Why Russia’s Rocker Launcher Could Soon Be a Threat to U.S. Troops

The Russian government has granted permission to export the 9A52-4 Tornado-G multiple-rocket launcher.

byMichael Peck

For the first time, the Russian government has granted permission to export the 9A52-4 Tornado-G multiple rocket launcher.

That’s good news for Tornado-maker Rostec, the Russian state-owned arms manufacturer. But it’s not good news for American troops, who have been under fire from Russian-made artillery in various wars since 1950.

Rostec “has obtained the necessary permission to demonstrate the Tornado-G MLRS abroad,” according to a company announcement.

“The system is expected to evoke the interest of potential foreign customers and will be able in the future to replace Grad systems operational in more than 60 countries of the world.”

The Tornado may not be a household word, but its predecessor, the BM-21 Grad, certainly is.

First deployed in the early 1960s, the Grad (itself a descendant of the legendary World War II Katyusha) is used by numerous nations, including North Korea, Iran and Vietnam. It is a truck-mounted weapon with forty launch tubes that can saturate more than two acres of ground in a single salvo.