Materials provided by: S.V. Gurov (Russia, Tula).

The M-21 field rocket system is designed to destroy open and covered manpower, unarmored vehicles and armored personnel carriers in the concentration area, artillery and mortar batteries, command posts and other purposes.

On May 30, 1960, Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 578-236 was issued on the start of development work on the new system and the Main Artillery Directorate issued tactical and technical requirements for development work: “Field rocket system “Grad” (approved 05/26/1960 ; ref. from GAU a/579686 dated June 2, 1960).

The development of the combat vehicle was carried out by specialists from the State Design Bureau of Compressor Engineering, located in the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). The chief designer was A.I. Yaskin. The development of an unguided rocket was carried out by teams from NII-147 and related enterprises. NII-147 was headed by the talented designer Alexander Nikitovich Ganichev. In 1961, factory testing of the Grad divisional field rocket system, which consisted of a 122-mm unguided 3OF10 rocket and a 2B-5 mobile launcher, was completed. From March 1 to May 1, 1962, State military testing of the complex took place in the Leningrad Military District. As a result of the work carried out, according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated March 28, 1963, “The Council of Ministers of the USSR decided on the adoption of the Grad field rocket system for service.” accept the proposal of the USSR Ministry of Defense to adopt the Grad field rocket system into service with the Soviet Army. It is not documented when the known indices (BM-21, M-21-OF, etc.) were assigned to the elements of the new system. The M-21 system was a divisional level system, currently it is better known as the 9K51 Grad multiple launch rocket system.

For the history of the creation and testing of the future M-21 Field Rocket System, see our website.

MLRS 9K51 “Grad” for several decades in large quantities was produced by the defense industry of the USSR and is currently the most popular combat vehicle of this class. For example, the Motovilikha plants alone produced about 3 thousand BM-21s and more than 3 million shells for them. The release of this system and its modifications was also launched in China, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Romania and South Africa. Currently, the system is in service with the armies of more than 30 countries. At the beginning of 1994, there were 4,500 Grad MLRS in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and about 3,000 in the armies of other countries. Romania has delivered 53 Grad MLRS to the United States and 20 Grad MLRS to Cameroon.

Serial production of the 9M22 projectile for the Grad MLRS has been organized since 1964 at the Shtamp plant, mainly in the areas of cartridge production. The production of ammunition for the Grad MLRS at this plant continued until the end of the 80s of the 20th century. One of the leaders who had the difficult task of mastering this production was Mikhail Mikhailovich Tarabarchev.

In 1963, development of the technology for equipping the 9M22U product began at the enterprise, post office box 8918 (now JSC Bryansk Chemical Plant named after the 50th anniversary of the USSR, Seltso, Bryansk region). Initially, assembly was carried out using manual threads. In 1968, work was carried out at this enterprise to introduce an automated assembly line in building No. 1, and in 1968 it was put into operation. Subsequently, on the basis of Ministerial Order No. 262 dated August 30, 1968, construction works to create a complex for equipping the head parts of 9M22U products (workshop No. 3) and mass production of products and.

In 1972, building No. 4 of the enterprise branch, post office box 8918, was put into operation, in which an automated assembly line for the 9M22U product line was also installed. This line was distinguished by higher productivity, manufacturability and quality of products. Automated lines were developed and introduced into the production of KNIIM. The plant becomes a leader in the production of multiple launch rocket systems. To fulfill large-volume orders, work was organized mainly in three shifts. Unfortunately, later the automated lines for assembling products 9M22U and in buildings No. 1 and 4, which had been idle since 1990 due to lack of orders, were dismantled.

In July-August 1965, in accordance with MOP order No. 205 dated July 9, 1965, the Grad-D system was developed at TsKB-14, which included the standard M-21OF projectile and launcher 9P131. Joint tests of the 9P131 with the standard M-21OF projectile were carried out. As a result of these tests, the following characteristics were obtained: the longest firing range - 20.4 km, accuracy: in direction - Vb/X = 1/278, in range - Vd/X = 1/326.

The M-21 field rocket system has become the basis for other domestic systems created in the interests of various branches of the military:

• M-21B - field rocket system for airborne troops;
• A-215 "Grad-M" - shipborne MLRS for arming naval landing ships;
• 9K55 "Grad-1" - multiple launch rocket system for ground forces;
• DP-62 "Damba" - coastal self-propelled rocket-propelled bomb-throwing system;
• 9K59 "Prima" - a multi-purpose multiple launch rocket system for ground forces;
• 9K510 "Illumination" - portable rocket system;
• 9F689 "Beaver" - target complex.

Its components also became the basis for conducting development work on systems. For special delivery abroad, a lightweight portable rocket system "Grad-P" was developed.

The M-21 system became the base for foreign systems similar purpose:

• RM-70, RM-70/85, RM-70/85M - combat vehicles with an artillery unit from BM-21 for launching domestic and foreign 122mm caliber rockets (Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic)
• APR - combat vehicle (Romania)
• APRA - series of combat vehicles for launching 122mm caliber rockets (Romania)
• PRL111 and PRL113 - lightweight portable installations for firing 122mm caliber rockets (Egypt)
• Type 81, Type 90, Type 90A, Type 90B - combat vehicles for firing 122mm caliber rockets (China)
• BM-11 - series and 40-barreled combat vehicles for firing 122mm caliber rockets (North Korea)
• HADID - 30-barrel and 40-barrel variants of combat vehicles for firing 122mm caliber rockets (Iran)
• BelGrad (Republic of Belarus)
• LAROM (Romania-Israel), Lynx (Israel), Naiza (Kazakhstan) - multiple launch rocket systems for ground forces (Israel, Kazakhstan)
• Modular - combat vehicle for firing 122mm and 227mm caliber rockets (Slovakia - Germany)
• WR-40 Langusta combat vehicle for firing 122mm caliber rockets (Poland)
• BM variants on KRAZ chassis photo 1, photo 2, photo 3 (Ukraine)
• Homemade BM variants in Libya, Lebanon and possibly other countries
• Combat vehicle (Türkiye-United Arab Emirates)
• Modernized (experimental) combat vehicle (photo 1, photo 2) (Kazakhstan)
• Modernized (experimental) combat vehicle BM21-NA (Bulgaria).

The M-21 system was first used in combat during the border conflict on Damansky Island in 1969. Later it was used in combat operations in Angola, Afghanistan, Africa, Somalia, Georgia, the Chechen Republic, South Ossetia, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and other countries.

According to the recollection of Alexander Sergeevich Goryachev, a participant in the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the 80s of the twentieth century, to carry out combat missions, approximately half of the ammunition was put into the transport vehicle, i.e. in reality, approximately 1.5 rounds of ammunition were transported.

In Russia, an algorithm has been developed for modernizing standard MLRS "Grad" and "" rockets to increase the firing range to 40 km.

Combat vehicles of various modifications were and are in service with the armies of the following countries: Azerbaijan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Germany (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany), Greece, Georgia, Egypt, Zambia, Israel (trophies), India, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cyprus, Democratic Republic Congo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Moldova, Mongolia, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Republic of Belarus (Belarus, Red Banner Belarusian Military District), Republic of Congo, Russia ( in the USSR, including the Marine Corps and the Northern Fleet, it is possible that the system "", Red Banner Siberian Military District, Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District, Central Group of Forces, Order of Lenin Moscow Military District, Red Banner Central Asian Military District, Northern Group of Forces, Red Banner Carpathian Military district), Romania, Seychelles, Syria, Somalia, Union of Myanmar, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Ukraine (Red Banner Kiev Military District, Red Banner Carpathian Military District), Finland, Croatia, Chad, Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Ossetia, South Africa. According to a report from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise ROSOBORONEXPORT, 51 Grad systems were delivered to the United States from Romania. They were probably acquired for research purposes (use as targets).

Compound

Composition of the M-21 field rocket system:

• BM-21 combat vehicle (see diagram, photo) (later 2B17, 2B17-1 - prototype),
• unguided missile M-21OF 122mm caliber (later other types of projectiles were included in the system),
• trucks for national economic purposes for the delivery of ammunition both in park closures (boxes) and in a set of 9F37 racks. In 2001, development work was completed to create a special transport vehicle (see description).

The Grad MLRS battery includes a 1V110 Bereza control vehicle on a modified GAZ-66 truck chassis, which is used to prepare data for firing.

Compared to the previous generation combat vehicles, the BM-21 has the following design solutions introduced for the first time:

• cradle for mounting a package of guides, i.e. there was a final refusal to use the truss for attaching guides as part of the artillery part;
• cylindrical tubular guide with screw guide groove;
• electric drive for guiding the rotating part in elevation and azimuth;
• pneumatic equipment that served as a drive for the locking mechanisms of the swinging and rotating parts of the artillery unit and turning off the springs of the vehicle chassis.

A number of structural elements and fastenings of the BM-21 artillery unit became unified and were later used for the BM 9P125 MLRS “Grad-V” and BM 9P140 MLRS “Uragan”.

The BM-21 is a self-propelled rocket launcher consisting of an artillery unit (see diagram) and a modified Ural-375D truck chassis with a gasoline engine. The artillery unit includes forty tubular guides, a cradle, a base, a rotary, lifting and balancing mechanisms, shoulder straps, a locking mechanism, an assembled frame, sighting devices, pneumatic equipment, electric drives, and auxiliary equipment.

The guides (see diagram) are 3 m long, the internal diameter of the smooth bore is 122.4 mm. To impart a rotational movement to the projectile as it moves along the barrel bore, a screw U-shaped groove is made in the guide, along which the projectile drive pin slides. The guides are arranged in four rows of ten pipes each, forming a package. The package, together with sighting devices, is mounted on a rigid welded cradle. Guidance mechanisms allow you to direct the package of guides in the vertical plane in the angle range from 0° to +55°. The horizontal firing angle is 172° (102° to the left of the vehicle and 70° to the right). The main method of guidance is from an electric drive.

The fire control system allows firing both single shots and a salvo. At the same time, the operation of the pulse sensor, which ensures the activation of igniters of rocket engines, can be controlled both using a current distributor installed in the BM-21 cockpit, and using a remote control panel at a distance of up to 50 meters. The duration of a full salvo is 20 seconds. Shooting can be carried out in a wide temperature range from -40°C to +50°C.

The chassis of the combat vehicle is the chassis of an all-terrain truck "Ural-375D" (wheel arrangement BHB). This chassis has a V-shaped eight-cylinder ZIL-375 carburetor engine, developing at 3200 rpm, a maximum power of 180 hp. With. The clutch is double-disc, dry. The gearbox is five-speed, with synchronizers in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. Thanks to the presence of a centralized system for regulating air pressure in tires on the chassis, the launcher has high maneuverability on soils with low bearing capacity. When driving on the highway, it reaches a maximum speed of 75 km/h. The depth of the ford that can be overcome without preliminary preparation is 1.5 m. The cockpit of the BM-21 combat vehicle is equipped with fire extinguishing equipment and an R-108M radio station.

The crew includes a commander and numbers: No. 1 - gunner; No. 2 - fuse installer; No. 3 - loader (radio telephone operator); No. 4 - driver of the transport vehicle - loader; No. 5 - combat vehicle driver - loader.

The guides are reloaded manually. To deliver shells in park closures (boxes), commercial vehicles are used.

Initially, the loading rate for truck bodies with park caps was as follows:

To deliver shells without boxes, ZIL-157 trucks were used, in the back of which a set of 9F37 racks, right and left, was installed. Such a car is called a transport vehicle.

The BM-21 combat vehicle was put into serial production in 1965.

For the M-21 system, a 122-mm unguided missile M-21OF was developed (see diagram, photo), the design of which had a revolutionary effect on the development of systems rocket artillery specified caliber. The body of the missile part of the projectile is made not by traditional cutting from a steel blank, but by a high-performance method of rolling and drawing from a steel billet (mug). This method is used in the production of artillery ammunition casings.

During serial production of the M-21OF projectile, advanced technologies were widely introduced to increase the technical level of production, reduce the labor intensity and cost of the projectile, reduce defects, and improve quality. In particular, as of January 1, 1967, during the three-year period of development of the M-21OF, the labor intensity of manufacturing was reduced from 205.5 labor hours to 63.3 labor hours.

