Legendary Grads will be replaced by a new multiple launch rocket system
The artillery of the Ground Forces will be supplied with new multiple rocket launchers, the spokesman for the Land Forces Defense Ministry’s information on Lieutenant-Colonel Sergey Vlasov said on Monday.
“In the year 2011, to equip units of the combined-arms units of the Ground Forces, new Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems will be purchased, which should replace the world-famous Grad systems,” he told Interfax.
Vlasov noted that, in terms of technical capabilities, the new jet system “is much more efficient than its predecessors by increasing the power of ammunition, as well as introducing automated guidance and aiming systems, topo-coupling and navigation, which allows it to operate autonomously.”
“The Tornado-G system is intended for the destruction and suppression of open and sheltered personnel, armored vehicles, artillery and mortar batteries, command posts and other targets. Equipping these systems is one of the ways to increase the capabilities of the Ground Forces for long-range fire damage to the enemy in a modern all-arms battle, ”said a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
Note that the 122 millimeter rocket launcher system BM-21 "Grad" is in service with the Soviet / Russian army since 1963 year. The firing range depending on the type of projectile 20 – 40 km. The lesion area is about 15 GA. It is in service with more than 30 countries of the world.
“The BM-21 is a very old system,” Vadim Kozyulin, director of the conventional weapons program at the Center for Political Studies of Russia, told VZGLYAD. - It has already been removed from service even in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the events in Libya show how important it is to have modern weapons. We are well behind. It is necessary to correct this line. This is a natural process. Well, that these plans are available. "
“Purchasing new MLRSs will, apparently, be relatively small volumes,” suggested Konstantin Sivkov, first vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, in an interview for the VIEW newspaper. - Replacement, respectively, will go at a low rate. First of all, the most important compounds will receive them, then the rest. The Grads themselves will be displayed on the storage bases, but this is a matter of many years. ”
According to the expert, the upgrade possibilities of the Grad are already coming to an end: “Multiple launch rocket systems become obsolete for a long time,” said Sivkov, “BM-21 lives for a long time because its combat capability can be enhanced if it is equipped with a more modern projectile, more advanced system management. If the equipment has a large modernization resource, then it can be kept in service for a long time. Apparently, BM-21 has exhausted its modernization resource. "
“He has a resource on the market of third countries,” Vadim Kozyulin noted. “Not very technically advanced African states are happy to buy it for their local conflicts.”
“If we talk about the Russian Armed Forces,” Kozyulin noted, “in the event of war, everything will fit. For example, in a conflict in Georgia, it would probably be an application for them. They were used in Chechnya. But rely on them is not worth it. If we are talking about modernization, this is the first thing that needs to be modernized. ”
In open sources about the MLRS "Tornado-G" reported very little. Judging by the scraps of information, it has a caliber 122 mm. In 2006, the chief of the Missile Forces and Artillery (MFA) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Vladimir Zaretsky, said that this system should surpass Grad in combat effectiveness in 2,5 – 3 times.
It is also not known for certain on which chassis the Tornado-G is built. The MAZ-543M is mentioned, but, as experts note, this is a very heavy machine that can carry the 300-mm Tornado-S, but installing an 122-mm system on it doesn't look so logical (the Grads are mounted on lighter and more maneuverable "Ural-4320" and "ZIL-131" - approx. LOOK).
It is also unclear in the interests of which formations the Tornado-G will perform the tasks. BM-21 were in service with motorized rifle and tank divisions that were abolished as part of the transition of the Armed Forces to a new look. “Today we are talking about a brigade, which should be a universal self-sufficient unit, perhaps new MLRS will be attached to each brigade,” said Vadim Kozyulin, noting that it is too early to speak about this with confidence.
Some sources report bikalibernogo character "Tornado" - allegedly MLRS can fire 122-millimeter and 300-millimeter or 220-millimeter and 300-millimeter shells. There is no confirmation of this information.
In 2009, Lieutenant-General Sergei Bogatinov, head of the Missile Forces and Artillery of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, told Interfax that it was Tornado S multiple launch rocket launchers with the Iskander-M operational tactical missile systems that would become the basis for the technical component of the missile troops and artillery.
“The optimization carried out in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the transition to a three-tier command and control system and the brigade structure have also affected the Missile Forces and artillery in a certain way There is a change in the technical component of the kind of troops. Here, first of all, we should highlight the Iskander-M operational tactical missiles, the Tornado-S rocket launchers, he said.
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