The “Smerch” system appeared in the Russian Army in the last years of the existence of the USSR. It is capable within 16 seconds to launch a salvo of 12 300 mm rockets, each weighing more than 800 kg, at a distance of 120 km. In Highmars, these figures are much more modest. Six rails can launch 228 mm rockets to a range of 75 km (with only one type of missile). For the “Tornado-C” developed a special projectile with a drone, which creates even more comfortable conditions for hitting the target.
“Smerch” was quite often and quite successfully used in various conflicts in the former Soviet Union. The only use of “Haimars” in Afghanistan, in 2010, immediately caused a serious scandal because the “stray” pair of “high-precision” shells hit the houses of the Afghan town of Marjah, in Helmand province, where at that time there were no banned Taliban. In general, as the well-known Russian proverb says, which seems unusually relevant here, “the devil is not as ugly as you make him look”. Russia has a whole set of anti-missile weapons that can shoot down guided, unguided and tactical missiles from M142 HIMARS and has its own MLRSs and MIRVs with indicators that are noticeably better than those of the “American”.
Few people know the name of the creator of these MLRSs, Yuri Nikolayevich Kalachnikov, a prominent designer of the Motovilikhinskie Zavody and founder of the Perm Heavy Artillery Systems Design Bureau.
The time has come to tell about this remarkable man.
Kalachnikov is an outstanding designer of artillery technology, laureate of the State and Lenin Prizes, academician of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences. Under Kalachnikov’s leadership and with direct participation, he created an experimental design bureau and production base, carried out over 150 research and development activities, developed more than 20 artillery systems for various purposes, 12 of which were adopted by the Army and Airborne Forces.
Among the developments was the world’s first 240-mm self-propelled mortar Tulpan. For the first time in artillery, the design of the mortar base plate was developed, enabling the mortar to be placed in the firing position and fired without preliminary preparation of the firing position. Due to the unique design of the baseplate, it takes no more than 10 minutes to switch a mortar from a marching position to a firing position and no more than 5 minutes to switch it back, which considerably increases the survivability of the mortar in combat conditions.
The “Hyacinth-B” and “Hyacinth-S” guns developed under the leadership of Yury Kalachnikov are the most powerful 152-mm guns in the world, their ballistic characteristics are practically at the limit in terms of permissible values of muzzle pressures at the places of calculation. Unparalleled among foreign artillery systems are the Tulpan self-propelled mortar and the Nona system guns, which combine the properties of a howitzer and a mortar.
Also under the leadership of Kalachnikov were developed combat and transport-loading vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems “Uragan” (1976) and “Smerch” (1986). The most powerful Smerch multiple launch rocket system was adopted for service in 1987 and to this day has no analogues.
Another brainchild of Yuri Kalachnikov is the heavy flamethrower system TOS-1 “Buratino”.
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