After the adoption of the M-21 system for service, a number of R&D and research projects were carried out to create projectiles for various purposes, and special launchers. MS-21 and MS-21M shells were created with specially filled warheads. The missile part of these projectiles was completely unified with the M-21OF projectile. MS-21 and MS-21M shells were adopted by the Soviet Army ( These are probably shells with chemical warheads, known after their adoption under the designations 9M23 and 9M23M).

For the development of chemical projectiles, tactical and technical requirements (TTT) of the GRAU No. were issued (for departments 1 and 6 of the 1st Directorate of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the GRAU) (Addition to the TTT GRAU No. 0010044-60) for the development work "Rocket chemical projectile in equipment" R-35" and substance "60" with a proximity fuse based on a projectile for the "Grad" system (operation code - "Leika"). Note that the substance " " was also intended to be used according to the TTT project for R&D in the warhead of the rocket " " (1961), the TTT GRAU project for R&D "Military missile system" (1961), an addition to the TTT GRAU No. 0010086 "Development of chemical warhead of the Luna-M product in a cassette version" and possibly other projects.

In 1968, the special 9M23 Leika missile (theme KRZ-122-61) (theme TULGOSNIITOCHMASH) was adopted and put into mass production by the Soviet Army. At a meeting of the plenum of the Scientific and Technical Council of TULGOSNIITOCHMASH (Tula) in 1968, in particular, the issue of nominating candidates for the State Prize for work was considered. Development of chemical ammunition for the rearmament of the Soviet army (9M23, 9M23M shells)".

In 1971, the ammunition load of the BM-21 combat vehicle was replenished with an MZ-21 unguided rocket (index 9M22S) with an incendiary warhead. The principle of cluster ejection of incendiary elements was used for the first time in the design of the projectile, which made it possible to increase the effectiveness of the ammunition by 30%.

In 1972, TulgosNIItochmash carried out work on the topic NV2-154-72 “Single-channel angular stabilization system for projectiles of the “Grad” and “” type (start of work - 1st quarter of 1972, completion - 2nd quarter of 1973).

The research for the design of a single-channel angular stabilization system was carried out in two directions:

• based on an angular velocity sensor using gas-dynamic actuators;
• based on a contact angle sensor with powder pulse actuators.

According to the report of TulgosNIITochmash in 1972, theoretical calculations, modeling on analog electronic machines, and experimental laboratory research single-channel angular stabilization system and its elements for unguided rockets such as "Grad" and "Uragan". It was determined that the use of this system improves the accuracy of fire by 1.5-2 times. At the time of writing or submitting the report, a batch of system units was being produced for flight testing.

In 1972, on the basis of the order of the head of the 2nd Main Directorate of the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering dated December 20, 1970 No. 17, TulgosNIITochmash carried out research work on the topic “Research on ways to create long-range projectiles for systems such as “Grad” and “Uragan” (topic NV2-110 -71g). The work performed demonstrated the possibility of increasing the firing range of projectiles of the "Grad" and "Uragan" systems due to the use of durable materials for the body and high-impulse fuels. Flight tests of "Grad" type projectiles with a steel body and a charge of mixed solid fuel were carried out ( the maximum firing range was 31-32 km).However, a charge from this type of fuel did not ensure operability in the temperature range of ±50°C.

By 1975, M-21OF projectiles with the indexes 9M22U, 9M22U-1, 9M22 were developed. Work on the MRV fuse for the M-21OF projectile was carried out by the Research Institute (Zheleznodorozhny) under the leadership of the head of the department, chief designer V.I. Pchelintsev. The design of the MRV provided for three settings: fragmentation action, low deceleration, large deceleration. Later the MRV-U fuse was used. The MRV fuse (index 9E210) was used with M-21OF projectiles of the 9M22U and 9M22 indices, the MRV-U fuse (index 9E244) with M-21OF projectiles of the 9M22U, 9M22U-1, 9M22 indices.

The weights of M-21OF projectiles with indices 9M22U, 9M22U-1 and 9M22, depending on the type of fuse and charge, are presented in the table:

Initially, the warhead was equipped with an explosive to ensure detonation of which a detonation bomb was installed. Later, work was carried out on the possibility of equipping it with a non-standard explosive, which made it possible not to install a detonation bomb.
The warhead from the standard Grad system projectile was later used for 9M22M and 9M22M1 projectiles of the Grad-P and Partizan systems.

The rocket engine of the M-21OF projectile is single-chamber, consisting of two tubes - one single-shot charge of ballistic solid fuel 9X111 from RSI-12M gunpowder in each chamber, but of different sizes - length, diameter and internal channels. The weight of two charges is 20.45 kg. The charge was developed by NII-6 (chief designer B.P. Fomin), renamed in 1969 to TsNIIKhM of the USSR Ministry of Mechanical Engineering, and now it is the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation FSUE “Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics” (SSC RF FSUE “TsNIIKhM” , Moscow city). Years of charge development: 1959-1963. FCDT “Soyuz” (Dzerzhinsky, Moscow region), together with TsNKB and LOMZ, carried out work to improve serial production technology, which made it possible to create and implement at factories flow-mechanized lines for the production of the 9ХIII base charge. This charge was used until 1968, the shelf life was 40 years. For the M-21OF projectile with index 9M22U-1, charges made from RST-4K gunpowder were used. The weight of two charges is 20.5 kg. Work on the charge was completed in 1968, and it consisted of two identical blocks of ballistic solid propellant. This became possible thanks to the supply of longitudinal “zigs”, which made it possible to abandon the “crackers”. This was ensured due to the density of the new fuel, which was 4-5 percent higher than the density of RSI-12M fuel. The index of the new charge is 9ХIIIМ2.

The rocket engine of the M-21OF projectile of the 9M22U index was completely (100%) unified with the engines of the 9M23, 9M23M and 9M22S (MZ-21) projectiles, and with the engine of the 9M22M projectile by 75%. There is also evidence that the missile part of the 9M22S projectile was completely borrowed from the M-21OF (9M22) high-explosive fragmentation projectile. The missile part of the M-21OF projectile of an unknown index was used for a set of 9M519 1-8 projectiles.

The above information indicates that when creating the projectile, a design approach known at least since the late 30s of the 20th century was used - the use of a single missile part for various types of warheads, which was later used in the design of projectiles of the "" systems. And " ".

For the first time, the following design solutions were introduced into the design of a rocket artillery projectile:

• two-pipe single-chamber engine with single-block charges in each pipe with different sizes internal channels - larger diameter in the head pipe (head block) and smaller diameter in the tail pipe (tail block); Data previously published by the author on two-chamber rocket engine for the M-21OF projectile are unreliable.
• nozzle block with a nozzle cover with seven nozzle holes (one central and six peripheral); Data previously published by the author about six and seven oblique nozzles in the design of the nozzle cover for the M-21OF projectile are unreliable.
• folding blades of the stabilizer block, fixed after deployment at an angle of 1 degree to the longitudinal axis of the projectile, which made it possible to create a package of guides with a larger number of guides than required, which in turn increased the salvo power of one combat vehicle and ensured a reduction in the number of combat vehicles involved to perform the same type tasks in comparison with combat vehicles BM-24 and the BM-14 type of the previous generation;
• cylindrical corrugated bushings with a diamond-shaped pattern for the head part, which ensured the creation of a larger number of fragments during the detonation of an explosive, and, consequently, their greater density and increased fragmentation impact on the target; The blanks (bushings) were connected at the ends by welding.

The initial rotation of the projectile is imparted due to the presence in the guide of a special spiral groove into which the leading pin of the projectile fits. The drive pin is located on the centering thickening of the tail tube of the missile unit, which serves to fix the projectile in the guide and prevent the projectile from rotating in it. The stabilizer block became universal and was later used with some modifications for other projectiles of this caliber. To fire M-21OF shells at intermediate distances, small and large brake rings were used, which were installed between the fuse and the warhead.

The stabilizer block and contact cover from the standard M-21OF rocket were used in the design of the missile part of the 9M28F projectile.

The main types of ammunition of the M-21 system are:

• M-21OF (9M22U)
• MZ-21 (9M22S) with an incendiary warhead;
• 9M28F with high-explosive fragmentation warhead;
• 9M28S with incendiary warhead
• 9M28D with propaganda warhead
• 9M519-1...7 set of seven projectiles for creating radio interference;
• 3M16 with a cassette warhead loaded with anti-personnel mines;
• 9M28K with a cassette warhead loaded with anti-tank mines;

In the 90s - early 2000s, the following long-range unguided rockets were developed in the interests of a foreign customer, which have not yet been adopted by the Russian army.

• 9M521 with high-explosive fragmentation warhead;
• 9M522
• 9M217 with a cassette warhead equipped with self-aiming combat elements;
• 9M218 with a cassette warhead equipped with cumulative fragmentation combat elements;

The use of the 9D51 (9D51.00.000) missile unit with a bonded charge of high-impulse mixed fuel as part of the RS 9M521, 9M522, 9M217 and 9M218 makes it possible to significantly increase the total thrust impulse and reduce the overall dimensions of the missile unit, thereby creating conditions for increasing the firing range and increasing the dimensions and the mass of the head part. The 9D51.00.000 missile unit ensures the delivery of warheads for various purposes weighing 21-25 kg to a maximum range of 30...40 km.

The modernized 9M521 projectile under the designation AZ-DS-48 was adopted by the Russian Navy to equip naval landing ships.

The following missiles were developed in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:

• with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead;
• with a detachable high-explosive fragmentation warhead;
• with a cassette warhead equipped with cumulative fragmentation combat elements.

It is also possible to fire chemical shells, 9M43 smoke-smoking shells (ten shells of this type create a continuous curtain of smoke over an area of ​​50 hectares), 9M28D propaganda shells, as well as 9M42 lighting shells, which illuminate a circle with a diameter of 1000 m on the ground from a height of 450-500 m for 90 seconds

A projectile with a fire mixture was also studied and possibly created. See Tactical and technical requirements (addition to the technical specifications of military unit 64176-С -60г.) on the design and development work "Warhead equipped with a fire mixture for the Grad rocket" (electronic version)

In other countries, various versions of projectiles based on the M-21OF projectile and other types of 122 mm caliber projectiles were created. Known following countries who have carried out and/or are carrying out work on 122 mm caliber projectiles: Romania, France together with Poland (a now defunct state), Iran, North Korea, Indonesia (,). In the United United Arab Emirates TPK assembly work was organized for.

Modernization

In 1986, the development work “Creation of the BM-21-1 122-mm 9K51 Grad MLRS” combat vehicle was completed. The customer of the work was the GRAU of the USSR Ministry of Defense. The main contractor is “Motovilikha Plants” (Perm). The modified chassis of the Ural-4320 truck began to be used as the base of the combat vehicle (see photo 1, photo 2, diagram). In contrast to the BM-21 guide pipe package, a heat shield was installed on the BM-21-1 guide pipe package, protecting the pipes from direct exposure to sunlight. However, there were options without a screen on a new type of chassis (photo). From the BM-21-1 cockpit (designation 2B17) it is possible to fire without preparing a firing position, which makes it possible to quickly open fire. According to the relevant resolution, on January 1, 1987, work began on equipping guide packages with heat-protective screens as part of artillery units mounted on the chassis of Ural-375 series trucks. The BM-21-1 is in service with the ground forces of Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and possibly other countries.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, work was carried out to create an automated combat vehicle based on the BM-21-1. The designation of the new sample is 2B17-1 (see diagram). The main method of firing 2B17-1 is from the cockpit without topographically prepared firing position with a slope of no more than 3 degrees, with guidance and firing without the crew leaving the cockpit without the use of sighting devices. Guidance from the cockpit using sights and shooting from cover from a remote control are possible.

The 2B17-1 combat vehicle is equipped with an automated guidance and fire control system (ASUNO), providing:

• information and technical interface with the control machine;
• automated high-speed reception (transmission) of information and its protection from unauthorized access, visual display of information on a computer screen and its storage;
• autonomous topographical reference and terrain orientation with location display on the computer screen;
• automated guidance of a package of guides, without the crew leaving the cabin;
• determination of location coordinates using satellite navigation equipment.

An automated version was also developed, designated 2B17M (see photo 1, photo 2) with protection of the information transmission device. One of the options for an automated combat vehicle is presented at.

At the MVSV-2006 exhibition (Moscow), a mock-up of a projectile with an angular stabilization system for the Grad MLRS was demonstrated (see photo).

Recently, work has been carried out on the Grad MLRS combat vehicle on a modified KamAZ-5350 truck chassis.

