Multiple launch rocket systems "Willow" and "Birch bark"
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rocket forces and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) got a significant number of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) of various calibers, including dozens of 122-mm MLRS of the Grad type. In order to modernize this model of artillery weapons and to give capabilities that meet the requirements of a new generation of wars, specialists of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex have carried out work on a number of programs, the main of which - "Willow" and "Birch Bark" - will be discussed in this publication.
Fiery "Willow"
The first serious attempt to modernize the Grads inherited by the APU was experimental design work (R&D) under the code "Willow/1" (full name - "Modernization of the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system, code "Willow/1"). Apparently, it was by the name of this OCD that the entire modernization program and the MLRS itself also began to be called "Willow".
The implementation of this program was carried out by specialists of the state enterprise (SE) "Kharkiv Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering named after A.A. Morozov" (HCBM), which is organizationally part of the state concern (GC) "Ukroboronprom". The corresponding state contract with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was concluded in September 2007.
The completion of work on this project was reported several years ago, and in early December 2015, the first experimental combat vehicle (BM) of the promising MLRS at that time was even demonstrated to a wide range of specialists.
This, in particular, was reported in the note "Ukroboronprom has introduced a new multiple launch rocket system "Willow", posted on December 2, 2015 on the website of the state concern.
"The time has come when it is necessary to stop riding on the Soviet past and start looking into the future," Roman Romanov, Director General of Ukroboronprom, noted at the time. - "Willow" is the kind of weapons that should be supplied to the army on an industrial scale."
However, for a number of reasons, the final decision on state tests and the installation of a new MLRS for the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not been taken for a long time. At the same time, such MLRS were, apparently, delivered by Ukraine to Senegal in 2017 (six BM-21U-type BMMs were declared by Senegal in the relevant UN register of supplies of the WWST). MLRS combat vehicles based on the same chassis vehicle, known under the designation "Bastion-1", were also delivered several years earlier to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (we will not consider the Bastion-1 project in this publication).
Finally, in 2021, the problem with the "Willow" was solved in a positive way: as reported in the Ukrainian media with reference to sources in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in Ukroboronprom and the design bureau-developer, the upgraded MLRS of the BM-21U "Willow" type was adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Willow" received a digital fire control system, which allows the combat crew to solve the tasks of guidance and fire control of the BM in automatic mode. In the same automatic mode, as indicated in the article "The Ukrainian army adopts the BM-21U Grad MLRS, posted on September 15, 2021 on the website of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies, the BM can also be reloaded by combat calculation (more precisely, reloading is carried out in mechanized mode). The use of a digital fire control system, as indicated in Ukroboronprom, has significantly reduced the preparation time of the upgraded MLRS for the opening of fire.
"We have implemented unique technical solutions that have allowed us to surpass Grad. Thus, thanks to minimizing human participation in combat vehicle operations, the time required to open fire has been reduced to five minutes–" emphasizes Yakov Mormilo, Director of the Kharkiv Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering named after A.A. Morozov. – While the Grad ammunition had to be manually reloaded by several servicemen – and the average mass of one rocket exceeds 60 kg – the work of the Willow is fully automated. This significantly increases the effectiveness of solving the combat task."
The communication system installed on the BM-21U combat vehicle has also become digital – it provides reliable and safe data transmission and reception to the combat crew, including in protected mode. Also, in the process of modernization of this model of artillery weapons, the navigation system and topography links, as well as other systems of the basic "Grad" were updated.
The combat vehicle of the upgraded MLRS, as in the case of the basic version of the Grad, is equipped with a package of 40 guides, which accommodate 122-mm rockets (RS). At the same time, as stated in foreign sources, new MLRS are also used in the new MLRS, which make it possible to defeat ground targets at a range of up to 40 km. At the same time, thanks to the use of a new stabilization system in the improved fire control system, the developer managed to achieve a significant increase in shooting accuracy.
An important feature of the upgraded MLRS is the new chassis, largely thanks to which, according to Ukroboronprom specialists, the combat vehicle will be provided with the ability to operate effectively on the modern battlefield.
