Astros II
An Astros II MK6 of the Brazilian Army
TypeMultiple rocket launcher
Place of originBrazil
Service history
In serviceSince 1983
Used bySee Operators
WarsIran–Iraq War
Gulf War
Angolan Civil War
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
Military Intervention in Yemen
Production history
ManufacturerAvibras
No. built270+
Specifications
Mass10,000 kg
(22,046 lbs)[1]
Length7 m (20 ft)
Width2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Height2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Crew3
ShellRocket length: 4.20 m (13 ft 9 in)[2]
Rocket weight: 152 kg (335 lb)[2]
Caliber450mm (7.08in)[2]
Maximum firing range30 (SS-30) to 300 km (AV-TM 300)[2]
Main
armament
Universal Multiple Launcher Module 127–450 mm
Secondary
armament
1 × 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun[1]
EngineMercedes OM422 8-cylinder diesel
280 hp (209 kW)[1]
Suspension6×6
Operational
range
500 Km
Maximum speed 100 Km/h

Astros II (Artillery Saturation Rocket System) is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher produced in Brazil by the Avibras company. It features modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 to 450 mm (5–17.72 inches). It was developed on the basis of a Tectran VBT-2028 6×6 all-terrain vehicle for enhanced mobility based on Mercedes-Benz 2028 truck chassis[3] while later versions use Tatra 815-7 chassis.

Overview

Astros II MK6 Brazilian Marine Corps.

A full Astros system includes 1 wheeled 4×4 Battalion level Command Vehicle (AV-VCC), which commands 3 batteries, and a series of 4x4 and 6×6 wheeled vehicles.[3] Each battery consists of:[4]

  • 1 wheeled 4×4 Battery-level Command vehicle (AV-PCC)
  • 1 wheeled 6×6 Radar Fire Control vehicle (AV-UCF)
  • 6 wheeled 6×6 Universal Multiple Rocket Launchers vehicle (AV-LMU)
  • 3 wheeled 6×6 Ammunition Resupply vehicles (AV-RMD)
  • 1 wheeled 6×6 Field repair/workshop vehicle (AV-OFVE)
  • 1 wheeled 4×4 Mobile Weather Station vehicle (AV-MET).

In the older version of the system, the fire control vehicle were listed as optional vehicle in a battery. The command vehicles and weather stations are recent additions, designed to improve overall system performance on newer versions. All vehicles are transportable in a C-130 Hercules.[3] The launcher is capable of firing rockets of different calibers armed with a range of warheads.[5]

Each rocket resupply truck carries up to two complete reloads.

Service history

The Astros II artillery system entered service with the Brazilian Army in 1983. The system is battle proven, having been used in action by the Iraqi Army in the Gulf Wars.

In the 1980s, Avibrás sold an estimated 66 Astros II artillery systems to Iraq. Iraq also built the Sajeel-60 which is a license-built version of the Brazilian SS-60. Sixty Astros II were sold to Saudi Arabia[6] and an unspecified number sold to Bahrain and Qatar. Total sales of the Astros II between 1982 and 1987 reached US$1 billion. This fact made the Astros II multiple rocket launcher the most profitable weapon produced by Avibrás.[7]

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Avibrás manufactured almost exclusively rockets and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), such as the Astros II, in addition to developing antitank and antiship missiles. At its peak, Avibrás employed 6,000 people; later it would be reduced to 900 people in the early 1990s as the arms industry demand fell. Even so, in the first Gulf War in 1991, the Astros II was successfully used by Saudi Arabia against Iraq.[8] Years earlier, the Astros II system had helped Angola to defeat the UNITA.

New generation

Astros II Mk6 of Indonesian Army firing SS-09TS rocket.

The next step is an ambitious program, the Astros 2020 (Mk6), based on a 6×6 wheeled chassis.[9] Being a new concept, it will require an estimated investment of R$1.2 billion, of which about US$210 million will be invested solely in development. It will be integrated with the cruise missile AVMT-300 with 300-km range during the stage of testing and certification. It is said that the venture will, for example, enable the Army to integrate the Astros with defense anti-aircraft guns, paving the way for the utilization of common platforms, trucks, parts of electronic sensors and command vehicles.[10] The new MK6 system will use Tatra Trucks’ T815-790R39 6×6 and T815-7A0R59 4×4 trucks instead of the original Mercedes-Benz 2028A 6x6 truck. ASTROS 2020 offers several basic improvements including an improved armored cabin, modern digital communications and navigation systems, and a new tracking radar that replaces the AV-UCF's Contraves Fieldguard system.[3] The new tracking radar used by MK6 AV-UCF was later revealed to be the Fieldguard 3 Military Measurement System from Rheinmetall Air Defence.[11] The Astros 2020 will also be equipped with a 180 mm GPS-guided rocket called the SS-AV-40G with a range of 40 km (25 mi) and SS-150 newly developed rockets with a claimed maximum range of 150 km. Four of them are carried.[9] 36 Astros 2020 systems are to be acquired.[12]