Performance characteristics

	BM-21	BM-21-1
Chassis	Ural-375D	Ural-4320-02; Ural-4320-10; Ural-4320-31
Dimensions, mm: - length in stowed position - width in stowed position - width in firing position - height in stowed position - height at maximum elevation angle - height in position of the swinging part 0°	7350 2400 3100 3090 4350 2680	7370;7370;7740 2400 3100 3090 4350 2680
Distance from the center of gravity of the charged BM to the axis of the balancing trolley of the vehicle chassis at an elevation angle of the swinging part of 0°, mm	-	1160
Weight, no more, kg: - BM without shells and crew - BM of a charged combat vehicle with crew	10870 13700 ± 1%	11120;11120;11950 14060;14060;15050
Maximum speed of a charged vehicle on paved roads, km/h	75	75
Maximum ford depth, taking into account waves, overcome by BM, mm	1500	1500
Ammunition, pcs.	120 NURS	120 NURS
Reduced area affected by a salvo of combat vehicles, hectares: - manpower - technicians	2,44 1,75	- -
Number of tubular guides, pcs	40
Full salvo time, s	-	20
Guide length, mm	3000
Guide inner diameter	122,4
Guide weight	23,4	-
Elevation angle, degrees: - minimal - maximum	0 55
Angle of horizontal fire, degrees: - to the right of the chassis axis - to the left of the chassis axis	70 102
Cabin bypass angle, degrees	±34
Minimum angle of elevation of the package in the cabin area, degrees	11
Electric guidance speed: - by elevation angle - in azimuth	not less than 5°/s not less than 7°/s
Manual guidance speed (per flywheel revolution): - by elevation angle - in azimuth	4 minutes 6 minutes

Testing and operation

From 04/09/1963 to 04/16/1963, tests were carried out at NII-100 of a 122mm 9M22 rocket fired from a rocket-barrel system, from batch No. OP-121-63g, manufactured at NII-147. The tests were carried out according to the program reference 0641ss dated February 5, 1963, NII-147, with changes agreed upon with representatives of NII-147.

The purpose of the tests was to determine the dispersion “122 mm 9M22 /3OF10/ rocket projectiles fired from a rocket-barrel system, when firing at maximum range" The tests included 122 mm 9M22 shells in standard equipment, drawings inv. 4492, 4849 batches No. OP-1-62, OP-(2)-63 and mock-ups of 122 mm 9M22 shells in inert ammunition, batch No. OP-10-62 NII- 147. Equipment missile units and the assembly of the shells was carried out at NIII-100 in accordance with the requirements of drawing inv.4847 with RSI-12/K powder charges with VGA-80-EZ igniters.

“Barrel powder charges were prepared from VG-NDSI brand gunpowder of various weights.When testing for combat accuracy, MRV/V-588/ combat fuses were used, with settings for “O” and “M”, NITI-11 designs.The tests were carried out with a guide, which is a semi-closed pipe, allowing the use of a barrel charge and installed on the carriage of the KS-12 anti-aircraft gun.

Before shooting for accuracy with 9M22 shells, mock-ups were fired on the rocket-barrel system in order to select the weight of the barrel charge and determine ballistic characteristics 9M22 projectile without and with a barrel charge.

Firing 9M22 shells for accuracy with and without a barrel charge was carried out by firing 2 groups / 7 shells per group / at maximum range at a guide elevation angle of 50°.The temperature of the barrel and powder charges of 9M22 projectiles was within +20° ± 3°C.” .

The conclusions of NIII-100 indicated that “ The presented 9M22 shells of batch No. OP-121-63 NII-147 with a barrel charge when fired from a rocket-barrel system showed better results in terms of range and combat accuracy than 9M22 shells without a barrel charge” .

">

Data from Reports on the work of the Tula State Research and Production Institute of Precision Engineering (now JSC NPO SPLAV, Tula).

1966

">

In 1966, technical specifications for the processing of warhead elements were developed and issued to related organizations. Working drawings of two variants of the warhead have been developed. The first prototypes of combat units were manufactured (50 pieces of each variant) and sent for testing to military units. 33491. Bench and bench-flight tests were carried out in the amount of 42 pieces.

In 1967, it is necessary to submit a technical design of the warhead with justification for the choice of fire mixture and produce 500 shells for field testing.

“Warhead equipped with a fire mixture for a portable missile (9M22M), product 9M22MS”

A warhead equipped with a fire mixture is intended to destroy, in conditions of positive temperatures and in the dry season, enemy personnel outside cover, in open trenches, communication passages and trenches, as well as his military equipment located within firing range. Damage is caused both by direct contact and by the creation of fires.

In 1966, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Defense dated 15.UII.66 No. 490, technical specifications were developed and issued to related organizations for testing elements of the warhead. Prototypes were manufactured and bench, bench and flight tests were carried out in the amount of 45 products with positive results. The warhead, equipped with an MSO fire mixture and an ignition-explosive charge based on yellow phosphorus, ensures crushing, scattering and ignition of the fire mixture, under positive temperatures in the dry season, at speeds of encountering an obstacle of about 400 m/sec. Crushing the fire mixture into pieces weighing 3-5g satisfies the requirements for fire projectiles. Maximum firing range 9940m. Firing accuracy at range VD/X = I/200; in the direction Wb/X = 1/100.

Manufactured and delivered to the military unit. 33491 100 pieces of products, of which: for control tests - 30 products, for acceptance tests - 70 products.

In v.ch. 64176-C and 6 Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense sent a technical report, technical and operational documentation.

Chemical rockets 9M23 filled with substance R-33 with a radio fuse 9E310 and 9M23M filled with substance R-35 with impact fuse 9E210 for the Grad system.

Work has been carried out to eliminate deficiencies in the 9M23, 9M23M shells and the 9E310 radio fuse in accordance with the list set out in the conclusion of the commission on range-military testing.

Completed technological process internal varnishing of the projectile, permissible defects are established weld and welding mode. Prototypes were manufactured and deficiencies in the technical documentation were eliminated.

The 9E310 radio fuse has been improved in terms of ensuring its strength and tightness.

Sent to military unit 64176-C and 6 Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, a report on the modifications carried out, a set of technical and operational documentation and posters of shells and radio fuses.

Providing technical assistance to the Shtamp and Sibselmash plants in the manufacture of the Grad projectile.

Throughout the year, the institute’s specialists provided technical assistance to the factories in the serial production of shells at the Shtamp plant and the development of the production of shells at the Sibselmash plant.

The work carried out jointly with the Shtamp plant to improve technological processes made it possible to significantly reduce the labor intensity and cost of manufacturing the projectile and ensure the fulfillment of the annual plan.

The Institute produced a pilot batch of hulls, which significantly reduced the labor intensity and cost of manufacturing the projectile and ensured the fulfillment of the annual plan.

The institute produced a pilot batch of warhead housings from blanks 16 mm thick instead of 22 mm. The technological process is issued to the plant, which produces equipment for its implementation in production. Metal savings will be 0.5 kg per product.

Together with the Stamp plant, normalization of cone frame blanks with heating by high-frequency currents instead of furnace heating has been introduced. An improvement in the quality of heat treatment of workpieces and an increase in labor productivity have been achieved.

Technical documentation for casting based on smelted models of the grid and intermediate and tail diaphragms was developed and issued to the plant for implementation.

The technological process of coating the intermediate diaphragm by galvanizing followed by phosphating and impregnation with AB-4 varnish and dye has been developed.

Together with the plant, work was carried out to introduce, for operations 3 and 4 of engine pipe drawings, the process of sludge-free pickling and phosphating on the AMF-8 unit.

Developed together with the plant, organizational and technical measures for 1966-1967. aimed at reducing defects and improving quality. As a result of their implementation, losses from defects have been reduced by 40% compared to 1965.

The labor intensity of manufacturing the Grad projectile at the Shtamp plant was reduced in 1966 from 72 labor hours to 64.3 labor hours, the cost was 218.5 rubles (according to data for the third quarter of 1966) with the planned one being 296.06 rubles .

The Institute, together with TNITI and the Stamp plant, has developed measures aimed at further reducing the labor intensity and cost of the Grad projectile through the introduction of mechanization and automation of main and auxiliary work, reducing metal consumption, and improving labor organization. The introduction of these measures makes it possible to reduce the labor intensity of manufacturing in 1967 to 40 n/hour and bring it in the future to 15 n/hour.

A team of specialists from the institute provided technical assistance to the Sibselmash plant in mastering production and manufacturing the established batch. The plant has mastered and launched the production of Grad system rockets.

The measures developed to reduce the cost of products make it possible to obtain a significant economic effect in 1967: (based on the volume of production in 1967): for the 122-mm Grad rocket - 3990.0 thousand rubles.

On the topic “Creation of an automatic line for high-frequency heat treatment (hardening and tempering) of semi-finished engine housings of the Grad unguided rocket projectile (type TM6-409-65), working drawings of the automatic line were developed in 1966.

Parts are automatically hardened and tempered on the line. The functions of workers when working on the line are reduced to loading and unloading the line, monitoring and monitoring its operation.

The use of the line will reduce the labor intensity of 1000 workpieces at plant No. 176 from 181.6 hours/hour to 50 hours/hour or 3.6 times. In 1967, it was planned to manufacture a prototype of the line.

1967

Warhead equipped with a fire mixture for the Grad missile, product 9M22S (topic NV6-001-66)

A warhead equipped with a fire mixture is intended to destroy enemy personnel outside cover, in open trenches, communication passages and trenches, as well as his military equipment. The defeat is carried out both by direct impact and by the creation of massive fires. Firing should be carried out from a combat vehicle adopted for the Grad projectile.

By a joint decision of the Ministry of Defense and Military Parties 64176 dated March 25, 1967 (ref. No. 6-1451 dated March 29, 1967) the warhead equipped with electronic elements is being tested.

In 1967, working drawings of two variants of the warhead were developed. Manufactured and tested in high grade. 33491 prototypes, 50 pieces of each option. The technical design for a warhead equipped with electronic elements was approved (Decision of subsection No. 1 of section No. 1 NTS MOP ref. 18/693ss dated 12/25/1967; conclusion of military unit 64176-D, ref. a/1028779ss dated 12/21/1967 ).

In 1968, it is necessary to carry out modifications to the warhead to eliminate the shortcomings noted in the conclusion of the military unit. 64176-D according to technical design. Manufacture 500 shells for field testing and issue recommendations for field testing.

In 1968, research will be carried out to develop directions for the development of multi-barrel missile systems.

Development of the design and manufacturing technology of the warhead of the Grad system rocket from a pipe blank (topic TT6-629-67)

In accordance with approved methodological plan To carry out work on this topic, drawings and manufacturing technology for the projectile body and cold-rolled pipes were developed.

According to the agreed technical conditions, the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant supplied a pilot batch of cold-rolled pipes from which prototypes of blanks were made.

A schedule was developed and approved by the Ministry and GRAU, providing for the production of a batch of blanks at the Stamp and Sibselmash factories with completion of work in October 1968.

The introduction of a new technology for manufacturing warhead blanks makes it possible to reduce the duration of the production cycle (by 20 operations), increase the metal utilization factor from 0.6 to 0.84 and reduce the labor intensity of one piece by more than 1 hour.

To successfully complete the topic, it is necessary to speed up the construction of walls at the Geodesy Institute for firing tests.

Providing technical assistance to the Stamp, Sibtekstilmash and Sibselmash plants in the manufacture of the Grad projectile.

Throughout the year, the institute’s specialists provided technical assistance in the serial production of shells at the Shtamp, Sibtekstilmash and Sibselmash factories.

The Institute, together with TNITI and the Stamp factories, has developed a set of measures aimed at further reducing labor intensity, cost and increasing the technical level of production of the Grad projectile through the introduction of mechanization and automation of main and auxiliary work, reducing metal consumption, and improving labor organization.

During 1967, the following measures were introduced at the Stamp plant with the participation of our specialists from this complex:

1. Unified technological process for manufacturing pipe blanks. The introduction of this process made it possible to reduce the number of changeovers and the range of die tools and reduce waste in operations.
2. The process of manufacturing tail, intermediate and grille diaphragms using lost wax casting. The economic effect amounted to 5850 rubles. To the program.
3. The process of cutting 4-shaped grooves in the fairing using a stamp instead of milling with an annual economic effect 6665 rubles.
4. Carbide tools at the last stages in the production of pipes and warheads. In order to provide assistance, the institute produced 34 carbide dies for the Stamp plant.

