Belarus to continue development of Polonez-M MLRS & Groza counter UAV systems

The Belarusian defense industry has prioritized the development of the upgraded Polonez-M Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the Groza-family counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) devices, an industrial source told TASS.

Polonez MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System (Picture source Army Recognition)

According to him, the Polonez-M program is of the highest importance for the country`s Ministry of Defense. "In 2018, we managed to increase the range of fire of the [Polonez-M] complex and now its rockets can engage targets at a distance of up to 300 km. The industry had to upgrade its combat assets, namely, combat vehicles and command and control posts. [These works] increased the system`s survivability and reduced deployment/tear-down time. Each combat vehicle now is capable of firing both missiles [with a range of fire of 200 km and 300 km, respectively - TASS]," said the source.

Belarus also places an emphasis on the development of the Groza-R man-portable drone killer and Groza-S mobile C-UAV system. "The lighter modification of the [Groza-R] counter-drone gun with a range of up to 500 m is in high demand; however, we see an interest in the heavier variant [of the weapon] with a range of up to 3 km … The Belarusian-made C-UAV systems have demonstrated high performance during various tests," said the source.

According to him, Minsk pays specific attention to the designing of robotic systems. "One can see two modern technological trends, namely, the development of UAVs and artificial intelligence, and our new unmanned ground vehicle [UGV] Berserk combines both. We are enhancing the recognition module of the robot in order to increase its targeting capabilities. The modernized UGV will be capable of recognizing tanks, soldiers, and artillery," said the source.

Groza-family counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) devices. (Picture source Army Recognition)