The BM-21 "Grad" is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. BM stands for boyevaya mashina ( – combat vehicle), and the nickname grad means "hail". The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket is designated as the M-21 field-rocket system and is more commonly known as a Grad multiple rocket launcher system. In NATO countries the system, either the complete system or the launch vehicle only, was initially known as the M1964. Several other countries have copied the Grad or developed similar systems. In Russian service its intended replacement is the 9A52-4 Tornado. Many similar 122 mm MLRS systems are made by different countries based on the BM-21 Grad.

Description

The M-21 field rocket system with a BM-21 launch vehicle (122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system) entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. The launch vehicle consists of a Ural-375D 6x6 truck chassis fitted with a bank of 40 launch tubes arranged in a rectangular shape that can be turned away from the unprotected cab. The vehicle is powered by a water-cooled V8 180 hp gasoline engine, has a maximum road speed of 75 km/h, a road range of up to 750 km, and can cross fords up to 1.5 m deep. The original vehicle together with supporting equipment (including the resupply truck 9T254 with 60 rockets) is referred to by the GRAU index "9K51". The launcher itself has the industrial index of "2B5". In 1976, the BM-21 was mounted on the newer Ural-4320 6x6 army truck. The three-member crew can emplace the system and have it ready to fire in three minutes. The crew can fire the rockets from the cab or from a trigger at the end of a 64 m cable. All 40 rockets can be away in as little as 20 seconds, and can be fired individually or in small groups in several-second intervals. A PG-1M panoramic telescope with a K-1 collimator can be used for sighting. Each 2.87 m rocket is slowly spun by rifling in its tube as it exits, which along with its primary fin stabilization keeps it on course. Rockets armed with high explosive-fragmentation, incendiary, or chemical warheads can be fired 20 km. Newer high explosive and cargo rockets (used to deliver anti-personnel or antitank mines) have a range of 30 km and more. Warheads weigh around 20 kg, depending on the type. The number of rockets that each vehicle is able to quickly bring to bear on an enemy target makes it effective, especially at shorter ranges. One battalion of eighteen launchers is able to deliver 720 rockets in a single volley. The system has lower precision than gun artillery and cannot be used in situations that call for pinpoint accuracy. It relies on a large number of shells impacting over an area for a certain hit rate on specific targets. Because of the short warning time for the impact of the whole volley, the BM-21 is still considered an effective weapon.

Operational History

The Grad saw its first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. Their use, in conjunction with the M-46, during Operation Savannah halted the advance of South African troops in 1975. The Valkiri was brought into service in 1977 to counter the Grad.

Variants

Russia

Adaptations of the launcher were/are produced by several countries including China, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Poland and Romania.

Belarus

China

Croatia

Czechoslovakia

Czech Republic

Egypt

The Egyptians domestically manufacture the rockets Sakr-18 and Sakr-36, with a respective range of 18 km and 36 km, and the latest Sakr-45 with a superior range of 45 km. Rather than a standard HE-Frag round, the Egyptian military prefers a 23 kg cluster munition, which can be extremely effective against lightly armored equipment and troop concentrations. Both rockets, as well as the original Soviet models of course, are fired by locally manufactured rocket launchers like the RL-21 (copy of BM-11) and RC-21 (copy of BM-21, similar to the Hadid HM20). The Helwan Machine Tools Company also produces portable systems with one, three, four and eight launch tubes. Also the RAAD 200 which is a BM-21 on a new vehicle.

Ethiopia

The Homicho Ammunition Engineering Complex produces the rockets while the Bishoftu Motorization Engineering Complex produces the launching tubes and has converted existing trucks to diesel engine. Bishoftu Motorization has also produced a six tube launcher to be mounted on light trucks.

Gaza Strip

Since 2006 Hamas has fired 122 mm Grad rockets, copies made in Iran, and Eastern-bloc versions modified to expand their range, into Israel. The rockets were believed to be brought into the Gaza Strip via tunnels from Egypt. Some of the rockets were of a Chinese Grad variant. Hamas sources said they were pleased by the performance of the Chinese variants of the BM-21 Grad rocket, which demonstrated a far greater range and blast impact than Palestinian-made rockets, as well as Russian-origin Grads or Katyushas. Hamas have used small man-portable single-tube launchers for rockets in attacks against Israel, designated 122 mm 9P132/BM-21-P. The 122 mm Grad rockets used in Gaza have a range of about 40 km, and can reach the Israeli towns of Ashdod, Beer-Sheva, Ofakim, Gedera, Kiryat Gat, Ashqelon, Sderot, Rehovot, Kiryat Malachi and Gan Yavne. They also published a clip claiming device mounted used as a multi-barrel rocket launcher on vehicle used for first time in Gaza. On 7 April 2011, the Iron Dome system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza for the first time. The rockets were launched without their dedicated platforms and by untrained operators which causes very low accuracy. Over 50% of the rockets miss entire cities and over 10% end up hitting the sea.

Georgia

Iran

D.I.O. from Iran produces copies of the BM-11 and BM-21 systems that can fire the original Soviet rockets as well as the locally developed "Arash" with a range of 20.5 km. There is also a rocket with a range of 75 km.

Iraq

Various 122 mm-type rockets were deployed by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, modified to deliver nerve agents to targets. This included the 40-inch long, domestically produced Grad MLRS-compatible "Borak" warhead designed to disperse sarin gas.

Italy

Produced a limited number of FIROS 25 and 30 rocket launchers. They had the same configuration, exactly 40 rockets 122 mm caliber, compatible also with BM-21 launcher. Range about 25–32 km, sold to Libya, United Arab Emirates and probably other customers. About 150 produced in '80s-'90s.

North Korea

Pakistan

Pakistan first obtained these MRLS from China in few numbers (52+ Chinese Type-83) and then reverse engineered to develop these multiple rockets indigenously by KRL (Khan Research laboratories). The new missile system were developed with 16 modernization by Pakistani Engineers. A vertical stabilizer was added to the launcher that improved its accuracy. The new indigenously reverse engineered system were named KRL-Ghadab. the range of the indigenously developed rockets were increased to 45 km with <1% CEP.

Poland

Romania

Serbia

South Africa

Thailand

Ukraine

Projectiles

The original "Grad" rocket has a range of about 20 km. The first modification called "G-M" increased the range to about 27.5 km, while the second modification "G-2000" further increased the range to about 40 km. The latest technology development has allowed new Grad rockets to have 52 km range. The range may also vary due to the type of warhead. The 9M22S munition (see below) was developed by NPO Splav during the Soviet era. Instead of a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, the 9M22S rocket carries a warhead containing 180 separate 9N510 incendiary elements. Designed to ignite vegetation, storage facilities, or fuel, these incendiary elements consist of hexagonal prisms made from a magnesium alloy known to the Russian GOST as ML-5, filled with a thermite mixture. Each element has a nominal length of 40 mm and a width of 25 mm and a burning time of at least 2 minutes. The effect of these incendiary, as well as conventional lighting munitions (especially at night), outwardly resembles the use of phosphorus munitions. Also Incendiary, Chemical, Illumination, Antipersonnel mines.

Operators

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Current operators

Former operators

Evaluation only