Rocket variants

Astros II in Malaysian Army digital camouflage.
  • SS-09TS – fires 70 mm rockets – Loads 40
  • SS-30 – fires 127 mm rockets – Loads 32
  • SS-40 – fires 180 mm rockets – Loads 16
  • SS-40G – fires 180 mm rockets – Loads 16 (GPS Guided)
  • SS-60 – fires 300 mm rockets – Loads 4
  • SS-80 – fires 300 mm rockets – Loads 4
  • SS-80G – fires 300 mm rockets – Loads 4 (GPS Guided)
  • SS-150 – fires 450 mm rockets – Loads 4 (GPS Guided)
  • AV-TM 300 - fires 450 mm cruise missile – Loads 2
  • FOG MPM - fiber optics guided multi-purpose missile – anti-tank, anti-fortification and anti-helicopter missile
  • FOG MLM - fiber optics guided multi-purpose missile

Specifications

Astros II MK6 Brazilian Army.
  • Range in indirect fire mode[13] (first figure is minimum range):
    • SS-09TS: 4–10 km
    • SS-30: 9–30 km
    • SS-40: 15–40 km
    • SS-40G: 15–40 km
    • SS-60: 20–60 km
    • SS-80: 22–90 km
    • SS-80G: 22–90 km
    • SS-150: 29–150 km
    • AV-TM 300: 30–300 km
    • FOG MPM: 5–60 km
  • Armour: classified. Probably light composite to give protection against small-arms fire.
  • Armament: one battery of 2, 4, 16 or 32 rocket-launcher tubes
  • Performance:
    • fording 1.1 m
    • vertical obstacle 1 m
    • trench 2.29 m
  • Ammunition Type: High explosive (HE) with multiple warhead

Operators

Map with Astros II operators in blue

Potential operators

  •  Spain: Spain is currently evaluating K239 Chunmoo, Astros II and PULS systems, but the decision regarding a potential order of one of these systems has not been made.[18][19]
  •  Ukraine: On December 4, 2022, the Brazilian media reported a Ukrainian interest in the ASTROS system, to equip the Army in the Russo-Ukrainian War efforts. The sale was blocked by the Bolsonaro administration.[20] A diplomatic effort by the United States to persuade the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to unblock the deal was reported on the 5th of December 2022.[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Astros II – Avibrás / Brasil". Área militar. Archived from the original on 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hogg, Ian 2000. Twentieth-Century Artillery. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-1994-2 p.304
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Astros 2020 MLRS: Brazils Industrial Investment in Precision Strike". Defense Industry Daily. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  4. ↑ Castilho, Pablo. "A LOGÍSTICA NO GRUPO DE MÍSSEIS E FOGUETES EM OPERAÇÕES: UMA PROPOSTA DOUTRINÁRIA" (PDF). Bibliotheca do Exercito. CENTRO DE INSTRUÇÃO DE ARTILHARIA DE MÍSSEIS E FOGUETES. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Astros II Artillery Saturation Rocket System". Army technology. 2013-08-31. Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  6. 1 2 Servaes, Alain. "Military army ground forces equipment Saudi Arabian Army Forces". Army recognition. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Export Controls In Brazil" (PDF). UGA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  8. ↑ "Cruise missiles 'Made in Brazil'". News – Business. BBC. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Astros III". Military today. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  10. ↑ Godói, Roberto. "Governo torna-se sócio da Avibrás Aeroespecial". Estadão. Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  11. ↑ "Follow-up order from Brazil for Rheinmetall's Fieldguard 3 measurement system". Archive. Rheinmetall Defence. 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  12. ↑ Brazilian army will continue to upgrade Astros rocket launchers Archived 2013-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, Army recognition, December 29, 2012
  13. ↑ "Astros (Artillery SaTuration ROcket System)". FAS. Archived from the original on 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  14. ↑ "Indonesian army takes delivery of MLRS Avibras Astros II Mk 6 from Brazil". Army recognition. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  15. ↑ "Negara". Kosmo! (Online ed.). MY. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  16. ↑ Mahadzir, Dzirhan (2019-04-05). "Malaysia's Defence Doldrums". Asian Military Review. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  17. ↑ Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost (6 March 2021). "Qatar's Purchase of BP-12A SRBMs: A Guppy Sprouts Teeth". Oryx Blog.
  18. ↑ InfoDefensa, Revista Defensa. "El sistema israelí PULS, principal candidato para el lanzacohetes Silam del Ejército de Tierra". Infodefensa - Noticias de defensa, industria, seguridad, armamento, ejércitos y tecnología de la defensa.
  19. ↑ "Spanish army evaluates options for rocket launcher system design and development". www.armyrecognition.com.
  20. 1 2 "O que Biden quer de Lula" [What Biden wants from Lula]. O Antagonista (in Portuguese). December 4, 2022.
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