Profile
- Type
- 122 mm multiple launch rocket system
- Conflict side
- Russia
- Origin
- Russia
- Service note
- 2010s-present
Artillery
Tornado-G
The 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.
Service History
- In service
- Operated by Russian army units by 2018
- Used by
- Russian Ground Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Splav Scientific Production Enterprise
- Designed
- 2010s
- Built in
- Russia
- Produced
- 2010s-present
- Variants
- 9K51M Tornado-G, 2B17 Tornado-G launch vehicle
Specifications
- Caliber
- 122 mm
- Launch tubes
- 40
- Crew
- 3
- Combat weight
- 14,950 kg
- Deployment time
- 30 seconds from travel to combat position
- Full salvo time
- 40 seconds
- Maximum road speed
- 85 km/h
- Cruising range
- 800 km
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Russia
Russian forces have fielded 122 mm 2B17 Tornado-G launchers during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with open-source loss tracking documenting destroyed, damaged, and captured systems.
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.
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.
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
122mm TORNADO-G MLRSPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Official export page supporting the 9K51M designation, ALFCS description, intended target set, and vehicle specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Rostec Brings Tornado-G to the International MarketPublisher: Rostec | Note: Supports manufacturer and background context, including Splav's role, Grad-family replacement context, 122 mm ammunition, and Russian army operation. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The Russian Invasion Of UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Russia-Ukraine War conflict-use source documenting Russian 122 mm 2B17 Tornado-G systems destroyed, damaged, and captured during the invasion. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Analysis: Russia uses in Ukraine Tornado-G 122mm rocket launchersPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Russia-Ukraine War conflict-use reporting that describes Tornado-G launchers used by Russian forces in Ukraine. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Combat vehicle 2B17-1 from 9K51M Tornado-G MLRSPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the selected Tornado-G image, credited to Vitaly V. Kuzmin under CC BY-SA 4.0 with VRT permission noted by Commons. | Accessed: 2026-06-20