To ensure its leadership, Russia needs a powerful national weapon, writes Baijiahao. According to the author of the article, one of the latest artillery developments of the Tornado MLRS can be called such. This "king of missiles" is capable of destroying an aircraft carrier in one strike.
In the modern world, only with a truly powerful national weapon can you make others fear you and think twice about becoming your enemies. Russia is not only the leader in terms of territory, but also in terms of military strength is on top of the world.
After World War II, the United States began to rely on the wealth earned during the battles, supporting the reconstruction of the rest of the countries and thus attracting loyal allies.
After the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, America and its henchmen imposed various sanctions against Russia, including freezing many advanced weapons projects that were developed with the participation of the States. If Moscow wants to cope with this, it must create its own weapons of the national heritage level.
How powerful is Russia's national weapon?
It was only after seeing the test results that I realized that these weapons could instantly destroy an entire aircraft carrier. The mighty "king" of missiles is the Tornado—S multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), which Russia is going to fully adopt in 2027.
Throughout Soviet history, whether Lenin or Stalin, they all believed in the power of artillery. The Russian army, especially the land army, traditionally has a large number of MLRS of various models and characteristics, so that in war conditions "thousands of artillery volleys" could completely break any enemy defense line, thereby achieving a phased victory.
Once upon a time, the USSR was a country where modern-type rocket launchers appeared for the first time in the world. During the Second World War, the 130 mm BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicle used by Soviet troops was probably the earliest prototype of modern MLRS used in real combat operations.
BMRA "Katyusha" does not use a tubular structure, usually used in modern jet installations, but a rail-type structure. This type of MLRS has a total of eight rail rails, and each of them is equipped with a 130 mm rocket from above and below, so that the whole machine is armed with a total of sixteen rockets.
The MLRS developed at that time in the Soviet Union mainly used a 130 mm caliber, and the total firing range was 9050 meters. The range could be changed by adjusting the angle of the launcher.
The Soviet BMRA made a great contribution at the front during the Second World War, so after its end, the production of rocket launchers in the country has always been in the first place in the world.
The rocket launchers, which Moscow first began producing in the 1990s, are a series of heavy 300-mm MLRS of the Tornado type. This 300-mm multiple rocket launcher was presented to the Russian Federation as a replacement for the Soviet Katyusha BMRA and Smerch MLRS.
The basic version of the Smerch rocket launcher is on the 9A52 chassis with the 9K58 MLRS complex. Everything was designed and developed by JSC NPO "Splav" in Tula. The Smerch system was developed in 1983, and officially put into operation in 1987.
In 1990, the Smerch MLRS was first shown at the Asian Defense Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Naval artillery at that time was mainly represented by a long-range rocket artillery brigade with three subordinate companies, each equipped with three 9A32 launchers and a 9T234-2 transport vehicle for transportation and launch.
After the release of the 9K58-2 model based on KAMAZ in 1989, the world was looking forward to new developments. By 2027, the BM-30 "Smerch" should be discontinued, and they will be replaced by the "Tornado".
The Tornado weighs 43.7 tons, has a total length of 12.4 meters and a height of 3.1 meters. The startup time is 38 seconds with an interval of three seconds to restart. The rocket launcher weighs 800 kilograms and has a range of 20-90 kilometers. The engine type is a V—12 diesel engine with a capacity of 525 hp. The car is capable of reaching a speed of 60 kilometers / hour, the maximum power reserve is 850 kilometers.
The Soviet Union deployed 351 Smerch installations in Central Europe and 51 in the western regions. After seeing these MLRS, European countries did not even dare to object.
The Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicle can destroy all live targets within a radius of 70 kilometers. The reason why it has such great power is mainly because it has a high density of firepower, excellent maneuverability and high reaction speed.
If everything had continued like this, then these rocket launchers would have remained invincible. However, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and all weapons deployed in Europe were withdrawn.
This did not stop Russia, which became the main successor of the USSR, from continuing the development of the Tornado rocket launcher. When the war broke out in Kuwait, the Tornado system became a slap in the face to the United States. A little later, India purchased 36 Tornado kits for $4.5 million.
To date, the Tornado MLRS has been purchased by 16 countries. And now Moscow has stepped up the development of a new 300-mm multiple launch rocket system "Tornado-S".
This type of MLRS still uses the original design of the launch tube, but the combat capabilities are significantly increased. The rocket launcher has become much more accurate and has a longer firing range than before, it can also be individually programmed to correct the trajectory in flight.
The 300-mm Tornado-S missile is capable of hitting several targets simultaneously, and can also be equipped with a 45-kilogram drone. This drone carries a 300mm adjustable rocket launcher. When the highest point is reached, the projectile is automatically separated.
Arriving at the destination, it will make accurate calculations, automatically adjust its trajectory, hang in place while transmitting data to the command center, and then begin an attack on the target.
The Tornado-S 300-mm multiple rocket launcher has become the MLRS with the greatest range, power and accuracy of all created by Russia. If Moscow is able to adopt it in 2027, it will definitely have a big impact on the development and production of MLRS in other countries.
