The RM-70 (''Raketomet vzor 1970'')
multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...
is a
Czechoslovak Army
The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá armáda'') was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary.
History
In t ...
version and heavier variant of the
BM-21 Grad
The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...
multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent area-saturation
rocket artillery
Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rockets as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also used in mult ...
system that was introduced in 1971 (the NATO designation is M1972).
Overview
RM-70 was developed in Czechoslovakia as a successor for the
RM-51, achieving
initial operational capability
Initial operating capability or initial operational capability (IOC) is the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form. The term is often used in government or military procurement.
The United States D ...
with its
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
in 1972. The launcher was being produced in
Dubnica nad Váhom
Dubnica nad Váhom (; Slovak before 1927: ''Dubnica'', , , before 1899 ''Dubnic(z)'') is a town in the Ilava District, Trenčín Region in Slovakia.
Geography
It is located on the Váh river, in the Ilava Basin, between the White Carpathians and ...
(
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
). Originally, it was sold to
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
. After the Soviet Union collapse and the split of Czechoslovakia into the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, it was sold to several countries in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and Europe.
RM-70 replaced the
Ural-375D 6x6 truck by a
Tatra T813 "Kolos" 8x8 truck as carrier platform for the 40-round launcher. The new carrier vehicle provides enough space for carrying 40 additional 122 mm rockets pack for automatic reload. Nevertheless, RM-70 performance remains near the same as Grad even in terms of vehicle's speed and range. This rocket launcher can fire both individual rounds and volleys, principally by means of
indirect fire
Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and inclination, and may include correcting ...
. It is designed for concentrated fire coverage of large areas (up to in one volley) by high explosive fragmentation shells. The fire is robust with almost 256 kg of explosives used in one volley of 40 rockets. The rockets used are either the original Soviet 9M22 and 9M28, or locally developed models. These are the JROF with a range of 20.75 km, the JROF-K with a range of 11 km, the "Trnovnik" with 63
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
-bomblets and a range of 17.5 km, the "Kuš" with five
PPMI-S1 anti-personnel mine
An anti-personnel mine or anti-personnel landmine (APL) is a form of land mine, mine designed for use against human, humans, as opposed to an anti-tank mine, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; ...
s or the "Krizhna-R" with four PTMI-D
anti-tank mine
An anti-tank or AT mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuze desi ...
s and a range of 19.45 km. Ukraine has also used the RM-70 to fire Serbian G-2000 rockets with a range of 40.5 km. RM-70 systems have been used by Ukraine to attack the Russian city of Belgorod.
The vehicle is provided with a central tyre pressure regulation system (to allow its adaptation to the nature of the traversed ground), a headlight with white light on the forward cab roof and, if necessary, with a snow plough SSP 1000 or a dozer blade BZ-T to arrange its own emplacement or to remove obstacles.
Variants
Czech Republic and Slovakia
*RM-70 - Basic model, as described.
* - Unarmored version of the RM-70, based on the
Tatra T815 VPR9 8x8.1R truck with 265 hp engine T3-930-51. Combat weight: 26.1 t. Sometimes called RM-70M.
* - Modernised vehicle with new fire control and navigation equipment, can use a new type of rocket with a range of 36 km. Slovakia has ordered 50 upgrade packages.
* - In December 2000, the
Slovak Ministry of Defense and Delta Defence started the RM-70 Modular German-Slovak modernization project. RM-70 Modular allows this artillery system to launch either twenty-eight 122 mm rockets, or six 227 mm rockets as used on the
M270 MLRS. This way the system became fully
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
interoperable. The truck cabin is entirely armored. The Slovak Republic signed for 26 upgraded artillery systems with the first one delivered on May 20, 2005. RM-70 Modular is being offered as an upgrade for RM-70 owners.
*Vz.92 "Križan" VMZ (''velkokapacitní mobilní zatarasovač'') - Engineer vehicle, based on the
Tatra T815 36.265 with a lightly armoured cabin. The vehicle comes in different configurations, the standard being a 40-round rocket launcher (for "Kuš" and "Krizhna-R" rockets), a mechanical mine layer for anti-tank mines (PT Mi-U or PT Mi-Ba-III) and two dispensers for anti-personnel mines (PP Mi-S1).
* - Upgraded version with digital fire control.
Tatra 817 truck chassis powered by a
Tatra T3C V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
Origins
The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...
with 270 kW of output, coupled with a Tatra 10 TS 210 N
gearbox
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
, with semi-automatic Tatra Norgen drive system and an additional gearbox Tatra 2.30TRS. It has a range of around and a top speed of with an armored and NBC-protected crew cabin.
Operators
Current operators
* − 40
* − 18 RM-70 Vampire
* − 20 RM-70
*
* − 6 as of 2024.
* − 34 RM-70
* − 18 RM-70
* − 108 RM-70
* − 9 RM-70 and 8 RM-70 Vampire used . Used by the Marines
* − 7 RM-70
* − Unknown number purchased from second-hand sources during the Cold War and domestically produced
* − 29 RM-70
* − 5
*
* − 4 RM-70 and 26 RM-70/85 Modular
* − 22 RM-70
*
* − 6
* − 20 RM-70 Vampire At least 5 destroyed or damaged as 27 April 2025.
*
* − 60 RM-70
Former operators
* − 12 imported in 2009 (re-export, not commissioned in the Bulgarian Army)
* − 60 RM-70 (decommissioned as of end of 2011 without replacement)
* − Passed on to the Czech Republic and Slovakia after its dissolution
* − 265 RM-70 received between 1975 and 1989;
158 delivered to Greece after the collapse of East Germany and 36 sold to Finland in 1991
* − Inherited from East Germany, donated to Greece.
* − 36 (delivered by Czechoslovakia between 1981 and 1982).
Estimated 100 RM-70 in service prior to the
2011 Libyan civil war
The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...
Unknown operational status
* – Unknown number observed at Mers Al-Kebir Naval Base in the early 1980s. Operational status unknown.
See also
*
BM-21 Grad
The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...
*
WR-40 Langusta
*
M-77 Oganj
*
T-122 Sakarya
The T-122 Sakarya is a Turkish Multiple rocket launcher, multiple launch rocket system developed by ROKETSAN.
Overview
As part of the Turkish Army#Modernization, modernization drive undertaken by the Turkish Military in the 1980s and 90s se ...
*
Fajr-5
*
RS-122
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Diehl BGT Defence RM-70 Modular*
*
ttp://www.deagel.com/pandora/rm-70_opm0077001.aspx Deagel, RM-70Army Recognition, RM-70Ministry of Defence of Czech Republic, Rocket Launcher 122 mm type 70
{{Authority control
Wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers
Multiple rocket launchers of Czechoslovakia
Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s
Self-propelled artillery of Czechoslovakia
Eight-wheeled vehicles