System "Grad" - the fury of heaven

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Grad multiple launch rocket system is known even to those who are not at all interested in weapons and military equipment. She is the direct heir to the military glory of the legendary Katyushas, which became the harbinger of a new era in the development of artillery systems, embodying all the fundamental performance characteristics inherent in subsequent generations of MLRS: small size, high mobility, surprise and the ability to hit multiple targets in a very large area with one salvo.

From the very first Katyusha volley, from which the very earth reared up, and the fascist hordes went into a state of panic, and to this day, domestic rocket launchers are the best in the world. The Grad system, which entered service in the now distant 1963, replaced the Katyusha and became the basic type of missile weapons of the Soviet Army. For many years, this jet system did not know equal among similar types of foreignmissile weapons.

The Grad installation, the development of which was approved by a special government directive in 1960, had an original design based on fundamentally new engineering solutions that had never been used anywhere before. The development of the MLRS was carried out by NII-47, headed by the talented weapons designer A. N. Gognichev. The Grad system was designed to replace the outdated BM-14 missile system.

122-mm high-explosive fragmentation shells M-21-OF were used as ammunition in the installation. The Grad system was intended to suppress areas of concentration of armored vehicles and enemy troops, artillery and mortar batteries, supply centers, bunker fortifications and key strongholds. That is, the scope of these installations was very diverse. The need to create such an effective type of weapon at that time was dictated by the tense confrontation of political systems and the ensuing Cold War.

The "Grad" system consists of a launcher mounted on the basis of a Ural-375D truck, a fire control mechanism and a special vehicle for transporting ammunition and loading. In subsequent modifications, the Ural-4320 off-road truck was used as a running gear. The speed of movement of these missile systems is up to 90 km/h, which provides extremely high mobility and maneuverability.

The modern Grad system is equipped with a special automated launcherVivarium complex. The fire is carried out by unguided 122-mm rocket projectiles. Information about the location of targets and their nature is processed by a computer system, which is the most important part of the entire battery. According to the regular schedule, the installation produces a volley in twenty seconds, and the reload time is only seven minutes. The supply of ammunition is carried out by a charging platform of a special design. The standard ammunition of one battery consists of three volleys. This is enough to destroy almost any target.

The combat unit of the MLRS "Grad", the purpose of which is the guidance and launch of warheads, consists of forty tubular guides 3 m long and a barrel bore diameter of 122.4 mm. Horizontal and vertical aiming of the projectile is carried out by a special powerful electric drive.

Grad systems proved to be excellent during the Afghan war, in the Karabakh conflict and both Chechen campaigns. This missile system is very popular in almost all Arab and African countries, where civil wars sometimes become sluggish and permanent.