Ever since the Second World War, the importance of jet mortar systems has only increased. True, today their place was taken by multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), but the importance of this type of weapon remained unchanged: to "plow" the enemy occupied squares, leaving no chance for survival in infantry or even heavy equipment. And the BM-30 "Tornado" can cope with these tasks perfectly.
Basic information
Intended for long-range defeat of enemy group targets. Suitable targets for this system are the enemy’s sheltered and uncovered manpower, armored and unarmored vehicles (including the heaviest types of tanks), military and civilian airfields, missile launchers. It can be used for the directed destruction of industrial infrastructure, the destruction of command centers and other important communication centers.
Development
In the period from 1969 to 1976, intensive work was carried out in Tula in the search for new ways to develop multiple launch rocket systems, which could be used as a reserve weapon of special power in the event of a large-scale war. The decree, which prescribed the beginning of the creation of the BM-30 "Smerch", was issued in December 1976.
The main role in the development lay first on A. N. Ganichev, and then transferred to G. A. Denezhkin. Already in early 1982, the new MLRS successfully passed all stages of state testing. However, it was put into service only in 1987, after the team of designers eliminated some fundamental shortcomings. But they were connected not with some inaccuracies and flaws in the design of a new type of weapon, but in the need to create new types of ammunition, since existing models simply could not match the increased military power of the Tornado.
Next Generation Reactive System
The work was done so enormously that the BM-30 Smerch can be safely attributed to the new generation of this type of weapon. This is largely due to the creation of completely new varieties of ammunition. A small digression should be made here. When the Americans created the MLRS MLRS, they came to the unequivocal conclusion: a range of 30-40 km for such systems is the maximum beyond which the monstrous dispersion value makes their use meaningless.
But the developers of "Tornado" with this approach fundamentally disagreed. They were able to create truly unique shells: they not only fly to extreme distances, but at the same time they are characterized by such low dispersion rates that are two to three times better than similar systems in foreign systems. Finally, the main achievement of the Tula was that for the first time the shells of our barrel artillery began to be adjusted after launch.
Shell Features
The fact is that a special inertial guidance system was included in their design. It provides high-quality stabilization in the initial part of the trajectory, and also makes corrections to the movement of the rocket. Moreover, the indicators are calculated on the basis of dozens of factors, including “outboard” temperature, wind speed and direction, air humidity, etc.
Missiles or MLRS
It is no secret that while N. Khrushchev was in power, who suffered from "rocket mania", many promising examples of howitzers and other varieties of barrel artillery went under the knife, which hindered the development of this industry in our country for many years. In order to “push through” the creation of their BM-30 “Smerch” in such conditions, the developers from Tula had to put in it such characteristics that would convince senior management of the uniqueness of the system. Only in this case would it have a chance of being adopted.
But why do we touch on this issue of the personality of Nikita Sergeevich, if he resigned from power in 1964? The fact is that work on the creation of fundamentally new multiple launch rocket systems has been carried out since the late 50s, but this had to be done without practically informing the leadership. However, in 1964, Khrushchev left, and L. I. Brezhnev did not prevent the creation of new equipment. But the developments gave their effect, which turned out to be extremely positive.
MLRS BM-30 "Smerch" has such a range and "slaughter" that is somewhere in the middle between the classic multiple launch rocket systems and missile systems. Actually, for the first time, the Smerchs entered combat duty precisely in the missile part, which confirms the respect that the highest military ranks of the USSR had for them.
Current state of affairs
In 1989, the latest upgraded version of the BM-30 Smerch MLRS was released. Nowadays, this technology has been adopted not only in our country. These samples are available from Ukraine, Belarus, Kuwait and the UAE. Traditionally, representatives of India and China have repeatedly shown interest in the car, but there is no official data on the sale of equipment or technologies for its creation. Which, however, does not exclude the fact that the modern models of the MLRS of the People's Republic of China, very reminiscent of the "Smerch", are almost certainly built in the image and likeness of those cars that the Chinese intensively bought from the same Ukrainians in the 90s.
System Composition
Many people for some reason believe that the BM-30 Smerch multiple launch rocket systems include exclusively vehicles with containers for launching shells, which are most often featured in the official chronicle and photographs. But this is far from the case:
- Actually the 9K58 combat vehicle itself.
- Machine for transporting and supplying 9T234-2 shells.
- Ammunition kit, which, depending on the task, can vary greatly.
- Visual aids and tools for staff training.
- Set 9F819, which includes both specialized repair tools and tools for setting up high-precision equipment.
- Automated fire control system "Slap-1".
- A machine for conducting topographic surveys of the terrain, the results of which are used to bind to the relief and especially the outstanding parts of the relief.
- Radio direction finding installation 1B44. It allows you to timely detect the progress of the enemy, fixing the ongoing radio exchange, including encrypted.