Laboratory and flight tests of a pilot batch of Grad shells with TP-15AS thermal protective coating were carried out with positive results to replace the existing B-58. Technical documentation was developed and issued for the production of the pilot batch at the Shtamp plant.

In order to eliminate thread failure on the nozzle cap, technology has been developed, and drawings of an improved platform design for the production of plastic parts have been developed for the Stamp plant.

As a result of the implementation of measures, the labor intensity of manufacturing the Grad projectile at the Shtamp plant was reduced in 1967 from 64.3 n/hour. Up to 40 scientific hours, cost is 180 rubles.

At the Sibtekstilmash plant, a team of specialists from the institute and the plant organized mass production of stamped pipe blanks and warheads of the Grad projectile.

Along with this, a set of organizational and technical measures was developed and implemented aimed at reducing labor intensity and reducing losses from defects in the production of workpieces.

The implementation of work on the complex allowed the Sibtekstilmash plant to fulfill its plan for the production of stamped blanks in 1967 and reduce labor intensity from 16 n/hour. up to 10.2 n/hour. and reduce losses from defects in the head pipe from 23.3% to 7.1%, in the tail pipe from 14.8% to 7.3% and in the warhead body from 9.4% to 0.5%.

At the Sibselmash plant, specialists from the institute and the plant have mastered the serial production of the Grad projectile.

In order to reduce labor intensity and increase the technical level of production by organizing production lines in the mechanical and assembly areas, improving technological processes, a set of organizational and technical measures was developed and partially implemented.

The implementation of measures allowed the Sibselmash plant to reduce the labor intensity of the production of the Grad projectile in 1967 from 88 n/hour. up to 41n/hour.

The Institute developed and issued to the factories a directive technological process for the manufacture of the “Grad” projectile with artillery with a labor intensity of 20.7 n/hour.

The institute’s specialists, together with the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant, developed technological conditions, manufactured and supplied cold-rolled pipes for the fairing to the Stamp and Sibselmash plants.

To prepare for the production of the 9M23 projectile at the Sibselmash plant, the institute prepared and sent technical documentation for mechanical and press processing, coating and welding in a carbon dioxide environment, as well as drawings of a welding station with an installation for automatic welding in a carbon dioxide environment.

In order to speed up the preparation of production, a complex installation for welding 9M23 products was transferred to the Sibselmash plant.

On the topic Creation of an automatic line for heat treatment of high-frequency particles (quenching and tempering of semi-finished engine housings of the “Grad” projectile (topic TM6-409-65) A sample line model YaT1 was manufactured for the Stamp plant.

After debugging and testing, the line will be delivered to the plant for implementation into production.

The line provides for the operations of hardening parts and subsequent tempering.

The line is equipped with loading and unloading devices.

The use of the line made it possible to reduce the labor intensity of heat treatment of 1000 projectile body blanks from 181.6 hours/hour to 50 people/hour, or 3.6 times.

1968

Creation of the design of a warhead with increased fragmentation action for Grad rockets (topic NV6-170-68)

In 1968, based on theoretical studies, working drawings were developed, warheads were manufactured and tested:

• with rational crushing into optimal fragments through the use of a given crushing - 12 pcs.;
• with ready-made spherical fragments - 6 pcs.;
• improved distribution of spherical fragments in the expansion sphere - 6 pcs.;
• use of new explosives with improved characteristics - 5 pcs.;
• with ready-made arrow-shaped fragments - 10 pcs.

Test results show that experienced warheads exceed the fragmentation effect of the warheads of the M-21OF projectile by 1.3-1.5 times, and warheads with swept elements by 1.7 times.

The work was supposed to be completed in the third quarter. 1969.

Warhead equipped with a fire mixture for the Grad missile (product 9M22S, subject NV6-001-66)

By joint decision of the Ministry of Defense and Military Parties. 64176 dated March 25, 1967 (ref. No. 6-1451 dated 29/III-67) an incendiary warhead equipped with electronic elements is being tested. The incendiary warhead is designed to create massive fires.

In 1968, the factory stage of testing in the amount of 200 rounds was completed with positive results and a recommendation for field testing. (out. V.ch. 64176-D No. a/775727 dated 29/UII-68, out. TGNIITM No. 3430 o 30/IU-68).

A test batch of 500 pieces was manufactured and delivered. Field tests were completed with positive results and a recommendation for service with the Soviet Army, identifying deficiencies noted by the commission for conducting field tests (ref. 33491 No. 002814 dated 31/X-68).

Elimination of deficiencies and verification of the commission's proposals for conducting field tests is carried out according to plans approved by the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering and military unit 64176-C and must be completed in the second quarter of 1969 (ref. TGNIITM No. 7833 from II/XI-68 and No. 81 from 8/I-69).

To prepare for serial production, the necessary technical documentation has been sent to the factories.

According to data from November 1997, the Indian ammunition industry included "nine enterprises of various profiles, which almost completely meet the needs of the national armed forces: 125- and 105-mm tank shells, 130-, 106-, 105- and 75- mm artillery shells, 122-mm NUR for MLRS type BM-21, anti-aircraft shells, mines, aerial bombs, cartridges for small arms of all calibers, various types of gunpowder and explosives, including solid fuel for rocket engines."

In 2004 researcher Research Institute "Poisk" Andreev Valentin Vasilievich was awarded the prize named after S.I. Mosin for work

Currently, in the headlines of articles and television news reports in connection with the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, you can hear the name of such military equipment as the Grad installation. The characteristics of the multiple launch rocket system are impressive. The missile's flight range of 20 km is ensured by forty neatly stacked fire tubes located on the base of the Ural-375D all-wheel drive truck. Today, this mobile system is in service in more than 50 countries. And since 1963, she has been in operational service in the Soviet, and now she is in the Russian army.

Historical information

The idea of ​​​​developing a multiple launch rocket system with a flight range of more than 20 km belongs to Soviet engineers and dates back to the mid-50s of the last century. Military installation"Grad" was developed to replace the BM-14 system. The idea was to place a maneuverable artillery unit filled with rockets on a truck chassis that could easily overcome difficult terrain.

In 1957, the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) gave the technical task to the Sverdlovsk design bureau to develop a combat vehicle. It was necessary to design a vehicle capable of accommodating 30 guides for deep-seated missiles. The goal was achieved by modifying the rocket - creating folding tail fins curved along a cylindrical surface.

NII-147 was chosen as the developer of the projectile, which proposed a technology for manufacturing the body, such as the hot drawing method. Under the patronage of A. N. Ganichev and with the support of the State Committee for Defense Technology, work began on the creation of a missile. The development of the warhead of the projectile was entrusted to GSKB-47, and powder charge engine - NII-6. NII-147 designed a projectile with mixed stabilization: tail and rotation.

Tests

In 1960, fire tests of rocket engines were carried out. Within the plant, 53 burns were carried out and 81 were carried out as tests at the state level.

The first field tests were carried out in March 1962 near Leningrad. GRAU allocated 2 combat vehicles and half a thousand rockets. With a planned mileage of 10,000 km, the test vehicle traveled only 3,380 km without breakdowns. The damage was repaired by strengthening the rear chassis axle. This increased the vehicle's stability when firing.

After eliminating the design deficiencies, by decree of the Council of Ministers, the Grad installation was put into service and armament in 1963, the characteristics of which were demonstrated to N.S. Khrushchev in the same year.

In January of the following year, serial production of the BM-21 began. Also in 1964, at the November military parade, the first installations were shown to the people. In 1971, the export of rocket launchers began, and its volume amounted to 124 vehicles, but by 1995 the number of Grads sold to 50 countries around the world was over two thousand.

Design

The unique combat technical characteristics of the Grad installation were also achieved due to the design of the complex, which includes:

• launcher;
• transport-loading vehicle based on ZIL-131;
• fire control system.

Unguided rockets (122 mm in diameter) are loaded into the artillery unit, which is represented by 40 guides, 3 meters each, on a movable base. Guidance can be performed in the horizontal and vertical plane using an electric drive or manually. The range of angles for horizontal firing is 102 o to the left of the car and 70 o to the right; with vertical - from 0 to 55 o.

The barrel channel is equipped with a screw groove, which imparts a rotational movement to the projectile when it is fired.

The speed of the vehicle is 75 km/h, and it is possible to move with loaded projectiles. The car has a suspension disconnect system, which eliminates the use of support jacks when shooting. After the salvo, you can immediately leave the position so as not to get hit by a retaliatory strike. Firing adjustment is carried out in a separate control machine included in the battery.

Having disassembled the design of the jet combat vehicle, you can understand how the Grad installation works.

Accurate aiming of the weapon at the target is achieved due to the presence of sighting devices: a Hertz panorama, a mechanical sighting device and a K-1 collimator, which increases the degree of destruction in conditions

First projectile

An unguided projectile, which is used in multiple launch rocket artillery designs, consists of 3 parts: the combat part, the engine and the stabilizer. The warhead is the projectile itself with a fuse and an explosive charge. A jet engine consists of a nozzle, a chamber, an igniter and a powder charge. To ignite the igniter, which will activate the powder charge, squibs or electric salvos are used. The shot closes the electrical circuit, and the incandescent squib ignites the igniter.

The 9M22 rocket was the first ammunition fired by the Grad multiple rocket launcher. Projectile characteristics:

• type: high-explosive fragmentation;
• length - 2.87 m;
• weight - 66 kg;
• maximum flight range - 20.4 km, minimum - 1.6 km;
• flight speed - 715 m/s;
• warhead weight is 18.4 kg, of which the third part is explosive.

A revolutionary discovery was the innovation of Alexander Ganichev. He proposed a method for making a projectile that involved drawing out a body from steel plates, rather than simply cutting a steel cylinder, as before. Another achievement of the chief designer of NII-147 was the creation of a clamp that restrains the tail of the projectile and gives the stabilizers the ability to fit into the dimensions of the rocket.

The 9M22 projectile was equipped with MRV-U and MRV head impact fuses, which can be set to 3 actions: instantaneous, small and large deceleration. When hitting a target at short distances, brake rings were used for accuracy, the size of which was selected in direct proportion to the distance.

The development of 9M22 missiles has improved the technical characteristics of the Grad launcher. Damage to manpower when the Grad is fully loaded is inflicted over an area of ​​up to 1050 m2, and to unarmored vehicles - up to 840 m2.

Serial production of missiles began in 1964 at the Stamp iron foundry plant.

Increased combat capabilities

With the development of the first projectile, the Grad installation was intended to destroy and suppress enemy forces, the characteristics (damage radius) of which were constantly being improved. Thus, the following types of projectiles were created:

• improved ammunition high-explosive fragmentation type 9M22U, 9M28F, 9M521;
• fragmentation-chemical type - 9M23, identical in flight performance parameters to the M22S;
• incendiary - 9M22S;
• smoke-generating - 9M43, ten such ammunition is capable of creating a smoke screen over an area of ​​50 hectares;
• from barriers - 9M28K, 3M16;
• for radio interference - 9M519;
• with poisonous chemicals- 9M23.

Other countries that produce the complex under license or illegally are also dynamically developing new types of projectiles.

Fire control

The fire control system allows you to fire shots in one gulp or alone. The pyrotechnic ignition of the rocket engine comes from a pulse sensor, which can be controlled in the BM-21 cockpit through a current distributor or through a mobile remote control at a distance of up to 50 m.

The “Grad” installation has a full salvo cycle lasting 20 seconds. Characteristics regarding temperature conditions are as follows: uninterrupted operation is guaranteed at temperatures from -40 °C to +50 °C.

The installation control group consists of a commander and 5 assistants: a gunner; fuse installer; radiotelephone operator/charger; combat vehicle driver/loader and transport vehicle driver/loader.

The transport vehicle is designed to transport shells; stationary racks are fixed on its board.

Modernization

Technical progress requires constant work on modernizing weapons. Otherwise, even the most strong positions on the market may be lost.

The Grad rocket launcher was improved in 1986. The BM-21-1 model was released. Now the base of the combat vehicle was located on the chassis of the Ural vehicle. A package of guide pipes protected the heat shield from solar exposure. It also became possible to fire quickly.

Based on the GAZ-66B vehicle, by reducing the number of barrels firing projectiles to 12, a lightweight installation for airborne troops was created - BM-21 V.

