Profile
- Type
- 122 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket system
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic
- Service note
- Modernized Cold War-derived rocket artillery in service during the Russia-Ukraine War
Artillery
RM-70 Vampire
The 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.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- Excalibur Army
- Built in
- Czech Republic
Service History
- In service
- Documented in Ukrainian service from 2022
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Excalibur Army
- Designed
- 2010s modernization of the RM-70 family
- Built by
- Excalibur Army
- Built in
- Czech Republic
- Produced
- Modernized variant marketed in the 2010s-present
- Variants
- RM-70 Vampire, RM-70 Vampire 4D
Specifications
- Caliber
- 122 mm JROF-compatible rockets
- Launch tubes
- 40
- Reload ammunition
- Additional 40 rockets carried for automatic reloading
- Maximum firing range
- Up to 40 km depending on ammunition
- Crew
- 2+2
- Chassis
- Tatra T-815-7 8x8 wheeled chassis
- Cruising range
- 600 km
- Protection
- Protected modular EA Puma cabin; STANAG 4569 Level 1 to 3 depending on version
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have operated Czech-supplied RM-70 Vampire launchers on the Donetsk front, including counter-battery and frontline fire missions with UAV-adjusted targeting.
RM-70 Vampire Images
Related Weapon Systems
BM-27 Uragan220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe 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.
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.
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
VAMPIREPublisher: CSG Defence | Note: Manufacturer product page for Excalibur Army's RM-70 Vampire modernization, including launcher layout, chassis, crew, range, reload, protection, and fire-control background. | Accessed: 2026-06-20The Czech RM-70 Vampire Unit Commander Comments on the Use of the MLRS Against Invaders in Donetsk OblastPublisher: Defense Express | Note: Directly supports Ukrainian RM-70 Vampire combat use in Donetsk Oblast, including counter-battery missions and UAV-adjusted fires. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Soldiers Unleash Czech 'Vampire' Rocket System On Russian ForcesPublisher: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Note: Directly documents the Czech RM-70 Vampire rocket system deployed by Ukrainian troops in frontline battles in Donetsk region. | Accessed: 2026-06-20UA RM-70 Vampire 01.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing for a Ukrainian RM-70 Vampire firing; listed as ArmyInform source material under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20RM-70 Vampire 4D.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing for an RM-70 Vampire 4D at IDET 2017, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20