The BM-21U was created on the basis of the KrAZ-6322 chassis developed and manufactured by AvtoKrAZ, which has a 6x6 wheel formula and a four-door cabin designed to accommodate all five people of the Willow combat crew in it in fairly comfortable conditions. On the base "Grad", we recall, the automobile chassis of the Ural brand is used.
According to the information provided on the official website of the AvtoKrAZ company, KrAZ-6322 chassis cars are designed for the installation of special-purpose installations, including various military equipment and on-board platforms. These chassis cars, according to the developer company, can be effectively operated "on all types of roads and off-road".
The KrAZ-6322 chassis car has the following characteristics in the basic version: wheel formula - 6x6, curb weight – 10 900-11 600 kg, load capacity – 11 400-20 600 kg, engine – turbocharged diesel, engine power – 300-400 hp, maximum speed – 100 km/h, tire brands used – 525/70R21, 530/70–21, 445/65R22,5, 16.00R20 and 1300x530–533; maximum lift overcome by a car – 60%, the maximum side slope overcome by the car is 25 degrees.
The composition of the MLRS "Willow", in addition to the combat vehicle - launcher (PU) with the BM-21U cipher, also includes a transport-loading vehicle (TZM), which, apparently, has only a code for the Classifier of weapons, military equipment and property of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as well as, most notably, the NATO nomenclature number (more details about this will be described below).
TZM can carry up to 80 rockets (that is, two full sets of ammunition for BM type BM-21U) and allows the combat crew to recharge their BM with full ammunition in just 10 minutes. It is noteworthy that some sources indicate an even shorter time interval – 5 minutes, but this is most likely a mistake: so much time is needed to prepare for bringing the BM into combat position and opening fire, and not for a more complex procedure, which is to recharge the launcher - even in a substantially automated version.
On February 20, 2019, a message appeared on the website of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies that the State Enterprise Shepetovsky Repair Plant, which is located in the city of Shepetovka and is part of Ukroboronprom, as well as the Kharkiv design Bureau of the HCBM, will be engaged in the serial production of the BM-21U "Willow". By the way, it was this company, formed on the basis of the former 369th central armament repair plant of the USSR Ministry of Defense, that developed the second of the Grad modernization options mentioned at the very beginning of the article, which received the designation BM-21UM Berest.
In early November 2019, speaking at a briefing in the Armiyainform News Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the head of the Department of Military-Technical Policy and Formation of the state Defense Order of the Department of Military-Technical Policy, Development of Weapons and Military Equipment of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Colonel Vladislav Shostak, said that the Willow MLRS had successfully completed state tests and was officially adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by a number of Ukrainian media with reference to Colonel Vladislav Shostak at the time. Moreover, it was noted that in the same 2019, the first full-time units armed with new MLRS will be formed in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
However, as it turned out recently, that two-year-old information was, to put it mildly, not entirely accurate. The fact is that the official document on the adoption of the upgraded MLRS type BM-21U for the Ukrainian army appeared quite recently. This is Order No. 260, signed on August 27, 2021 by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran, according to which the upgraded artillery weapons system, after the successful completion of all the required state tests, was finally accepted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine into its arsenal:
"In accordance with the Procedure for the Development, Development and release of new types of defense products, as well as the termination of the release of existing types of such products, approved by Resolution No. 120 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated February 20, 2013, taking into account the positive results of state tests and in order to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with modern multiple rocket launchers, I order:
1. To adopt the upgraded BM-21U Grad multiple launch rocket system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (code according to the Classifier of Weapons, Military Equipment and Property of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine VK 001-2000-A2111005U, NATO nomenclature number – 1055 61 014 9968 ) in this composition:
BM-21U combat vehicle (code according to the Classifier of weapons, military equipment and property of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine VK 001-2000-A2111011U, NATO nomenclature number – 1055 61 014 9970 );
transport-loading vehicle (code according to the Classifier of weapons, military equipment and property of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine VK 001-2000-A2112011U, NATO nomenclature number – 1450 61 014 9969 )...
3. To assign the function of providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with upgraded BM-21U Grad multiple launch rocket systems to the Central Missile and Artillery Armament Department of the Logistics Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ..." (the style of the cited document is preserved in accordance with its photocopy posted on the website of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies).
