State tests of the upgraded multiple launch rocket system "Hurricane" have begun in Belarus at the Osipovichi test site. The MLRS received a new automotive platform: instead of the ZIL-135LM, the launcher for 220-mm rocket projectiles is placed on the MAZ-6317.
Modern means of communication and automation have been added to the updated Hurricane. Development work on the modernization of the multiple launch rocket system was carried out for two years.
After the live firing, the head of the rocket forces and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, Major General Gennady Kozlovsky, noted that "the multiple launch rocket system performed well and the desired results were fully achieved."
The 220 mm multiple launch rocket system "Hurricane" was adopted in the USSR in 1975. In 20 seconds, the installation releases 16 shells, each of which weighs 280 kilograms.
It should be noted that the two-caliber Uragan-1M installations are already in service with the Russian army. Depending on the tasks assigned, the MLRS can use 220-mm and 300-mm ammunition stored in transport and launch containers, which greatly facilitates their reloading, operation and combat use. The maximum firing range is 120 kilometers.
To ensure the accuracy of shooting, the calculation has at its disposal the most modern equipment, including satellite navigation. In addition, if the combat and transport-charging vehicles were installed on the ZIL-135LM car on the old version, the MZKT-7930 all-terrain vehicle with a more economical 500-horsepower diesel engine is now used.
Nikolay Grishchenko