Thread by @CalamineW

(1/25) Today, let's talk about the Uragan.

(2/25) According to Gurov, the Uragan ('Hurricane') project was proposed by TulgosNIItochmash (Tula) in 1964 as a more powerful and longer ranged system to the famous Grad (M-21) MRL complex.
https://t.co/y9phtMxg9hmissilery.info/missile/uragan…

(3/25) The project also had the name 'Grad-3' at one point during development, though the system entered service in 1975 as just 'Uragan'.
https://t.co/WQApGEZwl8missilery.info/gallery/taktik…

(4/25) Technically, the name 'Uragan' refers to the entire 9K57 MRL complex, which consists of the 9P140 launchers, 9T452 transloaders (last vehicle), 9M27 series rockets, 9F381 'set of special arsenal equipment and tools', etc.

(5/25) I don't actually know where the name 'BM-27' comes from. The Uragan is never referred to as such in authoritative sources, like Gurov or Shirokorad, nor does it appear in Soviet documents I have seen so far.

(6/25) If I were to guess, it is probably a mix-up between the 9P140, which is referred to as a 'боевая машина' ('combat vehicle') or 'BM', and the '27' from the 9M27 series rockets.

(7/25) Anyway, both the 9P140 and 9T452 are based on the 8x8 ZIL-135LM chassis. Some of you may know the ZIL-135 as the platform for the Luna-M artillery rocket system (or 'V-2 rocket' if you played Red Alert).

(8/25) The ZIL-135 has a rather interesting history in that it was originally developed as an amphibious vehicle, then modified into a land-only vehicle (ZIL-135E, bottom right).
https://t.co/XHbiqQbrnZtrucksplanet.com/catalog/model.…

(9/25) The 'E' was refused for military service because it had no suspension, so in the ZIL-135L they added torsion bars for the front/rear wheels, and this was accepted.

(10/25) Unfortunately, when production was transferred to Bryansk (BAZ) in 1962, BAZ was unable to build the complex automatic transmission, so it was replaced with a manual one. This was the ZIL-135LM, and it became the main production model.
https://t.co/n6iMvKQ5Ddtrucksplanet.com/catalog/model.…

(11/25) The ZIL-135LM chassis as used by the 9P140 is powered by two 180 hp ZIL-375Ya V-8 petrol engines. Each drives one side of the vehicle. The transmission has 5 forward and 1 reverse speeds, with a max speed of 65 km/h.

(12/25) The 9P140 is armed with 16 x 220 mm tubes. It can launch all 16 at 0.5 s intervals. It can also utilise a 'split' firing mode: first 8 rockets at 0.5 s intervals, next 8 at 2 s intervals for reduced vibrations and better accuracy.

(13/25) It is also possible to fire off individual rockets. The Ukrainians tend to do this more to conserve ammunition.

(14/25) The 'pencils' (as the rockets are sometimes nicknamed) are fin and spin-stabilised. They have a maximum range of 35 km. The most common warheads are as follows.
https://t.co/Xb9rP4nHqlsoviet-ammo.ucoz.ru/index/220_urag…

(15/25) The 9P140 has 2 manually operated support jacks at the rear of the vehicle for added stability. It takes 3 minutes for the crew of 4 to prepare the vehicle to fire from its traveling configuration, and about half that long to pack up and get moving.

(16/25) This time assumes the vehicle is firing from a prepared position. If not, it can take much longer to get the 9P140 ready to fire.

(17/25) Because the Uragan rockets have no guidance, you also have to take into account things like wind if you care at all about accuracy. This video shows how a Uragan crew prepares to fire.

(18/25) Reloading is done with the 9T452 transloader. The process is mechanised, but it has to reload each tube individually, and the whole thing takes 15 minutes.

(19/25) Ukraine and Russia are both major users of the Uragan (which was not exported to the Warsaw Pact). Ukraine inherited at least 123 Uragans from the USSR, according to Zhirokhov.
https://t.co/l6f8tpko1tfraza.com/analytics/2787…

(20/25) Besides some in the Ukrainian Navy, Uragans are used exclusively by the 27th 'Petro Kalnyshevsky' Rocket Artillery Brigade (27 ReABr) based in Sumy. During the Donbas War, they lost at least 5 launchers and 2 transloaders, by Zhirokhov's reckoning.

(21/25) The brigade continues to see action today and seems to have performed well, especially during the battles for Chernihiv and Sumy.
https://t.co/xxjTlKvqSG

(22/25) Ukrainian Uragans have been reengined with Belarusian D-245 diesel engines, which have half the fuel consumption of the ZIL-375Ya. There have also been projects to replace the ZIL with modern chassis, like Bureviy or Bastion-3, but these are only in tiny numbers.

(23/25) Russia is, of course, the other major user of the Uragan in this conflict. I do not know how many Uragans they have in service now or how effective they have been, but I'd guess a fair proportion of the mines laid by the Russians come from Uragans.

(24/25) There have also been attempts to replace it with the more modern 9K512 Uragan-1M (9A53 launcher), but these have only been made in small numbers so far, with serial production only starting in late 2021.

(25/25) Uragan is not HIMARS/MLRS and it will never come close to approaching their accuracy or mobility. But it can still bring down a lot of damage over a wide area and its ability to lay large areas of mines is not to be underestimated.

@t80ud_fan It even appears in some documents.

@t80ud_fan The way it is written seems to imply that BM-21 etc. are legacy designations, and they later received GRAU indices.