Russian MRLS: Grad, Uragan, Smerch, Tornado-G/S

I must say the DP-62 doesn't look anything like the DP-61 or DP-64...

Yes, there is a 14.5mm attachment for 125mm tank guns that allows special 14.5 x 114mm HMG rounds to be fired from a special barrel insert that matches the ballistics of the 125mm round that can be used for cheap training...

Perhaps this is the same with smaller lighter rockets?

Some sort of rocket tube liner?

They likely will have a lot of 122mm rockets made...

Tornado-S is the new version of Smerch AFAIK... presumably there is also a Tornado-G and Tornado-U for Grad and Uragan.

thegopnik wrote:
Russian gunners will start firing drones. For multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Tornado-S is developing missiles with UAVs inside. The devices can be launched at a distance of tens of kilometers, after which disposable drones will temporarily silence communications and radars behind enemy lines. This makes it possible to radically increase the capabilities of electronic warfare of Russian troops. According to experts, promising ammunition will make the Tornado-S an effective means of countering enemy artillery and air defense.

A very clever weapon. It spots targets for the battery and then takes out the EW countermeasures just before the barrage hits.

Now this is how you do a revolution in rocket artillery.

lyle6 wrote:

thegopnik wrote:
Russian gunners will start firing drones. For multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Tornado-S is developing missiles with UAVs inside. The devices can be launched at a distance of tens of kilometers, after which disposable drones will temporarily silence communications and radars behind enemy lines. This makes it possible to radically increase the capabilities of electronic warfare of Russian troops. According to experts, promising ammunition will make the Tornado-S an effective means of countering enemy artillery and air defense.

A very clever weapon. It spots targets for the battery and then takes out the EW countermeasures just before the barrage hits.

Now this is how you do a revolution in rocket artillery.  

Worth to further explaining what you mean, as some may find it not clear.
Modern ECM systems can remotely activate the fuze of incoming rounds.
Russkies presented that in practice on some maneuvers a few years ago, intercepting&detonating a Grad salvo in mid-air.
Not sure if that is widely spread in any other army, but it is one of the defensive measures that Russian land forces have at their disposal.
As Russkie always create countermeasures to both the enemy means and their own, I suppose that having this kind of toy in arsenal is tempting

Having eyes on target is a huge advantage because it tells you immediately if you need to follow up with more rockets, or if the target is destroyed and you can move on to the next target.

Also you can judge if your shots are off and get them on target and finish the job.

Having some drones that can attack any effective air defence systems present like a Pantsir or TOR equivalent makes good sense, and any EW vehicle that could interfere with the first volley of rockets could be detected by drones and attacked so the follow up rockets can then get the job done.

New tactics like this will be very valuable moving forward and would be expected from a HATO force, so learning to over come their defences and hitting them properly and hard makes this a very valuable learning experience.

BliTTzZ wrote:
Tornado-S and Tornado-G are indeed heavily upgraded Smerch and Grad modifications. But there is no upgrade for Uragan which could have been called Tornado-U. I assume Russian Ministry of Defense decided there are too many calibers and 227mm is not required, 122mm and 300mm is enough. Another reason reason is ZiL-135LM chassie with two Zil-375 gasoline engines is complicated in a bad way and not very reliable.

There is quite a lot of information about Tornado-S ammo. What about Tornado-G? I have heard previously these vehicles should also have guided rockets 9M541 with range up to 100 km. But never heard they were ever adopted into service or used anywhere. Does anyone know this?

There is a modified Uragan-1M, and the Tornado-S can use both 220 (not 227 as you mention, it is HIMARS caliber) and 300 mm rockets (30 and 12 pcs respectively).
So it is not a matter of caliber for sure

227mm rockets are American MLRS rockets.
Uragan and TOS are both 220mm AFAIK.
The new pallet based systems seem to include 122mm, 220mm, and 300mm versions.

You have missed the point.
220 mm Uragan has been upgraded, and accepted for duty - modernization is progressing. Uragan-1M.
Tornado-S has been redesigned to carry both calibers, so there is no need to implement a dedicated platform for a middle layer of tube artillery. The Big Guy S can take care of it, up to 200 km.
Russkie still has a 3 layers of tube artillery, assisted by the 3 layers of a classic one.
Just chassis has been combined, for a part of them.