In this regard, it should be noted that, according to the mentioned document, the modernized MLRS was adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the designation BM-21U "Grad". At the same time, the full official name of the project of this particular modernization of the MLRS, which is mentioned on the website of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies– is "Willow/1", whereas the name "Willow" is used in broader circulation.
It is possible, however, that a banal error crept in here, as it sometimes happens, and the real name of this project and, accordingly, the MLRS variant is still "Willow", or in an open access document they decided not to "shine" the cipher of the program according to which the modernization of this artillery weapons system was carried out. Perhaps there is some other explanation. However, in any case, in the official documents of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as it was shown above, the name "Willow" is not used in any of the variants.
On the other hand, the question of which name of the MLRS is official, and which, let's say, is popular– is actually not so important. Especially against the background of some other oddities accompanying this project.
The fact is that in the above-mentioned order of the head of the Ukrainian military department Andriy Taran on the adoption of the BM-21U Grad system by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reference is made to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 120 of February 20, 2013, which approved the Procedure for the development, development and release of new types of defense products, as well as the termination of the release of existing types of such products. On the basis of this resolution, in other words, the whole plot of the order under consideration by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine is being built.
The Berest MLRS on the KRAZ chassis represents the Ukrainian modernization of the Soviet Grad, carried out at the expense of the Shepetovsky Repair Plant enterprise. Photos from the website www.armyinform.com.ua
However, the fact is that, as far as the author of this material knows, on March 3, 2021, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 234, signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal, approved a new Procedure for the development, development and release of new types of defense products, as well as the termination of the release of existing types of such products, whereas Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated February 20, 2013 No. 120 "On approval of the Procedure for the development, development and release of new types of defense products, as well as the termination of the release of existing types of such products" was recognized as "invalid" by this document. This resolution came into force on March 26, 2021.
The head of the Ukrainian military department signed his order on August 27, 2021, that is, five months after the government decree on which he bases his decision completely expired. As a result of simple legal conclusions, we get that the order of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran about the new MLRS is based on a document that has become invalid, and in fact does not exist in the real legal plane (except in its archival and historical component) and therefore, it seems, cannot have any legal force.
Thus, it turns out that the official adoption of the modernized MLRS, which is designated as BM-21U "Grad" in the above–mentioned order of the head of the Ukrainian military department, at best simply did not take place, and at worst is illegal at all, the legality of the execution of which may cause quite legitimate questions – at least bewilderment – among the subordinates of the minister. Here, as they say, further comments will be completely unnecessary. Well, those who do not believe that this is possible can study a photocopy of a unique order from a legal point of view on the website of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies, and if it is already deleted by the time of publication of this material, then on the websites of a number of media.
By the way, there is no order No. 260 dated August 27, 2021 on the official website of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the list of orders signed by the head of the military department: there is order No. 258 for August 27, and then order No. 261 is already on the same day. Apparently, the military department did not dare to post an order to adopt a new artillery weapons system for the Ukrainian army (which is quite understandable and understandable), but it was done in Ukroboronprom.
In conclusion, it remains to point out that, as mentioned above, the State Enterprise "Shepetovsky Repair Plant", designated as a serial manufacturer of MLRS type BM-21U "Willow", at the same time, on an initiative basis, using only its own working capital, has developed and offers to the National Ministry of Defense and potential foreign partners in military-technical cooperation another weapon system created on the basis of "Grad".
Jet "Birch bark"
The 122-mm MLRS developed by specialists of the State Enterprise "Shepetovsky Repair Plant" was designated BM-21UM "Berest" and, as stated in Ukrainian materials, is capable of hitting ground targets at a range of up to 20.4 km. On the page of the Ukroboronprom GC website dedicated to the new model of artillery weapons, it is particularly noted that the design work on the design of the BM-21UM was carried out by specialists of the developer company "in close cooperation with artillery units and military personnel of rocket artillery combat vehicles and taking into account their advice and combat experience in order to create a new machine."
"Berest" is intended to replace the BM-21 Grad, which is in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, - it is noted in the information message of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies dated October 9, 2018. "The use of modern digital technologies and a new chassis of domestic production provide Berest with key combat and operational advantages that significantly expand the combat capabilities of the MLRS."
