9K51 BM-21 Grad (Hail)
9A51 Prima

Sakr-18 [Egyptian]
122-mm Multiple Rocket Launcher

Russian multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) Grad, which was developed in the Soviet Union, is being upgraded to the level of new-generation Tornado-G systems. "Not so long ago, new Tornado-G MLRS was put on duty. Its operations are automated as much as possible. Today, on the basis of the scientific and technical backlog, which was obtained while creating this system, a project is being implemented to modernize the BM-21 Grad to the level of Tornado-G," the deputy general director of Russian ammunition manufacturer Techmash, Aleksandr Kochkin saidKochkin said 25 May 2019.

Earlier in May, Kochkin said that the Russian Armed Forces had received the first batch of modernised Tornado-S. In late 2018, Russian Land Forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleg Salyukov said that Tornado-S systems with improved range and firing accuracy and an expanded choice of high-performance missiles were planned to be delivered to the troops.

The Tornado-G is equipped with an automated guidance and fire-control system, along with automated equipment for launch preparations and the launch itself. This allows automating the preparation process, and to control the guidance of the launch package, and the firing itself, and to carry out automatic topographic positioning and orientation of the combat vehicle on the ground, to remotely enter flight mission data into the fuses and launch projectiles without the crew having to leave their cabin.

The field 122-millimeter divisional MLRS BM-21 Grad is designed to destroy open and sheltered manpower, unarmored vehicles and armored personnel carriers in the area where artillery and mortar batteries, command posts and other targets are concentrated. The Tornado-G is a modernised version of the BM-21 Grad MLRS. The system has an increased fire effectiveness, more powerful ammunition, and automated guidance, aiming, and navigation equipment.

The 122mm 40-tube multiple launch rocket system Grad (Hail), with a firing range of up to 20 km, was introduced into operational service with the Russian Army in 1963 [and initially designated in the West as the M1964]. The BM-21 is unquestionably the world's most widely used MRL. The successful use of the Grad system in local conflicts of various intensity for three decades led many countries to develop similar systems.

The launcher with supporting equipment is referred to as the complex 9K51. This 40-round launcher has four tiers of ten tubes mounted on the chassis of a truck.

The BM-21 can be distinguished from other multiple rocket launchers by the square-cornered, 40-tube launching apparatus (4 banks of 10 tubes), which is often covered by a protective canvas. It is mounted on the Ural-375D 6x6 truck chassis, which has a distinctive fender design and a spare tire on the rear side of the cab. The BM-21 also is the only known Soviet rocket launcher without blast shields on the driver's cab. However, the material used in the cab windows and windscreen is strong enough to withstand the overpressures and other effects associated with the firing of 122-mm rockets.

The BM-21 can be operated and fired from the cab, or it can be fired remotely at a distance of up to 60 meters, using a cable set. The launcher is traversed forward towards the cab for traveling and for firing uses two stabilizing jacks at the rear of the vehicle. A special electric generator powers the launcher. The 9V170 firing device is cab mounted, but the rockets can be fired using a remote-firing device that has a 64-meter-long cable. This MRL can fire all rockets in 6 seconds or fire each singly, and can reload in 5 minutes. It can fire the 40 rockets or any part thereof at a fixed 0.5-second interval. Single rockets can be fired manually at any desired interval. The five-man crew can reload the launcher in 8 minutes.

The BM-21 fires a "9-ft rocket" with a range of 20,380 meters. Each launch tube is grooved to impart a slow rotary motion to the rocket. However, the rocket is primarily fin-stabilized. This combination of spin- and fin-stabilization ensures closely grouped fire at ranges of up to 16 kilometers. The BM-21 and other 122mm rocket launchers can fire all 122mm rockets designed to fit in Soviet-derived 122mm launchers (including those that can achieve ranges of 30,000 to 36,000 meters). The 122-mm fin-stabilized rockets can deliver Frag-HE, chemical, or incendiary warheads to a range of over 20 kilometers, or the newer HE and cargo rockets out to 30 kilometers. On explosion, the warhead produces a great fragmentation effect and shock wave.

Because of its high volume of fire and large area coverage, the BM-21 is well suited for use against troops in the open, for use in artillery preparations, and for delivery of chemical concentrations. One volley from a BM-21 battalion is 720 rounds. Because these weapons have a large circular area probable (CEP), they are not suited for attacks against point targets.

The Ural-375D vehicle has a maximum road speed of 75 km/hr, a cruising range of 750 km, and an exceptional cross-country capability.

Rockets must always be fired with the vehicle parked obliquely to the target to avoid blast damage to the unprotected cab.

The BM-21 entered service in 1964 as a replacement for the 140-mm (16- and 17-round) BM-14 rocket launchers, and is now the most widely used truck-mounted rocket launcher in the Warsaw Pact forces. Heavier rocket launchers, including the 200-mm (4-round) BMD-20, the 240-mm (12-round) BM-24, and the 250-mm (6-round) BMD-25, are seldom seen in front-line units. Although the BM-21 rockets are smaller in caliber than previous models, the warhead is equal to that of the 140-mm rocket, and the range exceeds that of the older 140-mm and 240-mm models. Due to the smaller caliber of its rockets, the BM-21 also can fire a greater quantity of rockets than the earlier models, making it especially useful for area fire and delivering massive surprise fires. The BM-21 is found in the rocket launcher battalion organic to each motorized rifle and tank division. It also has been used at front and army level, where it was replaced by the 220-mm rocket launcher (16-round) BM-27 in some units.

The Russian 122mm 9M22S (9M22C) is an incendiary, forward-ejection, electrically initiated, surface-to-surface, fin and spin stabilised rocket launched from the BM-21 Grad truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher systems normally used against personnel and flammable targets. The basic variant rocket is designated the 9M22 with other types of warhead installed including chemical, incendiary, smoke or submunitions. The 9M22S payload (9N510) consists of 180 un-fuzed incendiary elements which are ignited on ejection by an ignition/expelling charge of six linear shaped-charges (LSC). The incendiary elements are ML-5 magnesium cups filled with a thermite-type mixture and packed in a matrix, each element having a burning time of at least 2 minutes. The total weight of the incendiary elements is assessed to be 5.9 kilograms (13.0 pounds).

In order to ensure better pile-up shooting at intermediate ranges, the MZ-21 projectiles are equipped only with large brake rings. Small brake rings are not used. Burning ignition elements are developed on the area of 6400 sq.m. (80x80), creating fire sources. The large number of burning elements (162), their considerable scattering area, their uniform distribution over the area, sufficiently long burning time of the elements (about 3 minutes) shows that the projectile has a reliable ignition effect, and when firing at live force - a significant striking effect.