Lessons Learned From Ukraine: Rocket Artillery On The Modern Battlefield

摘要

The first generation of Soviet MRL systems, the BM-8, BM-13 and BM-31-12 Katyushas and the second generation BM-14 and BM-24 systems were capable, but they shared a number of limiting features. Combat ranges were not as long as required, thereby increasing system vulnerability to counter-battery fire, rockets still suffered from dispersion making accurate engagements difficult. To an extent it was possible to compensate for dispersion by increasing the warhead size to maximise the effects on target, although this would exact a penalty in range. The other option was to mass MRL systems and simply saturate the target area with rockets, thus overcoming the dispersion issue by having a statistically high probability of hitting the target. To overcome the accuracy limitations of the time, the Soviet military tasked what is today the Splav State Production and Research Enterprise (NPO Splav) with finding a solution. Splav was essentially the centre of excellence for Soviet MRL design and production, being established at Tula in 1945. Currently part of the Ros-tec organisation, Splav remains the centre of Russian MRL industrial activity.