It should be noted that, unlike MLRS of the BM-21U "Willow" type, this artillery weapon system is not, as they say, a pure heir of the Soviet "Grad", but represents such a deep modernization of the latter that, albeit with certain assumptions, it may well be considered a new model of weapons of this class. At the same time, of course, the ideology of building the entire artillery weapons system as a whole, and the combat vehicle included in it – the RS launcher in particular, by and large remained the same. After all, as we understand, it is hardly possible to invent something better than "Grad".
On the other hand, from a constructive point of view, the new MLRS differs significantly from the basic machines of the Grad family. The fact is that not only the chassis and fire control, navigation and communication systems of the basic BM were replaced, but also its artillery part itself: the BM-21UM Berest MLRS combat vehicle is equipped not with a 40-charge, but a 50-charge package for firing RS.
"The peculiarity of the new MLRS is an increase in the salvo power to 50 rockets instead of 40 in the Grad," the information message posted on the Ukroboronprom website notes in this regard. "This makes it possible to reliably destroy the enemy and quickly distribute fire between different targets."
As for the chassis of the new MLRS, in this capacity, the specialists of the Shepetovsky Repair Plant decided to use the KrAZ-5401NE all-terrain wheeled chassis with a 4x4 wheel formula and a "cab over the engine" layout. The cabin itself is a cabless, two-row four-door and is designed to accommodate four or five military personnel of the combat crew of the combat vehicle, and with them all the necessary equipment of the new MLRS.
The chassis is developed and manufactured by AvtoKrAZ, it has the following characteristics: wheel formula – 4x4; maximum chassis weight – 17.2 tons; load capacity – 9 tons; type of engine used – turbocharged diesel engine; engine power – 300-400 hp; transmission – mechanical, 8-9 speed; full combat crew – 5 people; number of fuel tanks – 2; capacity of each fuel tank – 165 liters; type of tire used – wide-profile with centralized pumping system brand 445/65R22,5 .
The BM-21UM combat vehicle of the Berest weapon system is capable of moving along roads with various surfaces - up to complete off-road - at speeds up to 95 km/h. At the same time, without refueling, with fuel in its two tanks, it is able to cover a distance of up to 600 km.
According to the BM-21UM Berest MLRS project, a platform with a new artillery part and special equipment is mounted on the basic KrAZ-5401NE automobile chassis: various boxes for property and tools, a spare wheel and various equipment are placed directly behind the BM cabin, while in the rear of the cargo platform, almost at its very cut, an artillery part is installed – a launcher with a block of guides for 50 rockets (the guides are arranged in five vertical rows of 10 guides in each of them). At the same time, to ensure the stabilization and leveling of the combat vehicle in the firing position, two hydraulic jacks are provided, located in the lower part of the cargo platform – directly in front of the rear axle.
The artillery unit - the launcher of the combat vehicle - as a whole retained the ideology of construction used on its predecessors: a rotary device on which a swinging part is fixed with a package of guides attached to it, designed for 50 122 mm rockets. It is noteworthy that along with the fact that the new machine retained the bracket for mounting the sight and flywheels for manual guidance, electric drives were added at the same time to provide remote control of BM operations. It should be added that in order to increase the efficiency of controlling the combat vehicle, a visual control system with a rear-view camera was installed on it, the image from which is displayed on a separate display installed in the cockpit of the combat vehicle.
