Russian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
So I just did some more Googling and it turns out that such a BM-21 variant does exist. It’s Tornado-G which is b asically what I’ve been complaining about. Crew down to 2 men, on the same Ural-4320 truck, same 122mm rockets, automated, with an FCS. In production since mid 2010s.

Don’t understand why there’s still so many old BM-21s on the frontline still (seems like the vast majority), but it is what it is.

My understanding is that the Tornado-G uses new trucks but old launchers. Same goes with the Grad variants that were modernized in Eastern Europe and now handed to Ukraine. It is understandable because you're dealing with old vintage trucks, the condition of whom are questionable in the battlefield. Some may already be corroded beyond restoration. For situations like these, it's better to salvage the rocket launchers and marry them with a new truck. The MoD has new requirements for fragment resistant cabins, which have resisted fragments from 155mm munition and even HIMARS.

There are also those from the depots that are still restorable and can run. They are likely brought to the battlefield out of expediency.

Ural-4320 truck has been around for a long time. They started producing those in 1977 and even today. So they can always attach a new 4320 truck to an old launcher. Of course they would be many evolutions and variants over the years, that the 4320 can be described more like a family including cab forward arrangement. These trucks are used for all purposes including civilian.

It would be easier for an old Grad system to exchange the old truck to a new one, reuse the MLRS, the flutes or pipe organ whatever you want to call it, then scrap the old chassis or cannibalize it for parts.

If the truck breaks they can switch the MLRS to a new chassis, while they repair, even refit or extensively modernize the old chassis. Or it can be cannibalized and join the pool or parts. The flutes can return back to service as soon as possible.

The cost of maintaining an old truck is much more expensive than a new one. Downtime is also bad, because this is a critical mission situation. The chassis itself can be treated on a more disposable manner than say an armored tracked vehicle.
 

Soldier30

Captain
Registered Member
Footage from the first close-up shot in Russia of the Ukrainian Magura-V5 marine drone, equipped with FPV drones. The unmanned boat was discovered on September 24 off the coast of the Russian city of Tuapse. The Magura-V5 drone is based on a Chinese jet ski; a review of the drone is available on this channel. The marine drone is controlled via Starlink and Kymeta satellite communications channels. A mobile network can also be used for coastal control; the drone is equipped with a router. Containers for launching FPV drones controlled via fiber optics are installed onboard. Judging by the coils, the FPV drones have a control range of approximately 15 kilometers. Russian specialists have already begun studying the marine drone.

 

broadsword

Brigadier
My googling says

"Magura-V5 drone is not based on a Chinese jet ski; rather, it is an indigenous Ukrainian naval drone that uses a
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for propulsion and is part of a larger development of drone boats, with some early Ukrainian drone boats reportedly built using parts from commercial jet skis."
 

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
Just to clarify, the Grad originally came in 1963 with a gasoline powered Urals truck. Around 1973, the Urals 4320 were introduced and the Grad shifted to this truck.

At this time, the rocket used was the 9M22U, which has an 18.5kg explosive weight and a 20km range. To give some idea in comparison of the explosive power, the 122mm OF326 projectile used with D-30 howitzers and 2S1 Gvozdikas, should have an explosive filler of about 3.6kg. The 203mm Soviet ammunition or the American M106 shell has about 17-18kg.

Around 2003, the Grad gets an upgrade. There's now satellite positioning and a new fire control system that enables the Grad to fire new 40km rockets with a 21kg explosive weight, the 9M521. There was also 9M522 which has a 25kg explosive weight and a 37km range, but the main difference is the 522 uses a parachute to retard it's fall, to allow for a proximity fuse to operate. The head would explode above ground for maximum area of effect, scattering fragments.

Many years later and we come to the Tornado-G. The main difference is that the fire control system is now enabled for three new rockets, the 9M538, 9M539 and the 9M541. These rockets scaled back the range back to 20km, but the explosive weight is now around 35kg. The differences of these rockets lie with their fuses, as one of them might be a proximity fuse.

Why the range scale back? The farther the rocket goes, the greater is it's dispersion circle from the target point, or circular error of probability. If you want your rockets to disperse over a larger area, by all means shoot farther away. If you want them to bunch up and closer to your target, you need to get closer.

A heavier head weight on the new rockets also reduces the dispersion circle as heavier projectiles disperse less.

