Profile
- Type
- 220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket system
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Late Cold War design in continuing post-Soviet service
Artillery
BM-27 Uragan
The BM-27 Uragan is a Soviet 220 mm wheeled multiple launch rocket system built around a 16-tube launcher on the ZIL-135LM chassis. Its heavier rockets give it greater payload and range than BM-21 Grad-class systems, with warhead options including high-explosive fragmentation, cluster, and mine-scattering rounds. In the Russia-Ukraine War it remains a legacy heavy rocket artillery system used for area fires, minelaying, and counter-battery targets by forces that inherited or captured Uragan-family stocks.
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
Service History
- In service
- Entered Soviet service in the late 1970s; remains in Russian and Ukrainian service
- Used by
- Russian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Splav State Research and Production Enterprise
- Designed
- Early 1970s; development completed in 1975
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
- Unit cost
- Not publicly standardized
- Produced
- From 1975
- Number built
- Not publicly standardized
- Variants
- 9P140 Uragan, BM-27M Uragan-1M, Bureviy
Specifications
- Caliber
- 220 mm rockets
- Launcher
- 16 launch tubes on a ZIL-135LM 8x8 wheeled chassis
- Range
- About 35-40 km with standard 9M27-series rockets
- Crew
- 4-6 depending on source and operating configuration
- Combat weight
- About 20 tonnes
- Mobility
- Road speed about 65 km/h; operational range about 500-570 km
- Reload
- Reloaded by 9T452 transporter-loader; typical reload time under 20 minutes
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: RussiaUkraine
Russian and Ukrainian forces have both fielded Uragan-family 220 mm rockets during the war; open-source loss records document Russian BM-27 launchers in the invasion, while Human Rights Watch documented Uragan-series rocket remnants and PFM mine delivery around Izium in 2022.
Related Weapon Systems
BM-30 Smerch300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-30 Smerch, also designated 9K58, is a Soviet-designed heavy multiple launch rocket system built around a 12-tube 300 mm launcher on an 8x8 wheeled chassis. Its long-range rockets can carry high-explosive, cluster, and thermobaric warheads, making it a deep-fire artillery system rather than a front-line direct-fire weapon. In the Russia-Ukraine War, documented Russian use of 9M55K Smerch cluster rockets has tied the system to attacks on Ukrainian urban areas including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
Bureviy220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemBureviy is a Ukrainian 220 mm multiple launch rocket system that modernizes the BM-27 Uragan concept with a Tatra T815-7 8x8 chassis, digital fire-control equipment, and compatibility with Uragan-family rockets. Built by Shepetivka Repair Plant, it gives Ukrainian artillery a more mobile and networked heavy rocket launcher while retaining the 16-tube 220 mm rocket package used for area fires.
RM-70 Vampire122 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe RM-70 Vampire is a Czech modernization of the Czechoslovak RM-70 Grad-family multiple launch rocket system, pairing a forty-tube 122 mm launcher with a Tatra 815-7 8x8 chassis and an automatic reload pack. In Ukrainian service it provides mobile area-fire and counter-battery rocket artillery during the Russia-Ukraine War.
Tornado-G122 mm multiple launch rocket systemThe Tornado-G is Russia's 9K51M 122 mm multiple launch rocket system, a modernized Grad-family launcher with automated laying and fire-control equipment intended to shorten setup, firing, and displacement times for rocket artillery units. In the Russia-Ukraine War it appears as a Russian-operated fire-support system, with documented battlefield losses and captures.
TOS-2 TosochkaWheeled 220 mm thermobaric multiple rocket launcherThe TOS-2 Tosochka is Russia's wheeled successor to the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system, using 220 mm thermobaric and incendiary rockets from an 18-tube launcher on a Ural 6x6 truck. Its built-in crane, automated fire-control equipment, and wheeled chassis are intended to make the system more mobile and less dependent on a separate loading vehicle, while Russian forces have fielded it during the Russia-Ukraine War.
Vilkha300 mm guided multiple launch rocket systemVilkha is a Ukrainian 300 mm guided rocket artillery system derived from the BM-30 Smerch family and modernized around domestically produced precision rockets. Built by State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch and associated Ukrainian defense enterprises, it gives Ukrainian rocket artillery a heavier, longer-range precision-fire option than standard unguided Smerch ammunition, with Vilkha-M extending the family beyond the baseline rocket's range.Sources
BM-27 9P140 Uragan 9K57 MLRSPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports system background, manufacturer attribution, launcher layout, mobility, range, reload, and rocket-family specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukraine: Banned Landmines Harm CiviliansPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Documents 220 mm Uragan rocket delivery of PFM mines and Uragan-series rocket remnants around Izium during the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The Russian Invasion Of UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Lists visually documented Russian 220 mm BM-27 Uragan launcher and 9T452 transporter-loader losses in the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian BM-27 Uragan.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and CC BY 3.0 licensing for the primary BM-27 Uragan image. | Accessed: 2026-06-20