On March 31, 2019, the Russian defense-industrial complex lost an outstanding designer, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Makarovets died at the age of 81. Under his direct leadership, the production of weapons was organized in our country, which today is the main firepower of the ground forces of the Russian Federation, we are talking about multiple launch rocket systems "Smerch", as well as modernized versions of the systems previously adopted for service: "Tornado-G", "Tornado-S", "Uragan-1M" and a wide range of rockets for them. Over the years of his work in the military-industrial complex, Nikolai Aleksandrovich became the author of more than 170 various inventions and about 350 scientific papers.
For the last three decades, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Makarovets headed the Scientific and Production Association "Splav", which is the largest enterprise in Russia specializing in the creation of MLRS. He was appointed to this position back in 1985 on the basis of an order from the Minister of Mechanical Engineering of the Soviet Union. Today NPO Splav is part of the Tekhmash concern (Mechanical Engineering Technologies), which is a part of Rostec. Under the direct supervision of Nikolai Makarovets, the enterprise in Tula worked not only on the creation of new types of weapons, but also on the diversification of production, as well as the creation of samples of civilian products. Nikolai Aleksandrovich was one of the developers of the methodology for the conversion of production for the production of shells for multiple launch rocket systems and artillery shells, the official website of Tekhmash notes.
The conversion opened up opportunities for the company to work in the civilian market, which in the 1990s was necessary for the survival of the production itself. For his activities in this area, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Makarovets was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. In the difficult years for our state, he managed to retain the enterprise and valuable design personnel, so that together with Rosoboronexport, he could bring the military products of NPO Splav to the world market. Among other things, Nikolai Alexandrovich was actively involved in teaching, passing on his knowledge to a new generation of designers. In 1996, the department "Launch and technical complexes of MLRS" appeared at Tula State University (since 2010, the department is called "Missile weapons"), which was headed by Nikolai Makarovets. For his work in the educational field, the designer was awarded state titles and prizes.
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Makarovets, photo: tecmash.ru
Here we can also highlight the successes that have been achieved by the team of NPO Splav employees in recent years. At the end of last year, the enterprise reported on the fulfillment of the state defense order in full, the supply of military products exceeded the indicators of 2017 by 2.5 times at once, and the supply of military products over the past five years (from 2014 to 2018 inclusive) increased at the enterprise by almost 20 times, which indicates the demand for the products offered. At the same time, in 2018, NPO Splav managed to reduce the cost of producing rockets for the Tornado-S MLRS by 26 percent, which made it possible to save about 6 billion rubles for the Russian budget. The achievement of these indicators without the work of Nikolai Alexandrovich, who ran the enterprise from 1985 to 2015, could hardly have been imagined.
Destructive element
Today, the Russian army is armed with three main calibers MLRS: 300, 220 and 122 mm. The designer and general director of NPO Splav Nikolay Makarovets was involved in the creation of all these systems. Specialists of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense believe that thanks to the work carried out today in our country to modernize existing multiple launch rocket systems, their role and place in future military conflicts will significantly increase, while it is rocket artillery that will take the leading place among all fire weapons available in at the disposal of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation.
It so happened that all Soviet and then Russian MLRS have names that intersect with atmospheric phenomena that have destructive power. The smallest system in the line received the designation "Grad", the middle one in the caliber of 220 mm received the designation "Hurricane", and the most deadly in terms of the level of impact on the enemy's manpower and equipment - "Tornado". Already in Russia, in the course of the modernization of the Grad and Smerch rocket launchers, new systems appeared on the weapon horizon under the designation Tornado-G and Tornado-S, respectively. According to Boris Belobragin, who is today the chief designer of NPO Splav, thanks to Nikolai Makarovets, our country has secured a leading position in the world in the field of MLRS.
In the second half of the 80s of the last century, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Makarovets was directly involved in the launch into serial production of a new domestic multiple launch rocket system, which today many experts put in second place in power, after nuclear weapons. We are talking about the Smerch MLRS, which still holds the position of the most powerful system in its class. The Russian army is armed with about 350 such installations, while the MLRS was actively supplied for export, today the operators of this complex are at least 15 countries of the world.
MLRS "Smerch" fires, photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Today in the arsenal of the Smerch MLRS (GRAU 9K58 index) there are more than 10 types of various rockets that can effectively engage targets located at a distance of up to 120 kilometers from the installation, which brings the capabilities of this weapon very close to tactical missile systems. In the arsenal of this multiple launch rocket system there is ammunition from the Tipchak-type UAV, this projectile allows the unmanned vehicle to be delivered to the target area, where it carries out reconnaissance and additional reconnaissance of targets for 20 minutes. The standard version of the Smerch launcher has 12 guides, it is able to fire 12 missiles at the enemy in just 38 seconds. Preparation for firing takes no more than three minutes, while after a salvo at enemy troops or targets, the Smerch MLRS battery can be removed from positions in just a minute, which increases the system's survivability in combat conditions, quickly leading the vehicles away from a possible retaliatory strike from the enemy.