Based on BM-21-1 in the early 2000s. work was done to produce an automated combat vehicle - 2B17-1. The advantage of the improved installation is guided shooting without sighting devices and crew exit. That is, the determination of the enemy’s coordinates was carried out by the navigation system.

The Damba combat vehicle (BM-21PD) was intended to destroy submarines in order to ensure the protection of the maritime border. The system could work in conjunction with a hydroacoustic station or independently.

The Prima complex, created in the 80s, had 50 guides, but due to insufficient funding it did not receive the right to further mass production.

The Grad MLRS were produced in Czechoslovakia, Belarus and Italy. The Ukrainian version of the BM-21 was placed on the KrAE chassis. The Belarusian "Grad-1A" is capable of placing 2 ammunition loads at a time instead of one. Italian system rocket launcher(abbreviated FIROS) is different in that the shells are equipped with different jet engines, which is why the firing range is not the same.

Military accounting

With the end of World War II, the arms race continued actively. All scientific achievements were aimed at improving military production. Prices for military products began to rise even more rapidly than during the war.

Price modern weapons also very high. One Grad rocket launcher costs $600-1000. After the combat vehicle was put into service (1963), the cost of the missile was comparable to the price of two Volga vehicles. And with mass production, the cost of the rocket was only two salaries of an engineer - 250 rubles (information from the film “Strike Force”).

The cost of installing "Grad" is According to estimates of one English magazine, the price of the successor of "Grad" - "Smerch" - is 1.8 million dollars (information taken from the magazine "Phaeton", issue No. 8, January 1996, p. 117 ).

How does the Grad launcher fire?

The principle of firing from the BM-21 is identical to the mechanism for using the famous Katyusha and is based on a salvo firing system. In the 40s, cannon artillery shells were always superior to single rockets, which lacked accuracy and mass production. Engineers managed the flaw by using several barrels to launch missiles.

Due to the salvo principle of operation, the Grad installation in action is a weapon capable of destroying 30 hectares of enemy territory, a column of military equipment, missile launching positions, a mortar battery, and supply nodes. One shell fired by this combat vehicle kills all living things within a radius of 100 meters.

The world's first MLRS capable of hitting targets over long distances is the Grad launcher. Soviet engineers improved the characteristics and radius of destruction of the combat vehicle until they achieved the result of a maximum projectile evasion of the target of 30 meters. Foreign designers believed that such accuracy could be achieved at a distance of no more than 10 kilometers. However, the brainchild from the USSR hits the enemy from a distance of 40 km and fires 720 shells in 20 seconds, which equates to 2 tons of explosives.

Military applications

The first practical test of the Grad complex took place in 1969, during the conflict between the PRC and the USSR. An attempt to break the enemy and knock out his forces with tanks failed, and the Chinese captured a damaged T-62, which was a secret model. Therefore, they used the Grad launcher, which destroyed the enemy and thereby ended the conflict.

In 1975-1976 a combat vehicle was used in Angola. There were no encirclement operations in this conflict; battles periodically broke out between columns moving towards them. So, the peculiarity of the “Grad” is that a “dead ellipse” is formed at the site of the shell’s impact, so a column of troops, which is an elongated line, became an ideal target in battles in Angola.

In Afghanistan, they fired from Grad at direct fire. In the Chechen War, the combat vehicle was also actively used.

The “Grad” of our time is about 2,500 units in service with the Russian Army. Combat vehicles have been exported to 70 countries since 1970. BM-21s have not gone unnoticed in armed conflicts around the world: in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Somalia, Syria, Libya and the recently started confrontation in eastern Ukraine.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Grad installation

The capabilities and parameters of the system are given for BM-21.

• Chassis - Ural-375D.
• Engine power - 180 l. With.
• Dimensions, m:
  - width - 2.4;
  - length - 7.35;
  - maximum height - 4.35.
• Weight, t:
  - with shells - 13.7;
  - uncharged BM - 10.9.
• movement, km/h - 75.
• Ammunition, pcs. - 120 rockets.
• Caliber, mm - 122.
• Damage area, ha:
  - technology 1.75;
  - manpower 2.44.
• Guide length, m - 3.
• Number of stem guides, pcs. - 40.
• Full salvo time, s - 20.
• Firing range, m:
  - maximum - 20 380;
  - minimum - 5000.
• Setup time for firing position, min. - 3.5.

Today, MLRS are manufactured at Motovilikha Plants OJSC. The base is the Ural-4320 car. The new models feature autonomous georeferencing, display of the installation location on an electronic map, and the ability to enter data into the fuse.

I would like to believe and hope that the Grad installation (characteristics, design, principle of operation) was necessary and interesting to the younger generation as a specimen for scientific research, but not for the destruction of cities and the destinies of people!

On March 28, 1963, the Soviet Army adopted a new multiple launch rocket system, which became the most widespread in the world

The fire is carried out by the BM-21 Grad divisional field multiple launch rocket system. Photo from the site http://kollektsiya.ru

Soviet and then Russian multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) became the same world-famous symbol of the domestic weapons school, like their predecessors - the legendary “Katyusha” and “Andryusha”, also known as BM-13 and BM-30. But unlike the same "Katyusha", the creation of which has been well researched and studied, and was even actively used for propaganda purposes, the beginning of work on the creation of the first mass post-war MLRS - the BM-21 "Grad" - was often passed over in silence.

Whether this was due to secrecy or a reluctance to mention where the most famous post-war rocket system of the Soviet Union traces its origins is difficult to say. However, for a long time this did not arouse close interest, since it was much more interesting to observe the actions and development of domestic MLRS, the first of which was put into service on March 28, 1963. And soon after that, she publicly announced herself when, with her salvos, she actually multiplied the units by zero Chinese army, fortified on Damansky Island.

Meanwhile, “Grad”, it must be admitted, “speaks” with a German accent. And what is especially curious is that even the name of this multiple launch rocket system directly echoes the name of the German missile system, which was developed during the Second World War, but never had time to seriously participate in it. But it helped the Soviet gunsmiths, who took it as a basis, to create a unique combat system that has not left theaters of operations around the world for more than four decades.

"Typhoons" threaten "Librators"

“Typhoon” was the name of a family of unguided anti-aircraft missiles, which German engineers from the rocket center in Peenemünde, famous for creating the world’s first ballistic missile, the V-2, began to develop in the middle of World War II. The exact date of the start of work is unknown, but it is known when the first prototypes of the Typhoons were submitted to the Ministry of Aviation of the Third Reich for consideration - at the end of 1944.

Most likely, the development of unguided anti-aircraft missiles was not undertaken in Peenemünde. earlier than the second half of 1943, after the leadership Nazi Germany- both political and military - it became known about the avalanche-like growth in the number of medium and heavy bombers among the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition. But most often, researchers cite the beginning of 1944 as the real date for the start of work on anti-aircraft missiles - and this seems to be true. After all, taking into account the existing developments in rocket science, the rocket designers from Peenemünde did not need more than six months to create new type missile weapons.

Unguided anti-aircraft missiles "Typhoon" were 100-mm missiles with a liquid ("Typhoon-F") or solid-fuel ("Typhoon-R") engine, a 700-gram warhead and stabilizers installed in the tail section. It was they, according to the developers, who were supposed to stabilize the rocket on course in order to ensure flight range and accuracy of hits. Moreover, the stabilizers had a slight inclination of 1 degree relative to the horizontal plane of the nozzle, which gave the rocket rotation in flight - by analogy with a bullet fired from a rifled weapon. By the way, the guides from which the missiles were launched were also screw-shaped - for the same purpose, to give them rotation, ensuring range and accuracy. As a result, the Typhoons reached a height of 13-15 kilometers and could become a formidable anti-aircraft weapon.

Diagram of the Typhoon unguided anti-aircraft missile. Photo from the site http://www.astronaut.ru

Options “F” and “P” differed not only in engines, but also in appearance - dimensions, weight and even the scope of stabilizers. For the liquid “F” it was 218 mm, for the solid fuel “P” it was two millimeters more, 220. The length of the rockets was also different, although not too much: 2 meters for the “P” versus 1.9 for the “F”. But the weight differed dramatically: “F” weighed a little more than 20 kg, while “P” weighed almost 25!
While engineers in Peenemünde were inventing the Typhoon rocket, their colleagues from the Skoda plant in Pilsen (present-day Pilsen, Czech Republic) were developing a launcher. As a chassis, they chose a carriage from the most popular anti-aircraft gun in Germany - the 88-mm, the production of which was well developed and carried out en masse. 24 (on prototypes) or 30 (on those put into service) guides were installed on it, and this “package” received the possibility of all-round firing at high elevation angles: exactly what was required for salvo firing of unguided anti-aircraft missiles.

Since, despite the novelty of the equipment, in mass production each Typhoon rocket, even the more labor-intensive "F", did not exceed 25 marks, an order was immediately placed for 1000 rockets of the "P" type and 5000 of the "F" type. The next one was already much larger - 50,000, and by May 1945 it was planned to produce 1.5 million missiles of this model every month! Which, in principle, was not so much, considering that each Typhoon missile battery consisted of 12 launchers of 30 guides, that is, its total salvo was 360 missiles. According to the Ministry of Aviation, it was necessary to organize as many as 400 such batteries by September 1945 - and then they would fire 144 thousand missiles at armadas of British and American bombers in one salvo. So the monthly one and a half million would just be enough for ten such salvos...

"Swift" taking off from "Typhoon"

But neither by May, nor even more so by September 1945, did 400 batteries and 144 thousand missiles come out in one gulp. The total production of Typhoons, according to military historians, was only 600 units, which were used for testing. In any case, there is no exact information about their combat use, and the Allied air command would not have missed the opportunity to take note of the use of new anti-aircraft weapons. However, even without this, both Soviet military specialists and their allied colleagues immediately appreciated what an interesting piece of weaponry fell into their hands. The exact number of Typhoon missiles of both types that were at the disposal of Red Army engineers is unknown, but it can be assumed that these were not isolated copies.

The further fate of missile trophies and developments based on them was determined by the famous Resolution No. 1017-419 ss of the USSR Council of Ministers “Issues of jet weapons” dated May 13, 1946. Work on the Typhoons was divided based on the difference in engines. The liquid-propellant Typhoon F was taken up at the SKB at Sergei Korolev's Research Institute-88 - so to speak, according to its jurisdiction, since work on all other liquid-propellant rockets, primarily the V-2, was also transferred there. And the solid fuel “Typhoons R” were to be dealt with by KB-2, created by the same decree, which was included in the structure of the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering (here it is, all-pervasive secrecy!). This is exactly what the design bureau was to create domestic version"Typhoon R" - RZS-115 "Strizh", which became the prototype of the missile for the future "Grad".

The direction of "Strizh" in KB-2, which since 1951 merged with plant No. 67 - the former "Workshops of heavy and siege artillery" - and became known as the State Specialized Research Institute-642, was carried out by the future academician, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, creator of the famous missile systems “Pioneer” and “Topol” Alexander Nadiradze. Under his leadership, the Swift developers brought work on this missile to testing, which was carried out at the Donguz test site - at that time the only test site where all types of systems were tested air defense. The former "Typhoon R", and now the "Strizh" R-115 - the main element of the RZS-115 "Voron" anti-aircraft missile system - entered these tests in November 1955 with new characteristics. Its weight now reached almost 54 kg, its length increased to 2.9 meters, and the weight of the explosive in the warhead increased to 1.6 kg. The horizontal firing range also increased - up to 22.7 km, and the firing altitude - the maximum was now 16.5 km.

Radar station SOZ-30, part of the RZS-115 “Voron” system. Photo from the site http://militaryrussia.ru

According to the technical specifications, the Raven system battery, which consisted of 12 launchers, was supposed to fire up to 1,440 missiles in 5-7 seconds. This result was achieved through the use of a new launcher designed at TsNII-58 under the leadership of the legendary artillery designer Vasily Grabin. It was towed and carried 120 (!) tubular guides, and this package had the possibility of all-round firing with a maximum elevation angle of 88 degrees. Since the missiles were unguided, they were fired in a similar way to firing from anti-aircraft gun: targeting the target was carried out at the direction of a fire control point with a gun guidance radar.

