ICM BM-21 Grade, MLRS of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The development of the BM-21 Grad MLRS began in 1960, with serial production starting in 1964. It is used for general fire support of army formations, for the destruction of personnel, armored vehicles, unarmored vehicles, field fortifications, for laying minefields, and for creating smoke screens. The artillery component consists of a package of 40 tubes mounted on a platform that can rotate both vertically and horizontally. The time for a full salvo is 20 seconds. The fire salvo can be controlled from the cockpit or via a remote control. This MLRS can use various types of ammunition: high-explosive, cluster, incendiary, illumination, and smoke munitions. The most common is the high-explosive fragmentation shell, which has a maximum range of 20.4 km. There are also types of ammunition for this MLRS that have a range of up to 40 km. The system is loaded manually by a combat crew. As of 2022, the BM-21 Grad was the most produced MLRS in the armed forces of Ukraine.