A full salvo of just one such installation delivers several tons of explosives to the enemy's heads, making it possible to cover an area of 67.6 hectares. It is believed that a volley of a battery of these multiple launch rocket systems is able to delay the advance of an entire enemy motorized rifle division. At the same time, the Smerch MLRS can be equally effective not only against enemy infantry and military equipment, including armored ones, but also stationary objects, including headquarters, command posts, communication centers, and important industrial infrastructure.
Under the direct supervision of Nikolai Makarovets, a lightweight version of the famous complex was developed in Russia, which can be installed on the basis of a KamAZ truck with an 8x8 wheel arrangement. This version of the Smerch MLRS received a package of guides designed to launch six missiles. For the first time in the Russian history of rocket artillery for this complex, the possibility of firing with a replaceable package of guides was realized. This method will be used in the future for the modernization of other Russian MLRS. Such a technical solution greatly simplifies the process of recharging the entire system and increases its rate of fire, that is, increases the most important characteristics of systems of this class.
MLRS "Smerch" based on the car "KamAZ"
Further improvement of the Grad and Smerch MLRS systems were the updated Tornado-G and Tornado-S complexes, which received a modern fully computerized fire control system and equipment for working with the domestic GLONASS satellite navigation system. This navigation system is also widely used in the line of modern guided missiles for MLRS data. As noted by the Russian military, the development of new warheads of increased power and the improvement of the precision capabilities of the Tornado-S complex provide an increase in the effectiveness of its combat use by an order of magnitude. At the same time, both complexes retain the ability to use the entire created line of rockets, both old and newest. This, of course, expands their combat capabilities, increasing the flexibility of using MLRS, simplifying supply and allowing significant savings in a number of situations.
MLRS "Tornado-G", according to the chief designer of NPO "Splav" Boris Belobragin, has reached a new level of automation. Now the crew commander can, without leaving the cockpit of the combat vehicle, enter the necessary data for firing at each of the 40 available rockets. Each barrel of the guide received an induction input device, so you can set the projectile's flight range in automatic mode (for example, some for 20 km, others for 15 km, solving the combat missions facing the calculation), while in the MLRS "Grad" it was necessary to install flight time on the remote projectile tube in manual mode. Now flight missions can be distributed directly from the cockpit in just a few seconds.
New types of ammunition have become a very important change for the modernized version of the legendary Grad multiple launch rocket system, which is in service with almost 50 countries of the world. Specially for "Tornado-G" were created rockets with cumulative fragmentation striking elements, which make it possible to effectively deal with lightly armored military equipment of the enemy. Each of the projectiles carries 70 of these elements, and a full salvo of just one installation ensures that the target is covered with a whole swarm of 2800 submunitions. In addition, a high-explosive fragmentation projectile with an altimeter appeared in the arsenal of the installation, which allows you to set the height of the detonation of the ammunition, now it can explode at a height of several meters from the earth's surface. A rocket was also developed, which received a detachable warhead; it descends on the enemy by parachute almost vertically. The presence of the parachute system makes it possible to stabilize the Tornado-G projectile when it reaches the target, providing a higher hitting accuracy.
Fighting vehicle MLRS "Tornado-G"
An important feature, according to Boris Belobragin, was the transition to a new type of fuel. Earlier, ballistic solid propellants (ballistic propellants) were used in rockets of the Grad MLRS. At the same time, when developing a new line of ammunition for the Tornado-G, a mixed solid fuel was used. In terms of its energy characteristics, it is significantly superior to traditional ballistic propellants, which were first used in the rockets of the legendary Katyushas. The use of the new mixed solid fuel allowed the developers of NPO Splav to halve the rocket engine, thereby increasing the warhead and increasing the power of the ammunition.
The Uragan-1M MLRS can be called a kind of cherry on top of the cake of modern Russian multiple launch rocket systems. State tests of the new system began in 2012, and already in 2016 new installations began to enter the Russian army. A unique feature of this system is its bicaliberity. It can fire rockets of caliber 220 mm and 300 mm, while the fire is fired from packages of replaceable guides, which is an important component of the development of modern Russian MLRS and greatly simplifies the process of their material and technical maintenance. The new installation is as versatile as possible for this class of vehicles; it can fire all types of existing 220 mm rockets from the Uragan MLRS and 300 mm from the Smerch MLRS, as well as all new types of ammunition of these calibers. The reloading of this machine is greatly simplified, since after the salvo the entire package of guides is completely changed. This reduces the reload time and allows you to quickly re-enter the installation into battle, unleashing a hail of new deadly ammunition on enemy positions.
MLRS "Uragan-1M"
With the departure of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Makarovets, an entire era is leaving, but his work will live on. Having preserved in due time the potential and production capabilities of NPO Splav, he also ensured the safety of the shield of our Motherland. Thanks to his merits, as well as the work of all designers and employees of the Splav plant, our armed forces continue to receive modern multiple launch rocket systems today, maintaining the leadership of our military-industrial complex in this segment of the world arms market.