These are the characteristics that the RZS-115 “Voron” system showed during complex field tests that took place from December 1956 to June 1957. But neither the high power of the salvo nor the solid weight of the Swift's warhead compensated for its main drawback - low firing altitude and uncontrollability. As representatives of the air defense command noted in their conclusion, “due to the short reach of the Swift projectiles in height and range (height 13.8 km with a range of 5 km), disabilities systems when firing at low-flying targets (at an angle of less than 30°), as well as insufficient gain in the firing efficiency of the complex compared to one to three batteries of 130- and 100-mm anti-aircraft guns with a significantly higher consumption of shells, reactive anti-aircraft system The RZS-115 cannot qualitatively improve the armament of the country's anti-aircraft artillery air defense forces. It is not advisable to adopt the RZS-115 system into service with the Soviet Army to equip units of the country’s anti-aircraft artillery air defense forces.”

Indeed, a missile that in the mid-1940s could have easily dealt with Flying Fortresses and Librators, ten years later could no longer do anything with the new B-52 strategic bombers and increasingly fast and maneuverable jet fighters. And therefore it remained just an experimental system - but its main component turned into a projectile for the first domestic multiple launch rocket system M-21 Grad.

From anti-aircraft to ground

The BM-14-16 jet combat vehicle is one of the systems that the future Grad was intended to replace. Photo from the site http://kollektsiya.ru

What is noteworthy: Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 17, which ordered NII-642 to prepare a project for the development of an army high-explosive fragmentation projectile based on the R-115, was issued on January 3, 1956. At this time, field tests of two launchers and 2,500 Swift missiles were just beginning, and there was no talk of testing the entire Voron complex. However, in the military environment there was a fairly experienced and intelligent person who appreciated the possibilities of using a multi-barrel launcher with rockets not against aircraft, but against ground targets. It is very likely that this thought was prompted by the sight of the Swifts launching from one hundred and twenty guns - it was certainly very reminiscent of a salvo from a Katyusha battery.

BM-24 rocket system during exercises. Photo from the site http://kollektsiya.ru

But this was only one of the reasons why it was decided to convert unguided anti-aircraft missiles into the same unguided missiles to hit ground targets. Another reason was the clearly insufficient salvo power and firing range of the systems in service with the Soviet Army. The lighter and, accordingly, more multi-barreled BM-14 and BM-24 could fire 16 and 12 rockets at once, respectively, but at a range of no more than 10 kilometers. The more powerful BMD-20, with its 200-millimeter finned projectiles, fired almost 20 kilometers, but could fire only four missiles in one salvo. And the new tactical calculations clearly required a multiple launch rocket system, for which 20 kilometers would be not just the maximum, but the most effective, and in which the total power of the salvo would at least double compared to the existing ones.

BMD-20 combat vehicles at the November parade in Moscow. Photo from the site http://www.rusmed-forever.ru

Based on these introductory notes, it could be assumed that the declared range for the Swift missile is already quite achievable now - but the weight of the warhead explosive is clearly insufficient. At the same time, the excess range made it possible to increase the power of the warhead, due to which the range should have fallen, but not too much. This is exactly what the designers and engineers of GSNII-642 had to calculate and test in practice. But they were given very little time for this work. In 1957, leapfrog began with transformations and revisions of the institute’s activities: first it was merged with Vladimir Chelomey’s OKB-52, calling the new structure NII-642, and a year later, in 1958, after the abolition of this institute, the former GSNII-642 turned into a branch Chelomeyev Design Bureau, after which Alexander Nadiradze went to work at NII-1 of the Ministry of Defense Industry (the current Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, which bears his name) and concentrated on creating solid-fuel ballistic missiles.

And the theme of the army high-explosive fragmentation projectile from the very beginning did not fit into the direction of work of the newly formed NII-642, and in the end it was transferred for revision to the Tula NII-147. On the one hand, this was not his problem at all: the Tula Institute, created in July 1945, was engaged in research work in the field of production of artillery shells, developing new materials for them and new manufacturing methods. On the other hand, for the “artillery” institute this was a serious chance to survive and acquire a different weight: Nikita Khrushchev, who replaced Joseph Stalin as head of the Soviet Union, was a categorical supporter of development missile weapons to the detriment of everything else, especially artillery and aviation. And the chief designer of NII-147, Alexander Ganichev, did not resist, having received an order to take on a completely new task for him. And he was right: a few years later, the Tula Research Institute turned into the world's largest developer of multiple launch rocket systems.

"Grad" spreads its wings

But before this happened, the institute’s staff had to make enormous efforts, mastering a completely new field for them - rocket science. The least problems were with the manufacture of casings for future missiles. This technology was not too different from the technology for making artillery shells, except that the length was different. And NII-147 had the development of a deep drawing method, which could be adapted for the production of thicker-walled and stronger shells, which are the combustion chambers of rocket engines.

It was more difficult with the choice of the engine system for the rocket and its layout itself. After much research, only four options remained: two with starting powder engines and sustaining solid propellant engines different designs, and two more - with two-chamber solid fuel engines without starting powder, with rigidly fixed and folding stabilizers.
Ultimately, the choice was made on a rocket with a two-chamber solid-fuel engine and folding stabilizers. The choice of power plant was clear: the presence of a starting powder engine complicated the system, which should have been simple and cheap to produce. And the choice in favor of folding stabilizers was explained by the fact that non-folding stabilizers did not allow installing more than 12-16 guides on one launcher. This was determined by the requirements for the dimensions of the launcher for transporting it by rail. But the problem was that the BM-14 and BM-24 had the same number of guides, and the creation of a new MLRS also included an increase in the number of rockets in one salvo.

MLRS BM-21 "Grad" during exercises in the Soviet Army. Photo from the site http://army.lv

As a result, it was decided to abandon rigid stabilizers - despite the fact that at that time the prevailing point of view was that deployable stabilizers would inevitably be less effective due to the gaps between them and the rocket body that arise when installing hinges. To convince their opponents of the opposite, the developers had to conduct full-scale tests: at the Nizhny Tagil Prospector training ground, test firing was carried out from a converted machine from the M-14 system with two variants of rockets - with rigidly installed and folding stabilizers. The shooting results did not reveal the advantages of one type or another in terms of accuracy and range, which means that the choice was determined only by the possibility of mounting on a launcher more guides.

This is how we received rockets for the future Grad multiple launch rocket system - for the first time in Russian history! - tail that opens at launch, consisting of four curved blades. When loading, they were held in the folded state by a special ring placed on the lower part of the tail compartment. The projectile flew out of the launch tube, receiving initial rotation due to a screw groove inside the guide, along which a pin slid in the tail section. And as soon as he was free, the stabilizers opened, which, like the Typhoon, had a deviation from the longitudinal axis of the projectile by one degree. Due to this, the projectile received a relatively slow rotational movement - about 140-150 revolutions per minute, which provided it with stabilization on the trajectory and accuracy of the hit.

What did Tula get?

It is noteworthy that in last years in the historical literature devoted to the creation of the Grad MLRS, it is most often said that NII-147 received an almost finished rocket, which was the R-115 Strizh. They say that the institute had little merit in bringing someone else’s development to mass production: it was just something to come up with new method hot exhaust of the body - and that's it!
Meanwhile, there is every reason to believe that the design efforts of NII-147 specialists were much more significant. Apparently, they received from their predecessors - subordinates of Alexander Nadiradze from GSNII-642 - only their developments in the possibility of adapting an unguided anti-aircraft missile for use against ground targets. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why on April 18, 1959, the deputy director of NII-147 for scientific affairs, and also the chief designer of the institute, Alexander Ganichev, sent a letter with outgoing number 01844 addressed to the head of the 1st Directorate of the Artillery Scientific and Technical Committee of the Main Artillery Directorate (ANTK) GAU) Major General Mikhail Sokolov with a request to give permission to familiarize representatives of NII-147 with the data of the “Strizh” projectile in connection with the development of a projectile for the “Grad” system.

General diagram of the BM-21 combat vehicle ascending into the Grad multiple launch rocket system. Photo from the site http://www.russianarms.ru

And only this letter would be good! No, there is also an answer to it, which was prepared and sent to the director of NII-147 Leonid Khristoforov by the deputy head of the 1st Main Directorate of the ASTC, engineer-colonel Pinchuk. It says that the Artillery Scientific and Technical Committee is sending to Tula a report on testing the R-115 projectile and drawings for the engine housing of this projectile - so that these materials can be used in the development of a rocket projectile for future system"Grad". What is curious is that both the report and the drawings were given to the Tula residents for a while: they were to be returned to the 1st Directorate of ASTC GAU by August 15, 1959.

Apparently, this correspondence was precisely about finding a solution to the problem of which engine is best to use on a new rocket. So to claim that the Swift, as well as its progenitor Typhoon R, are an exact copy projectile for the future "Grad" - at least unfair to the Tula NII-147. Although, as can be seen from the entire background of the development of the BM-21, traces of the German rocket genius are undoubtedly present in this combat installation.

By the way, it is quite remarkable that the Tula residents did not turn to just anyone, namely Major General Mikhail Sokolov. This man, who graduated from the Artillery Academy named after. Dzerzhinsky, participated in the preparation for the demonstration of the first copies of the legendary “Katyusha” to the leadership of the USSR: as you know, it took place in Sofrino near Moscow on June 17 of the same year. In addition, he was one of those who trained the crews of these combat vehicles and, together with the first commander of the Katyusha battery, Captain Ivan Flerov, trained the soldiers in handling the new equipment. So multiple launch rocket systems were not just a familiar subject for him - one might say that he devoted almost his entire military life to them.

There is another version of how and why the Tula NII-147 received an order on February 24, 1959 from the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers for Defense Technology to develop a divisional multiple launch rocket system. According to it, initially the creation of a new system using the modified Strizh rocket was to be carried out by Sverdlovsk SKB-203, formed in 1949 specifically for the development and pilot production of ground-based rocket technology. Allegedly, when SKB-203 realized that they could not fulfill the requirement to place 30 guides on the installation, since the rocket’s awkward stabilizers were in the way, they came up with the idea of ​​​​a folding tail, which is held by a ring during loading. But since SKB-203 could not actually bring this modernization of the rocket to serial production, they had to look for a contractor on the side, and by a happy coincidence, the chief designer of the bureau, Alexander Yaskin, met at the GRAU with Tula resident Alexander Ganichev, who agreed to take on this work.

BM-21 during the exercises of the National People's Army of the GDR, one of the Warsaw Pact countries where the Grad was in service. Photo from the site http://army.lv

This version, which does not have any documentary evidence, looks, to put it mildly, strange, and therefore we will leave it to the conscience of its developers. Let us only note that in the development plan for 1959, approved by the USSR Minister of Defense and agreed with State Committee The USSR Council of Ministers on Defense Technology named the Moscow NII-24, the future Bakhirev Research Machine-Building Institute, which at that time was the main developer of ammunition, as the lead executor on the “Grad” topic. And it is most logical that the development of the rocket at NII-24 was decided to be transferred to the shoulders of colleagues from the Tula NII-147, and the Sverdlovsk SKB-203, and even recently organized, was left to their purely professional sphere - the development of the launcher.

On March 12, 1959, the “Tactical and technical requirements for development work No. 007738” Divisional field rocket system “Grad” were approved, in which the roles of the developers were once again distributed: NII-24 - the lead developer, NII-147 - the developer of the engine for the rocket , SKB-203 - launcher developer. On May 30, 1960, Resolution No. 578-236 of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, which set the start of work on the creation of not an experimental, but a serial "Grad" system. This document entrusted SKB-203 with the creation of combat and transport vehicles for the Grad MLRS, NII-6 (today the Central Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics) with the development of new grades of RSI gunpowder for solid fuel engine charges, and GSKB-47 with the future of NPO "Basalt" is the creation of a warhead for rockets, at the Scientific Research Technological Institute in Balashikha - the development of mechanical fuses. And then the Main Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense issued tactical and technical requirements for the creation of the “Grad Field Rocket System”, which was no longer considered as an experimental design topic, but as the creation of a serial weapons system.
After the government decree was issued, a year and a half passed before the first two combat vehicles of the new Grad MLRS, created on the basis of the Ural-375D vehicle, were presented to the military from the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Three months later, on March 1, 1962, ground tests of the Grad began at the Rzhevka artillery range near Leningrad. A year later, on March 28, 1963, the development of the BM-21 ended with the adoption of a resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers on the introduction of the new Grad multiple launch rocket system into service.

