BM-21 Grad

BM-21 "Grad"
BM-21 "Grad"
	A Russian BM-21-1 on display in Saint Petersburg in May 2009
Type	Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1963–present
Used by	See operators
Wars	Sino-Soviet border conflict; Vietnam War; Lebanese Civil War; Western Sahara War; Angolan Civil War; Ogaden War; South African Border War; Uganda–Tanzania War; Cambodian–Vietnamese War; Sino-Vietnamese War; Iran–Iraq War; Soviet–Afghan War; Afghan Civil War (1989–1992); Second Sudanese Civil War; Gulf War; First Nagorno-Karabakh War; Yugoslav Wars; War in Abkhazia (1992–1993); First Chechen War; 1995 Cenepa War; Second Chechen War; Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel; Russo-Georgian War; Cambodian–Thai border dispute; Bombardment of Yeonpyeong; First Libyan Civil War; Syrian civil war; Northern Mali conflict; Yemeni Civil War (2014–present); Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen; Second Nagorno-Karabakh War; Tigray War; Russo-Ukrainian War; 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; 2023 Las Anod conflict; 2023 Israel–Hamas war;
Production history
Designer	Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
Designed	1963
Manufacturer	Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
Produced	1963–present
No. built	8000 + [citation needed]
Variants	See Variants
Specifications (9K51)
Mass	13.71 tonnes (30,225 lb)
Length	7.35 m (24 ft 1 in)
Barrel length	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Width	2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Height	3.09 m (10 ft 2 in)
Crew	3
Caliber	122 mm
Barrels	40
Rate of fire	2 rounds/s
Muzzle velocity	690 m/s (2,264 ft/s)
Effective firing range	0.5–52 km
Sights	PG-1M panoramic telescope
Engine	V8 gasoline ZiL-375; 180 hp (130 kW)
Suspension	6×6 wheeled
Operational; range	405 km (251 mi)
Maximum speed	75 km/h (47 mph)

The BM-21 "Grad" (Russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit. 'hailstorm') is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union.^[8] The system and the M-21OF rocket^[9] were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-Soviet border conflict.^[10] BM stands for boyevaya mashina (Russian: боевая машина – 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. The complete system 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 have 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.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Prenatt 2016, p. 30.
^ Zabecki, David T. (May 2011). "Rockets and Rocket Launchers". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 988. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3. The most significant [Soviet rocket] was the 9M22M, one of the Katyusha class of 122-mm rockets.
^ Zaloga, Steven J. (2003). Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present. Hong Kong: Concord Publications. p. 4. ISBN 962-361-613-9.
^ Cooper, Tom; Fontanellaz, Adrien (October 2016). "La guerre du Kagera". Batailles et Blindés (in French). No. 75. Caraktère. pp. 72–81. ISSN 1765-0828.
^ Cite error: The named reference Afghan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Sudan - Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan" (PDF). Human Rights Watch Report. 10 (4): 24. August 1998.
^ Yemeni fighters have fired at least 16 Grad missiles into Saudi territories. YouTube (20 July 2015). Retrieved 2017-06-01.
^ Splav 122 mm BM-21 multiple rocket launcher family (Russian Federation), Multiple rocket launchers, Jane's Armour and Artillery.
^ 122 mm BM-21 Grad-series rockets (Russian Federation), Artillery rockets Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Jane's Ammunition Handbook
^ Prenatt, Jamie (16 June 2016). Katyusha: Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4728-1087-8.

[FOOTNOTEPrenatt201630-1] Prenatt 2016, p. 30.

[2] Zabecki, David T. (May 2011). "Rockets and Rocket Launchers". In Tucker, Spencer C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2 ed.). p. 988. ISBN 978-1-85109-960-3. The most significant [Soviet rocket] was the 9M22M, one of the Katyusha class of 122-mm rockets.

[3] Zaloga, Steven J. (2003). Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present. Hong Kong: Concord Publications. p. 4. ISBN 962-361-613-9.

[4] Cooper, Tom; Fontanellaz, Adrien (October 2016). "La guerre du Kagera". Batailles et Blindés (in French). No. 75. Caraktère. pp. 72–81. ISSN 1765-0828.

[Afghan-5] Cite error: The named reference Afghan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] "Sudan - Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan" (PDF). Human Rights Watch Report. 10 (4): 24. August 1998.

[7] Yemeni fighters have fired at least 16 Grad missiles into Saudi territories. YouTube (20 July 2015). Retrieved 2017-06-01.

[8] Splav 122 mm BM-21 multiple rocket launcher family (Russian Federation), Multiple rocket launchers, Jane's Armour and Artillery.

[9] 122 mm BM-21 Grad-series rockets (Russian Federation), Artillery rockets Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Jane's Ammunition Handbook

[10] Prenatt, Jamie (16 June 2016). Katyusha: Russian Multiple Rocket Launchers 1941–Present. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4728-1087-8.

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