows of ten pieces each. The fire can be fought with both single shots and a single-shot volley that takes less than a minute (no more than 20 seconds). Maximum firing range - up to 20.5 kilometers. The area affected is four hectares. “Grad” can be successfully operated in the widest range of temperatures: from -50 to +50 degrees Celsius.
Управление огнем возможно как из кабины экипажа, and out of it, and in the latter case, the calculation uses a remote wired remote control (range of action - up to 50 meters). Since the designers have provided for the sequential descent of projectiles from the rails, the combat vehicle swings relatively weakly during firing. It takes no more than three or four minutes to bring the installation into a combat position. The chassis can overcome fords to a depth of one and a half meters.
Where did these salvo fire systems be usedRussia? First, their baptism of fire took place in Afghanistan. As the survivors of the mojaheds (and there were very few of them) recalled: “Hell reigned around, the 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”, and forcing Georgia to peace.
Сколько там погибло китайцев, наверняка уже learn will not work. Soviet commanders believed that at least three thousand people had crossed the territory of the peninsula. In any case, the survivors were not accurate.
Today it is considered that Grads are morally andtechnically outdated. Many of these machines, which are now in service with our army, have almost completely developed their resource. In addition, the troops are currently being re-equipped and their Tornado MLRS is being saturated. But for the "oldies" is still far from over. The fact is that the Ministry of Defense still wants to leave in the ranks of the army a well-proven, cheap and efficient machine.
В этой связи был создан специальный проект их modernizing and bringing to modern look and efficiency. In particular, the normal model of satellite navigation was finally installed on the old model, as well as the Baguette computer, which controls the process of launching projectiles. According to the assurances of the military, a relatively simple update procedure went to the Grads to the advantage, as their combat potential increased several times at once.
This technique is used by all parties.conflict in the Ukrainian territory. The militant Africans who received the MLRS from the USSR also love this weapon. In short, the distribution geography of the installation is enormous. This is what characterized the Grad salvo system. “Tornado”, which we will describe below, is many times more powerful and has a terrible destructive power.
A truly awesome weapon.In comparison with it, “Grad” is really similar in efficiency to the same natural phenomenon. Judge for yourself: Americans believe that the Smerch is a multiple rocket launcher, a characteristic of which would be more suitable for a compact complex with nuclear weapons.
And they are absolutely right.This installation for only one volley "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 shells are being developed, which will fly a hundred kilometers already. On the square, which covered these systems of volley fire of Russia, everything burns, including heavy armored vehicles. Like the previous MLRS, the Smerch can be operated in the widest range of temperatures.
Designed for large scale processing.the positions of the enemy before the attack, the destruction of particularly strong bunkers and pillboxes, the destruction of large clusters of enemy personnel and enemy equipment.
The chassis is based on a high vehicle.cross-country MAZ-543. Unlike the “Grad”, this installation is much more dangerous for the enemy by the fact that the battery contains the Vivarium fire control system, which allows to achieve the highest efficiency, which is more typical for the barrel artillery systems.
These multiple rocket launchers have 12tubular guides for shells. Each of them weighs 80 kilograms, and 280 of them fall on the charge of a powerful explosive. Weapons specialists believe that this ratio is ideal for unguided projectiles, as it allows combining powerful sustainer engines and enormous destructive potential in ammunition.
And another feature of the shells "Tornado".The designers worked for a long time on this, but achieved that the angle of their fall to the ground was equal to 90 degrees. Such a “meteorite” can easily flash through any MBT of a probabilistic enemy, and concrete structures are unlikely to withstand such power. At present, the production of the new Smerches is not planned (most likely), since they will replace the new Tornadoes at the combat station.
However, there is some possibility thatold complexes will still be upgraded. It is absolutely certain that it is possible to include new types of missiles with active guidance in their ammunition, so that the combat capabilities of the complex are still far from being exhausted.
What else do we have multiple rocket launchers?
