The Valkiri is a South African self-propelled

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. It is a 127mm system with a wheeled launcher vehicle, and fire control equipment developed by Armscor. Contemporary models consist of a single launch module with five eight-cell rocket pods on a

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or SAMIL-100 carrier. Its mission is to engage in counter-battery strikes against hostile artillery and air defences as far as 36 km (22 mi) away. Other potential warheads include cluster and an anti-tank mine dispenser.

Background

In history, there are many examples of the use of these types of vehicles. In the second world war, its use by Soviet Union became famous:

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rocket launcher or "Stalin's organ". The system is inspired by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 ...

, which was deployed against South African expeditionary forces in

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during '' Operation Savannah''. Development was completed in 1971.Monick, S. ''The Forging of a Strike Force (Part I): Central themes in the history of the South African Army 1980-1990''. Scientia Militaria, 1993, Volume 23 Issue 3 p. 364-377. Valkiris played a key role in Operation Alpha Centauri and Operation Moduler during the late 1980s. South Africa developed its arms industry in the follow-up of the international sanctions against apartheid, which foreclosed its access to the international arms market. The UN voted for voluntary sanctions by 1963 and made these compulsory by 1977.

Variants

* Valkiri-22 Mk 1 (original version): 24 launch tubes mounted on a Unimog light 4x4 truck. *

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(current version): 40 launch tubes mounted on an armoured Samil 100 6x6 truck. * a shortened lighter trailer-mounted version for airborne use. It has 12 launch tubes and uses a shortened version of the 127 mm rocket that has a maximum range of 5500 metres.

Operators

* -

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

: 76 in reserve.

References

External links

Army Recognition.com

Photos
at decade SA Bush War—halfway down the page {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Wheeled self-propelled rocket launchers Rocket artillery Cold War artillery of South Africa Field artillery of the Cold War 127 mm artillery Multiple rocket launchers