The BM-30 ''Smerch'' ( rus, Смерч, "tornado", "whirlwind"), 9K58 Smerch or 9A52-2 Smerch-M is a heavy self-propelled 300 mm

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...

designed in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The system is intended to defeat personnel, armored, and soft targets in concentration areas, artillery batteries, command posts and ammunition depots. It was designed in the early 1980s and entered service in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

in 1989. When first observed by the West in 1983, it received the code MRL 280mm M1983. It continues in use by Russia; a program to replace it with the

9A52-4 Tornado The Tornado is a family of related multiple rocket launchers developed by NPO Splav for the Russian Ground Forces. Variants of the system, which include the Tornado-G and Tornado-S models, have different capabilities and different battlefield role ...

began in 2018.

Operational history

The first confirmed combat uses of the Smerch were in two war zones in 2014. Syrian military forces used the system against rebel forces during the Syrian civil war, including in fighting in

Jobar Jobar ( ar, جَوْبَر, Jawbar) also spelled Jawbar, Jober or Joubar, is a municipality of the Syrian capital Damascus. A once historical village on the outskirts of Damascus, it is now a suburb of the capital city. It lies 2 km northeas ...

. It was also used by Russia-backed militants to deliver explosive and cluster munitions to Ukrainian military positions and likewise by the Ukrainian Army. Several have been seen in use by pro-Russian rebels. The

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

used the BM-30 in Syria in October 2015 during the

Russian intervention in Syria {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the military intervention against ISIL , image = , image_size = , border = , caption = To ...

. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan both targeted the other country's territory with Smerch rockets. Smerch rockets were fired from

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of B ...

in the

2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

. As Smerch rockets are a Multiple Launch Rocket System, using these to attack a densely populated area of civilians caused some to call the action a war crime. The Human Rights Watch also claims that Smerch cluster munitions 9M55K (containing 72 9N235 submunitions) were fired into densely populated neighborhoods in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.

General characteristics

* Chassis: MAZ-543M or MAZ-79111 * Emplacement Time: 3 min * Displacement Time: 2 min * Launch Rate : Salvo Time: 12 rounds in 38 seconds * Reload Time: 20 min

Variants

* 9A52 – Standard variant on MAZ-79111 truck. * 9A52-2 – Modified variant on MAZ-543M truck. * 9A52-2T – Export version, based on the Tatra T816 10×10 truck. * 9A52-4 – Lighter, airmobile version on KamAZ-6350 truck with modular 6-round rocket pack. Demonstrated in 2007. * Arctic version with rockets mounted on DT-30PM tracked vehicle.

Rocket projectiles

Operators

Current operators

* – 50 systems in 1999. * – 6 systems. Received more as of 2018. * – 40 systems. * – 48 systems in 1990. * – Locally produced as the PHL-03. * – Total 81 9A52-2T systems in service. The launchers for the Indian Army's 9K58 Smerch 300 mm multiple launch (MLR) systems are mounted on Indian made T816 KOLOS TATRA, making it roughly 162 batteries of 3 launchers each with 3 as reserve launchers. Which makes it a total of 972 launchers in service. Each launcher has been provided with its own ammunition replenishment vehicle based on the same T816. Since 2012 India's state-owned

Ordnance Factory Board Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gover ...

has produced several rocket variants for the system that have a strike range of 70 or 90 km. * * – 27 systems in 1996. * – 36 systems PHL03/AR2 Chinese version. * – 36 units, more produced locally as the A-100E with complete TOT, based on the Chinese A-100, * – 106. More in production (in 2020). * – Unknown number, used in the Syrian civil war. * – 6 systems 9A52-2T in 2008/2009. * – 80 as of 2014. * – 6 systems. * – 12 systems.

Former operators

* : Passed on to successor states. * – 0 systems in 2016.

Similar systems

* – Visually similar missile based on the Wanshan WS-2400 8x8 cross country truck. However, the PHL-03 and BM-30 do not share interchangeable parts, so they are distinct missiles despite their similar appearance. The Chinese vehicle utilizes a German-designed diesel engine, transmission and hydraulics, manufactured by Wanshan in China, following a technology transfer from

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...

. The program actually begun in the late 1990s, with the '96' in the designation reportedly meaning 1996, the year that the Chinese military first issued the requirement for a new long range SPMRLS. The program went through major redesign changes when the BM-30 Smerch was purchased. Although dubbed by many Chinese as a guided self-propelled multiple rocket launching system (SPMRLS), the PHL96 is not strictly speaking a guided SPMRLS because, technically, none of rockets are guided – the guidance is actually achieved via the sub-munitions, such as the 9M55K1 cluster munition. Only a very limited number of the PHL96 entered Chinese service because its successor, the PHL03, entered service shortly after. PHL-03 heavy multiple rocket launcher

* A-100 – A 300 mm, 10-tube multiple rocket launcher developed by the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

-based

China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China A ...

(CALT) in the late 1990s. The A-100 has a minimum firing range of 40 km & a maximum firing range of 100 km. * PHL-03 – Chinese development of the PHL96 with 150 km range. The PHL03 is a highly digitized PHL96 with a computerized fire control system (FCS) incorporating GPS/GLONASS, similar to that of the Type 90A SPMRL, with a four-man crew (compared with three for the BM-30/PHL96), which entered service around 2004–2005, only a year or two after its predecessor, the PHL96. As with the PHL96, the PHL03 is not exactly a guided SPMRL because it is the submunitions that are guided, not the rockets themselves. * – Chinese development of the PHL03. This is actually the first model of the Chinese versions of the BM-30 SPMRL that is a truly a guided rocket system, in that the rockets themselves are guided by the simple primitive cascade inertial terminal guidance used on the WS series SPMRL, which became standard for later Chinese versions. Russia had already developed a guided version of the BM-30 with mid-course radio command guidance to immediately correct the error in the flight of the rocket once detected by the ballistic tracking radar, but this was not adopted due to financial constraints. * – Chinese development of the AR-1. A 10-round version of the AR-1, with two launching boxes, each containing five expandable launching tubes. Once rockets are launched, the entire launch box is replaced, instead of individually reloading each tube as in earlier versions, thus greatly reducing the reload time. * A-100E – Export variant of the AR-1A. In service with the Pakistan Army. * AR-2 – Chinese development of the AR-1/1A manufactured by Norinco, with range increased to 130 km. * AR-3 – Chinese system manufactured by Norinco launching 300 mm or 370 mm rockets * Vilkha - A Ukrainian development of the Smerch system that entered service in 2018 with the Ukrainian Rocket Forces.

References

* ''Russia's Arms Catalog 2004''

Bibliography

* Jamie Prenatt and Adam Hook, ''Katyusha – Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present'', New Vanguard 235, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2016.

External links

Smerch – 9A52 – 300mm multi-barreled rocket launcher – Walk around photos

Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bm-30 Smerch Wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers Cold War artillery of the Soviet Union Self-propelled artillery of Russia Multiple rocket launchers of the Soviet Union NPO Splav products Modern thermobaric weapons of Russia Cluster munition Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s