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| Russia Deploys New MLRS Tornado-S Capable of Firing Rockets 120 KM To Ukraine |
Moscow - The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video on its VK social media account on November 21, 2022, showing that the Russian military has now deployed the latest generation of the 9K515 Tornado-S multi-barreled rocket system (MLRS).
This version is an upgrade of the BM-30 Smerch, offering increased range and greater accuracy. The new Tornado-S offers precision weapons capabilities thanks to the use of guided rockets, while the BM-30 Smerch only has the ability to launch unguided rockets.
The Tornado-S is capable of firing 300 mm caliber guided rockets up to a maximum range of 120 km, while the BM-30 only has a maximum range of 70 km. It is equipped with a satellite guidance firing system with an antenna mounted on the roof of the station just behind the driver's cab.
The new variant can fire various types of guided and unguided rockets such as the 9M544, 9M549, 9M555K, 9M55K1, 9M55F, 9M55S, 9M55K6, 9M525, 9M528, 9M529, 9M531 and 9M533. The Tornado-S vehicle is based on the MZKT MAZ-543 8X8 truck with a rocket launcher station mounted at the rear of the truck chassis consisting of 12 launch tubes.
In the war in Ukraine, artillery was a key element, and Russia has deployed a variety of artillery systems including self-propelled howitzers (SPH), multiple rocket systems (MLRS) to short-range mobile ballistic missiles Iskander-M.