The National Interest (USA): America should be afraid of Russian rocket artillery
The author, a well-known American weapons specialist, recognizes the exceptional advantages of Russian rocket artillery on the pages of the National Interest magazine. He tells the story of this type of weapons, rooted in the period before the Great Patriotic War.
Artillery rockets accompanied the Russian ground forces in all their victories — in distant countries and in the so-called near abroad. Any country that comes into conflict with Russia, its clients or agents now or in the near future is likely to experience the effects of deadly Russian artillery.
Light and capable of turning enemy fortifications into a pile of rubble, these missiles emit a terrible howl, rushing towards their targets. Russia has been using artillery rockets as a weapon in war for almost a hundred years, since the Stalin era.
The first rockets
The Soviet Union paid great attention to science and technology development, and the world scientific research of the 1930s most likely pushed Soviet engineers to see missiles as powerful weapons. In 1931, the RS-132 unguided rocket was developed in the Soviet Union. The letters P and C in its name denote the phrase "rocket projectile", today it would be called an air-to-air missile, but it was its design that was used in the production of "multiple launch rocket systems" (MLRS) — the famous "katyusha". Only in those days they were called by the abbreviation BM - "combat vehicle". Unlike cannon shells, these missiles could be launched without a guide, as a result of which the accuracy of the strikes of the RS-82 and RS-132 missiles was quite low — the error was about one degree. When fired at close range, such an error did not affect the result too much, but with increasing range, the inaccuracy grew exponentially.
In 1938, the BM-13 ("combat vehicle") field rocket artillery systems entered service with the Red Army. The BM-13 24 rail guides were installed on the platform of a three-axle truck ZIS-6. The BM-13 fired M-13 rockets. Each M-13 projectile was 132 millimeters in diameter, was equipped with a warhead weighing 5 kilograms and had a strike range of 8.4 kilometers.
The ability to conduct massive fire was the main advantage of the BM-13. Eight VM-13s could release about a ton of highly explosive substances and steel in just a few seconds. But the missiles launched from ground installations had their drawbacks. Recharging took a long time: it took about an hour to recharge one BM-13. Although some changes were made to the design of these machines to increase the accuracy of shooting, they were still completely unsuitable for hitting point targets. As a result, the Katyusha rockets were used mainly to weaken the enemy's general positions before the Soviet offensive.
"Katyusha" entered the army on time - just before the war
The BM-13s were put into service shortly before Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. They served the Soviet country throughout the war. Such rocket launchers were quite simple to manufacture: American Studebaker trucks obtained under lend-lease were usually used for them. A platform with rail guides was installed on ready-made American "trucks". Artillery boats, trains, tanks and other vehicles were also suitable for installing BM-13 launch systems on them.
The Soviet Union continued to use artillery rockets in the post-war era. During the Cold War, the main artillery system was the BM-21 Grad. The Grad has 40 122 mm rocket barrels, which are mounted on the Ural-375D truck. More than eleven thousand Grads were created, some of which were taken into service by the Soviet army, and some were sold to USSR customers around the world.
"Grad" gets recognition in the world
The Grad had a number of advantages over its military predecessors. The hydraulic mechanism of the shutter of the launch tube and the truck itself allowed to increase the accuracy of shooting and stability. Similar to rifle barrels, the BM-21 launch tubes had a screw thread, which made it possible to give a stabilizing rotation to the projectile and, thus, increase accuracy. The launch tubes could be raised vertically up to 55 degrees, which increased the firing range to twenty kilometers.
Several missiles have been developed for Grad systems. The most common projectile was the 9M22U, which had a warhead weighing twenty kilograms — three times more than the BM-13. Anti-tank mines, high-explosive fragmentation shells, tracer and smoke shells have made it possible to increase the effectiveness of rocket artillery both in attack and defense.
In the 1960s, the Soviet Union began developing larger missiles. One of them was the "Hurricane", which is installed on the chassis of the ZIL-135 truck. "Hurricane" has six 220-millimeter missiles, the range of which reaches 34 kilometers. In addition to the warheads that were also available for the BM-21, the Hurricane could produce anti-tank and anti-personnel missiles, as well as thermobaric missiles. Thermobaric rockets make it possible to create a cloud of flammable fuel, which then explodes, provoking a sharp increase in pressure and temperature, fatal for enemy forces both in open areas and in fortifications. The larger BM-30 Smerch mobile missile system can fire twelve 300-millimeter missiles at a distance of 88 kilometers. The uniqueness of the "Tornado" also lies in the fact that it is capable of launching 9M534 reconnaissance drones.
One of the most unusual and deadly missile systems in the Soviet Union (and later in Russia) was and remains the heavy flamethrower system TOS-1A. Unlike previous missile systems, the TOS-1A was designed in such a way that it could conduct direct fire by firing twenty-four 220-millimeter missiles at targets within line of sight using a ballistic computer that calculates the aiming points. Being a means of hitting targets within line of sight, the TOS-1A is particularly effective when it fires thermobaric projectiles. With one salvo, the TOS-1A can destroy everything on an area of approximately 200 by 400 meters. Unlike other systems, the TOS-1A must operate under enemy fire, so it is installed on the base of the T-72 armored tank.
Russia's actions in Syria and other conflict zones included the use of the same artillery missiles. They were used even more than traditional barrel artillery systems. The Russian ground forces and their agents used not only rocket artillery systems, but also drones, which served to identify targets. However, the enemy allegedly even managed to install several types of drones, the appearance of which inevitably entails rocket artillery strikes by the Russian military. As a result, the enemy learned to use these drones to determine the intentions of the Russians and their allies. The Syrian army uses Grad systems, and in 2014, according to some reports, it received several Smerch systems. TOS-1A and Grad were used by the Syrian and Russian militaries in Syria, and these systems also received a good "combat reputation" in Eastern Europe. Any country that comes into conflict with Russia, its allies or agents is likely to experience the effects of this deadly Russian rocket artillery.
Mizokami Kyle