"Grads" of early releases at divisional exercises in the Soviet Army. Photo from the site http://army.lv

After another ten months, on January 29, 1964, a new decree appeared - on the launch of Grads into mass production. And on November 7, 1964, the first production BM-21s took part in the traditional parade on the occasion of the next anniversary of the October Revolution. Looking at these formidable installations, each of which could fire four dozen rockets, neither Muscovites, nor foreign diplomats and journalists, nor even many military participants in the parade realized that in reality none of them was capable of full-fledged combat work due to because the factory did not have time to obtain and install an electric drive for the artillery unit.
Five years later, on March 15, 1969, the Grads received their baptism of fire. This happened during the battles for Damansky Island on the Ussuri River, where Soviet border guards and military personnel had to repel attacks by the Chinese army. After neither an infantry attack nor tanks managed to dislodge the Chinese soldiers from the captured island, it was decided to use a new artillery system. The 13th separate rocket artillery division under the command of Major Mikhail Vashchenko, which was part of the 135th artillery, entered the battle motorized rifle division, which took part in repelling Chinese aggression. As expected in peacetime, the division was armed with BM-21 Grad combat vehicles (according to wartime regulations, their number increased to 18 vehicles). After the Grads fired a salvo at Damansky, the Chinese lost, according to various sources, up to 1,000 people killed within ten minutes - and the PLA units took flight.

Missiles for the BM-21 and the launcher itself, which fell into the hands of the Afghan Taliban after leaving Soviet troops from the country. Photo from the site http://army.lv

After this, "Grad" fought almost continuously - however, mainly outside the territory of the Soviet Union and Russia. Most mass application These rocket systems should, apparently, be considered their participation in combat operations in Afghanistan as part of the Limited contingent of Soviet troops. On their own soil, BM-21s were forced to fire during both Chechen campaigns, and on foreign soil - in perhaps half of the countries in the world. After all, in addition to the Soviet Army, the armies of fifty more states had them in their arsenal, not counting those that ended up in the hands of illegal armed groups.

Today, the BM-21 Grad, which won the title of the most popular multiple launch rocket system in the world, is gradually being withdrawn from service in the Russian army and navy: as of 2016, only 530 of these combat vehicles are in service (about 2,000 more are in service). storage). It was replaced by new MLRS - BM-27 "Hurricane", BM-30 "Smerch" and 9K51M "Tornado". But it is too early to completely write off the Grads - just as it was once too early to abandon multiple launch rocket systems as such, which the West did and did not want to do in the USSR. And they were right.

The BM-21 Grad MLRS, adopted by the Soviet Army, is still in service with the Russian Army. Photo from the site http://army.lv

Ctrl Enter

Noticed osh Y bku Select text and click Ctrl+Enter

Modern weapons. BM 21 "Grad".

BM 21 "Grad" - "A multiple launch rocket system that has been in service for more than 50 years.

This multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) has been in service with the Soviet and then Russian armed forces for more than fifty years. First year military service field rocket system BM 21 "Grad" under the index 9K 51 can be considered 1963. It looks like her service has been going on for a long time and is not going to end, which indicates complete professional compliance modern conditions. This technique is popular not only here, but also abroad. "Grad" is in service in 68 countries around the world. Installation is in particular demand in the countries of the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, CIS countries, of Eastern Europe. Interestingly, the USA also has similar equipment in the amount of 75 units, purchased at the turn of the two centuries from former republics socialist camp - Romania and Ukraine. What characteristics allow this installation to remain in service for such a long time?

History of creation

If anyone thinks that when we describe the Grad installation, we are talking about a new, newly developed type of military weapon, then he is deeply mistaken. Its prototype, Hwacha, appeared in the 15th century in Korea, under King Sejong the Great. On a two-wheeled cart there was a shield with a recess for small missiles with metal arrows at the end. The latter were wrapped in rags and set on fire. The device was triggered by the ignition of powder charges and had a range of approximately half a kilometer. A more effective remedy of the same type was invented by the British at the beginning of the nineteenth century, including in the war with Napoleon. All these installations were not popular due to their bulkiness and aimless shooting.

In the Soviet Union, in pre-war times, the M 13 multi-volley installation was developed. It took an active part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War and earned the love of not only front-line soldiers, but also the entire Soviet people. “Katyusha” - that’s how they lovingly called her, they dedicated songs and poems to her. But time, as military-technical progress developed, required domestic developers of the defense complex to develop new models of multiple launch rocket systems that were not inferior to their foreign counterparts. In 1960, the team of the Tula Research Institute - 147 began to work closely on creating a modern model of such weapons. This was spurred on by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of May 30, 1960 on the speedy appearance of new weapons. The work was headed by A. N. Ganichev, and the talented designer G. A. Denezhkin made a great contribution to the emergence of the new MLRS. After three years of hard work and repeated testing at test sites, on March 28, 1963, the M 21 “Grad” installation was accepted by the government commission and put into service V Soviet Army, and since 1964 it has been put into mass production.

The Grad MLRS received its first combat test during the Soviet-Chinese military conflict in 1969 on Damansky Island. The test was successful. Since then, not a single armed incident, not a single war has been completed without the use of the M 21. Kabul, Karabakh, Grozny, Tskhinvali and many other settlements, unfortunately, have experienced all the consequences of its destructive salvoes.

Peculiarities

• The BM 21 combat unit is capable of destroying an enemy located both in open field and protective conditions. His transport and armored vehicles are also subject to destruction. Artillery and mortar crews, checkpoints, and fortified arsenals with weapons and ammunition will be destroyed.
• The installation is capable of “surrounding” (in all senses of the word) the enemy over an area of ​​145,000 square meters. m.
• The Grad rocket system, 122 mm caliber, is capable of firing high-explosive fragmentation, cluster and high-precision projectiles from 40 guide compartments. The dispersion of the shot is 130 meters in the straight direction, two hundred meters in the frontal direction.
• The firing range depends on the type of projectile. The maximum flight is achieved when firing "high explosives" - up to 40 thousand km. When firing a high-precision charge, the firing distance is eight kilometers less.
• The minimum distance is from 1600 to 4000 km.
• The duration of one salvo is only twenty seconds.
• After the end of the shooting, the crew of three people servicing this combat vehicle will need 3.5 minutes to bring the military unit into a state of readiness for further movement from the firing point and move at a speed of 75 km/h to the further location of redeployment in Ural 375 D vehicles or 4320, as well as ZIL - 131.

Chassis

The cross-country ability of these standard BM 21 Grad installation vehicles, as well as other vehicles included in various modifications, is impressive. These cars with a 6 x 6 wheel formula and a ground clearance of 40 cm are not afraid of a ford 1.5 meters deep, sandy or swampy soil, or snow drifts. This military equipment is not afraid of temperature imbalance. Its operating range is from minus 40 C to plus 50 C. The power of the eight-cylinder carburetor engine installed in the Ural is 180 hp. With. The fuel reserve in the tank is enough for 750 kilometers. The MLRS battery includes the Bereza control complex, located on the GAZ-66. You can control the launch of missiles using a remote control, or using control buttons located in the M21 cockpit. The vertical aiming angle ranges from 0 to 55 degrees.

Artillery gun

The gun mount itself is located in the rear vehicle. It is a package with a row set of three-meter tubular guides 4 x 10. The diameter of the barrel is slightly larger than the caliber of the projectile - 122.4 mm. The installation is located on a rotating base, which makes it possible to aim in horizontal and vertical projections. In addition to the salvo, it is possible to use single shot methods, which is especially effective when firing high-precision charges.

class="eliadunit">

Shells

The following type of projectiles can be used as combat support for the multiple launch rocket system.

• High-explosive fragmentation, improved.
• Incendiary.
• High-explosive fragmentation with a detachable head.
• Chemical.
• Camouflage, with a smoke screen.
• Cluster, with mines against tanks.
• Cluster, with anti-personnel mines.
• High-precision projectiles.

This is far from full list arsenal of ammunition for "Grad". The M21 MLRS projectile has two distinctive features from analogues.

• Unconventional production method. The workpiece is made by rolling out a sheet of steel and then drawing it out.
• The charging stabilizer has the ability to fold its “tail” and is held inside using the original ring stopper.

To increase the number of fragments in the OFS (high-explosive fragmentation projectile), two corrugated steel bushings are welded from the inside. Also in the body is a single-shot rocket engine.

Types of modifications.

In addition to the main Grad model, there are a large number of modifications. Thus, in 2001, an automatic guidance system M 21 - 1 appeared on the Ural 4320 vehicle, equipped with space navigation and a preliminary readiness and launch device.

• "Grad P" 9K 132 is a single-barrel weapon for 122 mm caliber rockets.
• "Prima" 9K 59 - installation increased power, having 50 guides.
• "Grad B" - MLRS with 12 guides, used by airborne troops.
• “Grad VD” is a tracked version of the above system, installed on an armored personnel carrier - D.
• “Dam” - the installation serves to protect naval bases.
• "Grad M" A 215 - installed on naval warships.
• "Grad 1" - MLRS with 36 guides.
• “Grad 1” 9K 55 – 1 – is located on the tracked chassis of the “Gvozdika” 2S1 howitzer.
• “Illumination” 9K 510 – used to illuminate the area at night or in bad weather. A single shot can illuminate an area of ​​about a kilometer from a height of five hundred meters for a period of one and a half minutes.

MLRS. Advantages and disadvantages.

Undoubtedly, rocket fire systems are powerful effective means in modern warfare. They have the following obvious advantages.

• A combination of effect and efficiency when shooting. The terrifying psychological effect on the enemy from a volley of such installations is combined with great damaging effect according to the affected area.
• Mobility in attack. The movability of the BM 21 "Grad" allows you to change position within a short time.
• Rate of fire. Allows you to make a powerful salvo in a short time.
• Excellent camouflage. The MLRS is small in size, allowing it to remain invisible to the enemy.
• Easy to operate.

Disadvantages include

• insufficient aiming accuracy;
• quick detection of the installation after a salvo has been fired;
• limited weight of the combat charge.

For many years, Soviet and Russian systems rocket weapons were trendsetters in this class of weapons. Recently the situation has begun to change. American, Chinese, and Israeli MLRS are appearing that, in some respects, are superior to our systems. We are waiting for a response from our developers.

class="eliadunit">

Having become an important stage in the history of the development of rocket artillery, the BM-21 Grad MLRS was developed on its own initiative at the Tula Scientific Research Institute-147, created in July 1945 to solve the problems of technological support for the mass production of cartridges for conventional artillery rounds. The technology for manufacturing sleeves developed by NII-147 using deep drawing also ensured the production of thicker-walled and stronger shells, which are the combustion chambers of rocket engines. Therefore, the designers of NII-147 had the opportunity to move from solving a particular problem - technological support for the production of ammunition - to a more complex and comprehensive one - the development of a multiple launch rocket system.

BM-21 Grad MLRS salvo - video

Conducted under the leadership of A.N. Ganichev's work was supported by the order of the Chairman of the State Committee for Defense Technology dated February 24, 1959 and the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of May 30, 1960, and the tactical and technical requirements for the system were approved on October 10, 1960. In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers, the creation of a rocket M-21OF and PCZO as a whole were entrusted to NII-147, the propellant charge of the engine was developed by NII-6, and the warhead of the projectile was developed by GSKB-47. The BM-21 (2B5) combat vehicle was assigned to design the SKB-203. Fire bench tests of rocket engines began already in 1960, with 53 burns carried out as part of factory tests and 81 as part of state tests. Test launches soon began.
State testing grounds began on March 1, 1962 and were carried out using two combat vehicles at the Rzhevsk training ground near Leningrad. During their implementation, there were breakdowns of the combat vehicle. To eliminate their prerequisites, the rear axle of the chassis was strengthened by using alloy steels. In addition, they limited themselves to disabling the suspension of only one of the chassis axles instead of the previously performed similar operation with both rear axles. This turned out to be enough to give the combat vehicle the necessary stability when firing, and the loads did not exceed the permissible level. By the Decree of the Council of Ministers of March 28, 1963, the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system was adopted for service, and in accordance with the Decree of January 29, 1964 No. 98-32 was transferred into mass production. In fact, the system began to be supplied to the troops only the following year, when serial production of the chassis for the BM-21 - Ural-375D - was launched in Miass.

