By the end of 2027, it is planned to replace the outdated Smerch, Uragan, and Grad systems currently in service by the Tornado-S - and Tornado-G systems. This was announced by Lieutenant General Mikhail Matveyevsky, Chief of the Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda.
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According to Matveyevsky, the missile forces and artillery already have the basic elements of a reconnaissance and fire system. “Thus, missile, rocket, and artillery subunits are used in the form of reconnaissance and strike (fire) complexes that ensure the destruction of enemy targets in realtime. At the same time, the “reconnaissance - defeat” cycle is minimized, which makes it possible to reduce the time from the moment of target detection to their destruction by 1.5–2 times,” he said.
The work on creating promising high-tech weapons of destruction, reconnaissance, and control, then introducing them into the troops, helps us achieve such results.
The Lieutenant-General shared his plans to re-equip rocket artillery units with modern MLRS Tornado: by the end of 2027, it is planned to almost completely replace the MLRS Smerch, Uragan, and Grad in service. They will be replaced by Tornado-S - large-caliber MLRS with improved characteristics and an expanded range of missiles, as well as Tornado-G - medium-caliber MLRS with an automated targeting system.
"Modern MLRS Tornado is not only a means of destruction of area targets but also high-precision complexes equipped with guided missiles capable of hitting individual critical enemy targets at significant ranges," added Matveyevsky.
In addition to the MLRS of the Tornado family, Russian troops are receiving modernized 2S19M2 Msta-SM self-propelled howitzers with the Ring automated fire control systems and the Coalition-SV interspecific artillery systems. According to Matveyevsky, "a deserted fighting compartment has been created in it, and the processes of aiming and loading weapons are carried out automatically without human intervention."
Currently, the level of equipping with modern weapons of missile forces and artillery is about 60% (in 2012 it reached only 25%). An important role in the process of training specialists is played by educational and training facilities - modern training complexes. The created training base for missile forces and artillery includes the Fury simulator for preparing calculations for the Iskander-M missile system launchers, a unified training complex for the Iskander-M missile system, and the Arterra-VT-ЗD computerized artillery range, allowing to train officers of the branch of service from the platoon commander to the commander of an artillery formation.
The development of simulators for modern howitzers 2S19M2 "Msta-SM" and MLRS Tornado-S is nearing completion. The development of simulators for advanced weapons has begun, such as the Coalition-SV inter-service artillery complex and mortar systems on various base chassis. The Iskander-M missile system, the Tornado-G MLRS, the Msta-SM self-propelled howitzers, and modern artillery reconnaissance and control systems are also successfully used in the training process.
In an interview, the head of the missile forces and artillery of the Armed Forces of Russian Federation also spoke about the participation of artillerymen in the International Army Games, about the tasks that missile men and artillerymen performed during the Kavkaz-2020 command and control squad, as well as about the results of checking missile and artillery formations this year. “As a result, more than 85 percent of the formations of missile forces and artillery were rated as good. In 2020, more than 120 formations of the military branch are confirmed and are applying for the honorary title "shock", which is five percent more than last year, "the lieutenant general noted.
On November 19, Russia celebrated the Day of Missile Forces and Artillery. Official video of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the Day of Missile Forces and Artillery:
Based on materials from the newspaper "Krasnaya Zvezda"
