Ref.: TRUM-01020
Russian 0A52-2 SMERCH-M Multiple Rocket Launcher of RSZO 8K58 SMERCH MLRS The 9K58 Smerch 300mm Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) is designed to defeat soft and hard skin targets, artillery and missile systems. It is produced by the Splav State Research and Production Association, Tula, Russia, which also manufactures the Uragan, Grad and Prima rocket launchers. Smerch was developed in the early 1980s and entered service with the Russian Army in 1988. It is also in service with Belarus and the Ukraine and has been exported to Kuwait (27 systems) and the United Arab Emirates (6 systems). In 2002, the Indian Army carried out a series of firing trials of the modernised Smerch-M system, which features an automatic rocket preparing and launching system and an increased range of up to 90 km. In December 2005, India placed an order for an undisclosed number of Smerch systems for delivery between 2006 and 2007. The Russian Army is upgrading Smerch MLRS systems with new navigation and targeting systems. The Smerch MLRS is composed of the following: launch vehicle, transloader, rockets, training facilities, arsenal equipment.