Ukraine's secret arsenal: How old weapons are back in play
Ukrainians claimed to have carried out an attack on the Russians in December 2024 using the BM-30 Smerch system, even though they theoretically should no longer possess rockets for this equipment. We explore how they might have acquired them and highlight the capabilities of this system.
In recent years, Ukrainians have been actively working to enhance their capabilities for producing long-range weapons. Besides producing new missiles, it appears they have also restored production or repair capabilities for older or damaged/defective units.
A recording from the winter of 2024/2025 has recently surfaced, showing the use of the OTR-21 Tochka system. Now, a recording of the BM-30 Smerch system launch has appeared online. The primary producer of missiles for this system with a range of over 62 miles (100 kilometres) for newer rockets was Russia. However, before the war, Ukraine also had its variants, similar to other countries like India, which have licensed production.
It is possible that Ukraine resumed production with assistance from countries like the Czech Republic or Poland (WITU boasted of a 300 mm rocket engine that could theoretically be suitable for BM-30 missiles) or discreetly acquired rockets or their components from India, as was the case with 155 mm artillery shells.
BM-30 Smerch system — a post-Soviet system with enormous striking power
BM-30 Smerch systems, developed in the 1970s, are formidable weapons capable of attacking targets initially at 43 miles (70 kilometres), but over time this range increased to 56 miles (90 kilometres). Each 300 mm rocket, weighing roughly 1,764 pounds (800 kilograms) and almost 26 feet (eight metres) in length, contained a warhead weighing nearly 551 pounds (250 kilograms). This could be a high-explosive fragmentation variant or clusters containing anti-personnel, anti-armour bomblets, or mines.
These rockets were unguided, but the launcher, which holds 12 rockets, could fire them in under 40 seconds. After the fall of the USSR, both Russia and Ukraine decided to follow the USA's path with the M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS systems and design guided missiles based on GPS and INS navigation.
Vilkha-M and Tornado-S missiles - the Eastern GMLRS missiles
Before the full-scale war, Ukraine developed Vilkha-M1 guided rockets with a range of up to 93 miles (150 kilometres) and Vilkha-M2 with a range of up to 124 miles (200 kilometres). In the case of the Russians, missiles for the Tornado-S system were developed. In both instances, the warhead is reduced to around 375 pounds (170 kilograms) to increase the fuel reserve.
This, combined with the use of newer propellant mixtures and increased accuracy to within a few metres, creates a weapon with a range once reserved for older ballistic missile systems like the OTR-21 Tochka. More importantly, the new missiles are backward compatible with BM-30 Smerch launchers, allowing for the continued use of older launchers.
