BM-27 Uragan (9P140) БМ-27 Ураган (9П140)
BM-27 Uragan BM-27M Uragan-1M
Type	Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1975–present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Soviet–Afghan War War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) [1] First Chechen War[1] Second Chechen War[1] Russo-Georgian War[1] War in Donbass[1] Iran-Israel proxy conflict[2] Syrian civil war[1] 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[3]
Production history
Designer	Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
Designed	1970s
Manufacturer	Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
Produced	1975–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	20 tonnes (44,092 lbs)
Crew	6
Calibre	220 mm (8.66 in)
Barrels	16
Effective firing range	35 km (22 mi)
Maximum firing range	>70km
Sights	PG-1 panoramic telescope
Engine	Two engines, with separate gearboxes and drive shafts, that are longitudinally mounted, one on each side of vehicle immediately behind cab
Suspension	8×8 wheeled
Operational range	500 km (311 mi)

The BM-27 Uragan (Russian: БМ-27 Ураган, lit. 'Hurricane'; GRAU index 9P140) is a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union to deliver cluster munitions. The system began its service with the Soviet Army in the late 1970s, and was its first spin and fin stabilized heavy multiple rocket launcher.

An updated version known as Uragan-1M was commissioned in 2008. The truck vehicle has no similarities.^[4]

Description

The BM-27 Uragan is capable of launching 220 mm rockets from 16 launch tubes mounted on the rear of a ZIL-135 8×8 chassis.^[5] This vehicle is extremely similar to that used in the FROG-7 free flight rocket system. It has two gasoline engines that power its 20 tonnes to a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour. One engine drives the four wheels on the left of the truck, while the other engine drives the four wheels on the right. The ZIL-135 has eight wheel drive, but only the front and rear axles are used for steering. It has a maximum cruising range of 500 kilometers.

The cab of the ZIL-135 is NBC protected, allowing the rockets to be fired without exposing the crew to possible contaminants.^[6][7] The six-man crew^[5] can emplace or displace the system in three minutes.

Before firing, stabilizing jacks must be lowered and the blast shield raised to protect the cab and its occupants. Indirect fire aiming is achieved with the use of a PG-1 panoramic telescope. Although there are no night vision sights, the driver of the launch vehicle is equipped with a night vision device.

The BM-27 can use HE-FRAG, chemical, explosive or scatterable mine (PTM-3 or PFM-1) submunition equipped rockets, all of which are detonated by electric timing fuses. (However, chemical munitions have been officially off service in Russia since 2017.) Each rocket weighs 280.4 kilograms. The warheads weigh between 90 and 100 kilograms, depending on type. A full salvo of 16 rockets can be fired in 20 seconds and can engage targets within a range of 35 kilometers.

Because of the size of the warhead, the range of the rocket and the speed that a salvo can be delivered, the BM-27 is very effective at mine laying. Each 220 mm rocket can scatter 312 anti-personnel PFM-1 mines. Minefields can be laid behind a retreating enemy or even be used to trap an enemy by encircling them with mines. Tactics such as this were often used by the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Once the rockets have been fired, 9T452 (another ZIL-135 based vehicle) is used to assist in reloading. It carries additional rockets and a crane to transfer the rockets from the reload vehicle to the launcher.^[5] The entire reloading procedure takes around 20 minutes.

The 9P140 missile launcher vehicle as a monument to A.N. Ganichev near Splav State Research and Production Enterprise, Tula city

The 9T452 transporter-loader vehicle at the St Petersburg Artillery Museum

Variants

• 9P140 Uragan: Standard variant on ZIL-135 truck.

Operators

•  Afghanistan^[1] – 18 (not functional)
•  Angola
•  Belarus – 72 as of 2016^[17]
•  Eritrea – 9 as of 2021^[18]
•  Guinea – 3 as of 2021^[19]
•  Georgia – Saw limited usage during Abkhazia War, out of service.
•  Iran – Unknown^[20]
•  Kazakhstan – 180 as of 2016^[21]
•  Kyrgyzstan – 6 as of 2016^[22]
•  Moldova – 11 as of 2016^[23]
•  Myanmar – unknown
•  North Korea – unknown
•  Russia – 200 in service and 700 in storage as of 2016^[24]
•  Syria^[25]
•  Tajikistan^[1] – 12
•  Tanzania^[1] – 48
•  Turkmenistan – 60 as of 2016^[26]
•  Ukraine – 70 as of 2016^[27]
•  Uzbekistan – 48 as of 2016^[28]
•  Yemen^[1] – Over 50. Seen intensive action in the ongoing civil war.

See also

• Astros II – Brazilian long-range multiple launch rocket system
• BM-24 – Russian multiple rocket launcher
• BM-30 Smerch – Soviet/Russian multiple launch rocket system
• Fajr-5 – Iranian long-range multiple launch rocket system
• Falaq-2 – Iranian multiple launch rocket system
• M142 HIMARS – American artillery rocket system
• Katyusha – Soviet/Russian multiple launch rocket system BM-13 of World War II
• MAR-290 – Israeli Multiple Launch Rocket System
• M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System – American armored self-propelled artillery
• Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher – Indian long-range multiple launch rocket system
• TOROS – Turkish long-range multiple launch rocket system
• 9A52-4 Tornado – Russian long-range multiple launch rocket systemPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

References

Bibliography

• Prenatt, Jamie; Hook, Adam (2016). Katyusha – Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present. New Vanguard 235. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1086-1.
• International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). The Military Balance 2016. Vol. 116. Routlegde. ISBN 9781857438352.
• International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. Vol. 121. Routledge. ISBN 9781032012278.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BM-27 Uragan.

• Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
• Photo gallery at Armyrecognition.com (in French)