The launcher itself consists of a chassis with tubular guides and a cross-country vehicle MAZ-543. The artillery complex is mounted in the stern, and in front there is a driver’s cabin and crew places equipped, among other things, with means for aiming and firing. MLRS can be successfully used in a variety of climatic and meteorological conditions, at ambient temperatures from +50 to -50 degrees Celsius.
Combat characteristics of the system
What is the effectiveness of the BM-30 "Tornado", the firing range when using it? Everything is known in comparison, and the amazing characteristics of this system - especially. So, if the legendary Grad can cover an area of 4 hectares from a distance of 20 km, the Hurricane strikes a distance of 35 hectares with an area of 29 hectares, the American MLRS burns up to 33 hectares of an area of 33 km of distance ... Then BM-30 " Tornado ”, the performance characteristics of which are simply fantastic, can cover immediately 67 ha, and the launch range reaches 70 kilometers!
It is reported that the latest upgrades can increase this distance immediately to one hundred kilometers. In addition, unlike the classic Grad, the shells of this system are not only capable of incapacitating enemy armored vehicles, stunning and inflicting shell shocks on its crew. They simply tear apart even heavy tanks with a close hit due to the huge lethal force. So the BM-30 "Tornado" multiple launch rocket system is a terrifying weapon of enormous destructive power.
Characteristics of used shells
At the first glance, their caliber is amazing to the depths of their souls - immediately 300 mm! The layout is a standard aerodynamic, solid propellant marching engine that runs on a mixture of several components at once. As we have already said, their distinguishing feature is the presence of a flight control system that corrects pitch and “kidding” on the course. This innovation increases firing accuracy at least twice at the farthest distances, and the dispersion value, even in the most adverse conditions, does not exceed 0.21% of the firing range.
Simply put, even when firing at a distance of 70 km, shells lie with a deviation of not more than 150 meters from the intended target. These indicators are related BM 30 9K58 "Tornado" with modern receiver artillery systems!
Course correction
Correction is carried out by gas-dynamic rudders driven by high-pressure gas from an onboard gas generator. In addition, the stabilization of the projectile in flight occurs due to its rotation around the longitudinal axis, which is ensured by preliminary unwinding during movement along the tubular guide and supported in flight due to the installation of the expanding stabilizer blades at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the projectile.
The composition of the standard ammunition
The following types of shells can be included in the ammunition:
- 9M55F, the most familiar type. Warhead - detachable monoblock with high-explosive fragmentation type of action.
- 9M55K. It differs in a cassette warhead, which contains 72 fragmentation destructive elements.
- 9M55K1. It also has a cluster warhead, but in this case it contains five smaller shells with independent guidance on the target.
- 9M55K4. Cassette warhead contains four anti-tank mines, designed for remote mining of the terrain.
- 9M55K5. with cluster warheads with cumulative-fragmentation warheads;
- 9M55S with thermobaric warhead;
- 9M528 with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead.
Firing
You can shoot with single shots or volleys. All shells can be fired in 38 seconds. The launch can be controlled either from the cab, or with the help of a remote control. At least the fact that three such installations are not inferior to two Tochka-U missiles in terms of combat effectiveness testifies to the power of the installation. One full salvo of shells with a cluster warhead can cover up to 400,000 square meters at once. m. In a word, BM-30 “Tornado”, the photo of which is in the article, is a really powerful weapon, the capabilities of which inspire sincere respect.
The total weight of each shell, regardless of its type, is 800 kilograms, with 280 kilograms per warhead itself. The standard angle of approach to the target is from 30 to 60 degrees, but some types of shells can be set to dive at an angle of 90 degrees. Such "meteorites" perforate heavy armored vehicles through.
Even if there is no penetration, an explosion of 280 kg of explosive in the immediate vicinity of the tank is certain death from a severe shell shock for its crew, and the machine will be so damaged that it cannot even move without repair. Due to this, the BM-30 "Smerch" or MLRS "Tornado" (modern replica) can be used as a means of stopping tank columns on the march. Something similar happened in Georgia in 2008, when Grads covered a group of Georgian tanks breaking through to the positions of our troops.
Upgrade Details
As we already said, in 1989 the system was modernized. During it, almost the entire electronic and radio navigation “filling” of the entire complex was replaced:
- Added the possibility of high-speed exchange of tactical data with the headquarters and other divisions of "Smerch", and the information is encrypted and tightly protected from extraneous interference.
- Autonomous system of reference to the topographic characteristics of the area and the display of this information on electronic displays in real time.
- Automatic calculation of the flight mission and its input.
- The ability to fully prepare the installation for shooting, including deployment and aiming, without the need for personnel to exit the cockpit.
Due to the latest innovation of the BM-30 Smerch, the characteristics of which we have analyzed, has become an even more autonomous and formidable system. From now on, gunners could fire a salvo and immediately retreat to their original positions, which significantly reduced the likelihood of detection and liquidation of the installation by the enemy.