According to the information provided in the materials of the State Enterprise "Shepetovsky Repair Plant" and the State Corporation "Ukroboronprom", the main features of the MLRS are listed:
- almost all systems, equipment, equipment and components of the BM-21UM "Berest– - with the exception of the on-board computer and the communications complex - have been developed by enterprises of the national military-industrial complex and are mass-produced in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian experts, this allowed not only to get rid of dependence on imported components, but also to reduce the cost of the entire weapon system as a whole. In turn, the on-board computer and a set of communications equipment, apparently, are either fully or partially manufactured in European countries (it is possible that such a decision is dictated by the requirements for the unification of the AFU systems with the NATO Armed Forces);
- equipping the combat vehicle with a powerful on-board computer (which, as already mentioned, may be supplied by one of the European countries), as well as the latest navigation and topography complex, which is based on the CH-4512 system (more on it later), and a digital communication and data exchange complex;
- the special equipment and equipment placed on the BM of the new MLRS allows the personnel of the combat crew, using a special firing control panel installed in the cockpit, to prepare for the opening of fire in an autonomous mode and then conduct single or multiple rocket launcher firing without having to leave the cockpit for this (in addition to the main firing control panel, which is rigidly fixed in the cockpit, the combat crew also has a remote control). At the same time, a full ammunition can be fired in one salvo in just 25 seconds;
- increased by 25%, namely by 10 rockets, the ammunition of the MLRS combat vehicle ready for firing.
It should be noted that a significant increase in the combat capabilities of the new Ukrainian MLRS is provided due to the maximum automation of the control processes of the combat vehicle and the widespread use of digital technologies in the new MLRS. The latter, in particular, allow the combat calculation, as stated in foreign sources, to receive in real time accurate coordinates for enemy targets coming from reconnaissance drones, counter-battery radar and other reconnaissance and targeting systems of various types of basing.
It is also claimed that the developer managed to automate such processes as: topogeodetic binding of a combat vehicle; automated guidance of the PU (BM guide unit) to the designated target; firing in various modes with simultaneous tracking of ammunition consumption; remote control of live firing; automatic return of the PU (guide unit) to its original position; advanced capabilities for information exchange, mapping of the terrain with targets and their coordinates mapped on it.
It should also be noted that the CH-4215 navigation system installed on the BM-21UM "Berest" type MLRS combat vehicle was developed by specialists of the State Enterprise "Orizon-Navigation", which was formed in 1995 on the basis of divisions of the Smelyansky radio-assembly plant "Orizon" and is currently organizationally part of the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies. In fact, the CH-4215 was created on the basis of a system of a similar purpose to the CH-3210, but differs from it in higher characteristics. The main task of this system is to ensure the exact coordinates of the combat vehicle when preparing data for performing combat shooting at the designated target.
The CH-4215 includes an information display display with a built-in receiver of GNSS-type satellite navigation signals (such a receiver is designed using a software-defined radio), an external antenna with a built-in GNSS receiver of satellite signals, a set of connecting cables and fasteners, as well as a set of working documentation and cases for transporting equipment.
The system provides the coordinates of the carrier combat vehicle with an accuracy of 10 m in coordinates, 15 m in height, 0.1 m/s in speed and 0.2 degrees in azimuth. The display of the system is liquid crystal, in a protected version, has a mass of 2.5 kg, a diagonal of 200 mm (the working field is 170.0 x 110.0 mm) and a resolution of 600x800 pixels. The internal memory capacity is 16 GB, the ambient temperature range for normal operation is from -30 to +50 degrees Celsius, the continuous operation time from one battery charge is at least 3 hours (at 50 percent brightness). In turn, the receiving module of the station has dimensions of 120,0x74,0x86,6 mm and a mass of no more than 0.3 kg.
For the first time, the BM-21UM Berest MLRS combat vehicle was demonstrated to a wide range of specialists at the Shepetovsky Repair Plant exposition within the framework of the Kiev exhibition of weapons and military equipment "Zbroya ta Bezpeka" ("Weapons and Security"), which took place from October 9 to 12, 2018.
"In general, Berest, compared to Grad, has a greater salvo power, accuracy of firing, integration into digital artillery control and guidance systems, greater mobility and requires less time to open fire," Ukroboronprom experts conclude, assessing the tactical and technical characteristics and combat capabilities of the new artillery weapons system after its debut at an exhibition in Kiev in October 2018.
According to the information provided on the Ukroboronprom website, by now the BM-21UM Berest MLRS has successfully passed factory tests. "The company is ready to accept orders from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and foreign partners," the website of the Ukrainian state arms concern says. However, at the time of putting the material into print, nothing was known about the receipt by the developer of any contracts for the supply of a new MLRS.
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Deputy Executive Editor of HBO
Vladimir Leonidovich Shcherbakov - military expert, journalist, historian