Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) “Tornado-G” from motorized rifle unit of the Russian Southern Military District (SMD) performed firing tasks during an exercise at the Prudboy range in the Volgograd region. Crews conducted concentrated fire on positions of the mock enemy, their warehouses with weapons, command posts, barrage fire was applied on moving columns of wheeled vehicles. The Tornado-G is Russia’s newest universal multiple rocket launcher.
Targeting of the MLRS was carried out automatically using satellite navigation and a program for calculating ballistic data. The gunners received the coordinates of their targets in real time from unmanned aerial vehicles. Also the fire tasks were performed on destruction of protected objects and destruction of armored military vehicles. The exercise, which will last until the end of March, is attended by more than 300 gunners from SMD and involves more than 100 units of combat and special equipment.
The Tornado-G model is aimed at replacing the previous generation of Russian multiple rocket launchers, including BM-21 Grad, BM-27 Uragan and BM-30 Smerch. The Russian government ordered 36 new “Tornado-G” with 122 mm Upgraded BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher module based on the Kamaz 6×6 chassis, instead of the old systems based on the Ural-4320 truck. Russian ground forces received about 30 Tornado-G systems in 2011, replacing the BM-21 Grad.
