Russian Central district receives Tornado-S MLRS.

The most powerful in the world Tornado-S multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) will be supplied to units of the Central Military District deployed in Chelyabinsk region. Experts believe Tornado-S will reinforce the Central Asian direction against a possible terrorist breakthrough, the Izvestia daily writes.

Tornado-S MLRS (Picture source: Russian MoD)

The latest MLRS will be supplied to the 232nd rocket artillery brigade, sources in the Russian Defense Ministry said. It is deployed in Chelyabinsk region close to the border with Kazakhstan. The formation originated from the 104th high-power howitzer brigade created in 1943. It is currently armed with Uragan MLRS.

Tornado-S is the most powerful and long-range MLRS in the world. Each unit comprises 12 launchers that can fire a salvo or single missiles. Open sources said the firing range is 120 km and can be increased up to 200 km. Tornado-S considerably accelerates the missions. It needs several minutes to fire the whole round of munitions and one minute to abandon the firing position and escape a retaliation strike.

The new MLRS is a robotic weapon. Upon receiving target coordinates, the control system calculates the flight mission and the necessary number of missiles to destroy the objects. The MLRS then aims the launcher without crew interference. The operator has only to press the button and wait for the striking result.

All Russian MLRS are highly mobile. Tornado-S is carried by an all-terrain undercarriage and can quickly drive cross-country and on any soil. Its fuel distance is over 500 km, expert Alexey Khlopotov said: "Tornado-S is distinguished by a long range and a big destruction territory. It is a fully automatic weapon with new precision munitions of a bigger range. They have homing warheads. The power is comparable to Tochka-U missiles. However, Tochka-U can fire one missile while Tornado-S a salvo. The supplies of such artillery weapons to the Central district are logical. There is a chance that terrorists will penetrate Central Asia which the district is protecting," he said.

Ground Forces artillery is being rearmed with the Tornado family, which also includes 122mm Tornado-G. 300mm Tornado-S will replace Uragan in district brigades, while Tornado-G will replace Grad in regiments and divisions. The weapons have a higher fire rate and precision and a bigger range. Besides unguided missiles, Tornado-S can also fire smart munitions. It can simultaneously hit eight targets due to the separation of shells along the flight trajectory. The weapon is equipped with GLONASS hardware and automatic fire control. The operator has to boot coordinates and order fire. The MLRS can independently receive and process information from reconnaissance vehicles and drones, the Izvestia said.

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