Принят на вооружение в 70-х годах прошлого века.In terms of combat effectiveness, it occupies an intermediate position between Grad and Smerch. So, the maximum firing range is 35 kilometers. In general, the “Hurricane” is a multiple rocket launcher, the design of which laid down many principles that still guide the developers of such weapons in our country. The famous designer Kalachnikov Yury Nikolaevich created it.
By the way, "Hurricane" - the installation of salvothe fire, which at one time the Soviet Union in considerable quantities delivered Yemen, where now begin to intensively be fighting. Surely we will soon find out how effectively the old Soviet equipment has shown itself in battles. Domestic armed forces simultaneously with the Grads also used the Hurricane during the war in Afghanistan.
Also, the installation was widely used in Chechnya, andthen in Georgia. There is information that with the help of the “Hurricanes” the column of the advancing Georgian tanks was completely destroyed (according to other information, these were “Grads”).
On the chassis of the machine terrain ZIL-135LM16 tubular guides were mounted (initially it was planned that there would be 20 of them). 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:
Directly car 9P140.
Vehicles for transportation and loading of shells 9T452.
Ammo kit.
Machine fire control based on the installation 1B126 "Kapustnik-B".
Means for training and training calculation.
Station topographic intelligence 1T12-2M.
The 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.
Horizontal guidance can be carried out underangle of 30 degrees to the right and left of the central axis of the combat vehicle. So that with a massive salvo there is no risk of collapsing the heavy chassis, two powerful combat stops are provided in the rear part of it. The complex is also equipped with night vision devices, and therefore can be operated in the dark.
Currently, in the Russian Armed Forcesoperated about one and a half hundreds of these machines. Most likely, they will not be subjected to upgrades, but will be written off immediately after the combat resource is fully developed. This is due to the fact that the new MLRS was adopted, which includes all the advantages of the old models.
This is a new salvo fire system in Russia.Its development began due 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 appeared.
Unlike their predecessors, systemsRussian salvo fire "Tornado" is much more perfect in the field of pointing and shooting accuracy, because they can use topographic data transmitted from satellites. But not only this unique newly created MLRS.
The fact is that earlier for each taskSoviet industry created a separate installation: in fact, this is how the meteorological "zoo" appeared in the form of "Grad", "Smerch" and "Hurricane". But modern salvo fire systems from Russia (the “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 the ability to quickly replace the artillery unit, so that one chassis can be used in different qualities.
In addition, all previous systems had onea big disadvantage associated with the uncontrollability of ammunition. Simply put, it was impossible to adjust the course of already fired shells. All this was quite suitable for the wars of the past decades, but in present 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, the MLRS turned into a fundamentally new, extremely dangerous type of weapon.
Thus, modern jet systemssalvo fire in Russia at the present time can be compared in efficiency with the most advanced cannon artillery samples, hitting the target for tens of kilometers. In contrast to the most perfect in this regard, "Tornado", the range of fire at the "Tornado" is already up to 100 kilometers (using the appropriate shells).
As we wrote at the very beginning of the article, inCurrently, work is also underway to improve the old “Grads”, which still remain in service. And then the designers came up with the thought: “What if we use a simple, technological chassis from Grad, installing a new combat module from the Tornado of the appropriate caliber?” The idea was quickly put into practice.
So a new car was born."Tornado-G". Officially, it was put into service in 2013, then deliveries to the troops began. On the "Tank Biathlon - 2014" the new MLRS was shown to everyone.
Unlike both predecessors of thisequipment, the design includes a control system "Kapustnik-BM", which several times increases the combat capabilities of the complex. In addition, the process of aiming and combat firing was 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 cabin. From there, you can also set a target and launch projectiles.
Such upgrades not only modernized the oldcomplex, but also significantly secured the crew. Now the machine can quickly produce a volley from a closed position and leave it, spending at all no more than one and a half minutes. This drastically reduces the risk of detecting and destroying a complex with a retaliatory strike by the enemy. In addition, through the use of new projectiles with detachable warheads, it is now possible to significantly expand the range of possible combat modules.
These are the Russian salvo systems currently available. Photos of them are given in the article, so you can get a rough idea of their power for yourself.