Now other countries might have their own version of the 40km rockets, perhaps the Czechs and the Serbs. But so far, the rockets with the 35kg explosive weights are unique to the Tornado-G, and no doubt far more lethal than the 9M22U.
 

Tam

Brigadier
Registered Member
Additional notes:

My eduguesstimate is that Russia entered the war with mainly Grad-1s which are those with the 40km rockets and with a number of Tornado-G. The original gas engines Grad and earlier UAZ 4320 based Grads were in the mothball area.

Russia is not likely to be producing the original Grad rockets, which are stored in the GRAU depots. The MIC would be producing the 35kg explosive filler rockets, along with the 37km parachute proximity fuse and the incendiary ones. Storage includes the 40km ones. Concentrating on the fewest but latest munitions means you can greatly reduce it's costs significantly via volume amortization.

Once the original 9M22U stock gets depleted, which is hastened because one of the GRAU warehouses with these was struck by the Ukrainians, you will have no choice but to have your Grad inventory fire the new rockets.

The most efficient way is manufacture the new Ural 4320 trucks with the Tornado-G fire control system, take out the old Grad systems from storage, divorce the rocket launchers from the old chassis, and marry them to the new trucks. Restoring old trucks is extremely labor intensive, and if I have the labor to do that, I would rather invest them working on old tanks.

The higher inertia of the warhead weight of the new rockets means a smaller dispersion pattern couples with it's increased explosive radius compared to the original rockets. This makes the new chassis far more lethal firing within it's designated range compared to previous Grads.

With a minimum 5km firing range, a Tornado-G can creep up to say, 10km, of its target at the risk of being attacked by drones, and unleash it's load with a nice group into a target area, then scoot away. 10km is the range where tanks shoot of its maximum distance using drones as artillery spotters, the range where TOS-1A would operate, as well as most FPV drones.

The 40km Grads have become redundant due to the refitted Uragans which have the same effective range, but coupled with 90kg explosive fillers on the rockets and offering a much more coupled dispersion pattern.
 

Soldier30

Captain
Registered Member
Russian oil refineries have begun protecting themselves from drones. A video captured by an eyewitness shows an oil refinery in Samara equipped with special protective nets to protect against drones. The protective nets and metal structures are intended to protect the facility from drone attacks. It's worth noting that oil refineries and oil depots in Russia are not protected by military air defenses. The management of these facilities is responsible for organizing anti-drone protection. Similar anti-drone protection has now been installed at several other oil refineries in Russia.

 

spaarg0451

Just Hatched
Registered Member
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Another batch of BMPT has been sent to the troops!

The Uralvagonzavod Concern of the Rostec State Corporation, on the eve of the Russian Ground Forces Day, delivered another batch of tank support combat vehicles (BMPT).

The BMPT has proven itself excellently during the special military operation and is currently in high demand in the Russian troops. Operational experience has shown that these vehicles can be used both in conjunction with tanks and as an independent combat unit.

– Uralvagonzavod is fulfilling a large order for BMPT: the demand for this vehicle is high. It has always been considered that the main striking force of the Ground Forces is tanks. Now it can be said that BMPTs have been added to them, noted the General Director of the Uralvagonzavod Concern, Alexander Potapov.

The designers of UVZ are constantly working on improving the characteristics of the tank support combat vehicle based on combat experience. The 2025 model vehicles have increased dynamic protection and additional side protection installed. The BMPT, like the T-90M “Breakthrough” and T-72B3M tanks, come off the production line equipped with anti-drone grids and electronic warfare systems.

The modern digital fire control system allows firing from all weapons both stationary and on the move, day and night, simultaneously engaging up to three different targets located at different ranges and different course angles.
 

gelgoog

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
It took them long enough. The BMPT was particularly effective at the Battle of Popasna. This should have been done three years ago.
In my opinion this foreshadows a new stage in the war. The BMPT was originally designed for urban fighting.
 

pmc

Colonel
Registered Member
Don't disagree with you, but UAC could certainly benefit from a CAPEX injection from our Bharati bhais so they may refine the Su-57 into an indisputable, if not legitimate 5th gen fighter.

I got the answer i was looking at time. Russians treated Indians so badly that LCA designer never recommend to buy any foreign plane again. that was perhaps like 10 years ago. and he is still remembering it.

 
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