The scale of production of the USSR BM-21 is impressive: about 3 thousand BM-21 and more than 3 million shells for them were manufactured at the Motovilikha plants alone. The release of this system and its modifications was also launched in China, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Romania and South Africa. Currently, the BM-21 is in service with the armies of more than 30 countries. At the beginning of 1994, there were 4,500 BM-21 MLRS in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and about 3,000 in the armies of other countries. The BM-21 MLRS consists of a launcher, 122-mm unguided rockets, a fire control system and a transport-loading vehicle. To prepare data for firing, the BM-21 MLRS battery includes a 1V110 “Beryza” control vehicle on a GAZ-66 vehicle chassis.
The BM-21 launcher is designed according to the classical design with the artillery unit placed in the rear of the vehicle chassis. The artillery unit is a package of 40 tubular guides mounted on a rotating base with the ability to aim in vertical and horizontal planes. The artillery unit also includes lifting and turning mechanisms. sighting devices and corresponding pneumatic, electrical and radio equipment. The guides are arranged in four rows of ten pipes each, thus forming a package. The package, together with sighting devices, is mounted on a rigid welded cradle. Guidance mechanisms allow you to direct the package of guides in the vertical plane in the angle range from 0° to +55°. The angle of horizontal missile fire is 172° (102° to the left of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and 70° to the right). The main method of guidance is from an electric drive.

For the BM-21 MLRS, a 122-mm unguided rocket was developed, the design of which had a revolutionary effect on the development of post-war rocket artillery. At the suggestion of the chief designer of NII-147 A.N. Ganichev, the projectile body is made not by traditional cutting from a steel blank, but by a high-performance method of rolling and drawing from a steel sheet.
Another feature of the BM-21 MLRS missile is the folding planes of the stabilizer, which are held in the closed position by a special ring and do not extend beyond the dimensions of the projectile. The folding stabilizer itself was not an invention of Tula designers. For example, such a stabilizer was used in the German unguided aircraft rocket R4M, the numerous elongated stabilizer feathers of which, in the folded position, occupied the space around a specially elongated engine nozzle, and after the rocket exited the launcher, they leaned back, forming a kind of broom rod. However, this design required an artificial lengthening of the rocket nozzle, thereby increasing its weight and dimensions. A different scheme was adopted in the design of the Grad system rocket. The stabilizer feather was not made flat, but in the shape of a cylinder sector, curved when viewed from the front along an arc with a radius close to half the diameter of the rocket. The developers called this shape a “crow’s wing.” In the folded position, the surfaces of the stabilizers seemed to continue the cylinder of the rocket engine housing. The opening of the block of stabilizers, held by a ring before launch, was carried out by a spring mechanism. In the open position, the stabilizer blades were rotated 1° relative to the plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the rocket, which provided twist relative to this axis to reduce the influence of thrust eccentricities and the center of mass.

Otherwise, the layout of the rocket projectile is quite traditional: in the front part, behind the head contact fuse, there is a warhead, to which an engine body made of steel is adjacent. Due to the high elongation, the body consists of two cylindrical sections connected by threads. The nozzle block includes a central and six peripheral nozzles. In the supersonic part, the nozzles have a cone shape with an angle of 30°. The diameter of the critical section of the nozzle is 19 mm, the cut-off diameter is 37 mm.
Applied to inner surface The engine housing has a 0.3 mm thick heat-protective coating not only protects the steel housing from heating and a corresponding decrease in strength, but also significantly reduces energy losses from burning fuel and contributes to obtaining a high specific impulse and increased combustion rate. For technological reasons, the solid fuel charge is also made of two half-charges. In this case, the tail semi-charge has a larger gap between the walls of the housing and the fuel, since it is necessary to provide a sufficient flow area for the fuel combustion products of both the front and tail semi-charges.
Due to the fact that during long-term storage of shells in a horizontal position, deformation of the engine body was not excluded, the fuel charge was separated from the walls of the engine chamber by a gap of 4 mm for the head half-charge and 9 mm for the tail half-charge. The half-charges were fixed by means of six “crackers” measuring 50 x 10 mm, made from the same fuel, glued to each of them. The ends of the half-charges were armored with glued nitrolinoleum washers.

The fuel charge used the RSI-12M recipe, previously developed by NII-6 employee B.C. Lernov and consisting of 56% xylidine. 26.7% nitroglycerin. 10.5% dinitrotoluene. 3% centrality. The charge also included catalysts and technological additives. Between the semi-charges there was an igniter with 80 g of coarse black powder KZDP-1 and 2 g of DRP-1 gunpowder, located in separate percale bags. Current was supplied to two MB-2N electric igniters through wires laid through the central nozzle and the tail semi-charge channel. The total mass of two half-charges with “crackers” and washers was 20.6 kg, the missile body was 24.5 kg (with stabilizers - 26.4 kg).
The production of half-charges was carried out on a specially designed automatic production line. It provided automatic formation of half-charges, their overloading, geometry control, weighing, gluing of “crackers” and end washers, and marking. The half-charges were packed into containers in a semi-automatic mode. Gradually, the technology for manufacturing and operating charges was simplified. Tolerances for foreign and air inclusions were expanded, and storage of charges in unsealed containers began to be allowed. At the end of the sixties, the production of a charge from denser RST-4K fuel was tested, which made it possible, while maintaining the required mass, to slightly reduce the size and unify the geometry of half-charges. Instead of glued “crackers”, small protrusions were used - ridges on the outer surface, formed during the process of making checkers. Somewhat later, the production of fuel half-charges was mastered using a special recipe, in the manufacture of which products from the processing of fuel charges extracted from obsolete rockets with an expired warranty period were used. The production of such charges with zigs, without glued “crackers”, from reworking recipes was carried out in 1975-1980.

The powder charge of the projectile is ignited by igniters, triggered by current pulses from the current distributor of the fire control system. The duration of a salvo of one BM-21 is 20 seconds. If necessary, a salvo could be fired not from the cockpit, but from a remote control panel located several tens of meters away. The most widely used type of BM-21 MLRS rocket is the M-210F (9M22U) projectile with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. The length of this projectile with the MRV-U fuse is 2.87 m. The weight with the fuse is 66.4 kg, the weight of the warhead is 19.18 kg, and the weight of the explosive is 6.4 kg.
The powder charge (RSI gunpowder - 12 m) weighing 20.45 kg provides the highest projectile flight speed of 690 m/s. The fuse is cocked after leaving the guide at distances of 150-450 m from the combat vehicle. The nature of the projectile’s action at the target depends on the installation of the fuse: with instantaneous operation, it is predominantly fragmentation; with delayed operation, it is predominantly high-explosive.
In terms of fragmentation action, the warhead of the M-21 OF projectile is twice as effective as the M-140F, and in terms of high-explosive action, it is only 1.7 times more effective, which is reflected in the greater elongation of the new rocket projectile. Accuracy in the firing direction was 1/180, in the lateral direction - 1/110 of the range. When launched at a range of 20 km, half of the hits fell within a distance of 200-300 m relative to the center of the grouping of explosions. The maximum speed of the rocket was about 690 m/s. To maintain acceptable accuracy when firing at ranges from 12 to 15.9 km, a small brake ring was attached between the head fuse and the warhead of the missile, and a large one for shorter ranges. As a result, launches were carried out without using extremely steep or flat trajectories, the use of which is associated with large dispersion of projectiles. A salvo of one combat vehicle provided a destruction area of ​​about 1000 m2 for manpower, and 840 m2 for unarmored vehicles.

To increase the combat capabilities of the BM-21 Grad MLRS, the following types of unguided rockets were developed for it;
■ improved high-explosive fragmentation projectile 9M22U;
■ 9M22S incendiary projectile;
■ 9M23 chemical fragmentation projectile, which in terms of basic flight performance characteristics corresponds to the M22S projectile;
■ high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a detachable warhead 9M28F;
■ 9M28D propaganda shell;
■ 9M43 smoke-smoking projectile (ten projectiles of this type create a continuous curtain of smoke over an area of ​​50 hectares);
■ 9M42 illumination projectile for the "! Illumination" system;
■ 9M28K projectile with a cassette warhead with PTM-3 anti-tank mines;
■ ZM16 projectile with a cluster warhead containing POM-2 anti-personnel mines (forty projectiles of this type mine one kilometer of front);
■ a projectile for simulating air targets for training crews and developing new anti-aircraft missile systems;
■ a set of 9M519-1-7 projectiles (“Lily-2”) for radio interference in the HF and VHF bands. as well as other types of projectiles.
Countries that produce this system under license or illegally are also actively developing new ammunition for the BM-21.

The BM-21 artillery unit includes a package of 40 tubular guides with an internal diameter of 122.4 mm and a length of 3 m. The guides are arranged in 4 tiers of 10 guides in each tier. Guidance of the package of guides in the vertical and horizontal planes is carried out using an electric drive, first tried on a land-based MLRS, and manually. The lifting mechanism is located in the center of the base, its main gear meshes with the gear sector of the cradle. When aimed by an electric drive or manually, the main gear rotates the gear sector and the swinging part of the combat vehicle is given elevation angles. The turning mechanism is located on the left side of the base. Its main gear meshes with the stationary inner ring of the shoulder strap.
When aiming a combat vehicle by electric drive or manually, the main gear rolls along a stationary inner ring and thereby causes the rotating part of the combat vehicle to rotate. In the vertical plane, guidance is possible with an elevation angle of up to +55°. In the horizontal plane, it is possible to rotate the package of guides at angles up to 70° to the right and 110° to the left from the forward direction along the longitudinal axis of the machine. Within the horizontal firing sector up to 34° above the vehicle cabin, the minimum elevation angle is limited to 11 degrees. To partially balance the swinging part, a balancing mechanism located in the cradle is used. Sights consist of a mechanical sight, a PG-1M panorama and a K-1 collimator. It should be noted that thanks to the well-thought-out design of the artillery unit, most of its mechanisms are hidden under the casings of the cradle and the rotating base. This increased the reliability of the mechanisms.

The launcher's chassis is the chassis of a Ural-375D off-road truck (6 x 6 wheel arrangement). This chassis has a V-shaped eight-cylinder ZIL-375 carburetor engine, developing a maximum power of 180 hp at 3200 rpm. The clutch is double-disc, dry. The gearbox is five-speed, with synchronizers in 2,3,4 and 5th gears. Thanks to the presence of a centralized system for regulating air pressure in tires on the chassis, the launcher has high maneuverability on soils with low bearing capacity. When driving on the highway, it reaches a maximum speed of 75 km/h. The depth of the ford that can be overcome without preliminary preparation is 1.5 m.
A number of BM-21 MLRS launchers were produced on the chassis of Ural-4320 and ZIL-181 trucks. The swaying of the launcher during firing is reduced to a minimum thanks to the sequence of projectiles leaving the guides calculated using the EFM. This made it possible to abandon the installation of hydraulic supports on the chassis and limit ourselves only to the use of a mechanism for disconnecting the springs during firing. The launcher is reloaded manually using a transport-loading machine, which is a three-axle ZIL-131 vehicle with two 9F37 racks (each rack holds 20 shells). The BM-21 launcher is equipped with fire extinguishing equipment and an R-108M radio station.

MLRS BM-21 has become the base for systems created in the interests of various branches of the military:
9K59 "Prima" - multi-purpose MLRS of increased power with 50 guides;
BM-21V "Grad V" - an airborne MLRS with 12 guides, capable of firing all BM-21 projectiles;
9K132 "Grad-P" - a lightweight portable single-barrel launcher for firing 122-mm Grad-P shells;
A-215 "Grad-M" - shipborne MLRS for naval landing ships;
"Grad-1" - 36-barreled MLRS for arming artillery units of the regimental level;
BM-21 PD "Damba" - MLRS for protecting naval bases from demolition divers and naval saboteurs.
9K510 "Illumination" - a rocket system for firing illumination projectiles. Each missile of this system illuminates a circle with a diameter of 1000 m on the ground from a height of 450-500 m, while providing illumination of 2 lux for 90 seconds.
In recent years, specialists from SNPP Splav have developed a project for the comprehensive modernization of the BM-21 Grad MLRS.

Tactical and technical characteristics of BM-21 "Grad"

Caliber, mm 122
Number of guides 40
Calculation. people 7
Weight in firing position, t 13.7
Length, m 7.35
Width, m 2.4
Height in stowed position, m
3,09
Projectile weight, kg 66.4
Maximum firing range, up to 40 km, modernized
Minimum firing range, km 5 (1.6)
Volley duration, s 20
Recharge time, min 7
Engine power, hp 180
Maximum speed, km/h 75
Cruising range, km 750