Georgian President M. Saakashvili, together with the head of the military department B. Akhalaya, at the beginning of March, took part in field tests of the first model of the MLRS of his own production. The car was demonstrated at the base near Tbilisi - Vaziani.
The multi-barreled missile launcher uses 122 mm ammunition. Placed on a vehicle chassis with an armored cabin. The car can accommodate five people. The newest MLRS vehicle and the firing capabilities of its rocket launcher were demonstrated to the top military leadership of Georgia.
The decision to produce our own combat vehicles took place immediately after the end of the military conflict with the Russian Federation. The President of Georgia announced this at a demonstration of new weapons. Earlier, the Georgian military used MLRS vehicles to shell the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. After the end of hostilities, the acquisition of any weapons became a very big problem for Georgia. It became clear that there was no one to hope for in this matter. Georgia followed the path of Singapore and Israel and began to create its own weapons from scratch. Military and civil engineers, using the existing base and resources, began to design and create high-tech solutions for their own armed forces. Like any MLRS, the Georgian development is intended to destroy any ground-based targets and enemy manpower.
“Today we held a demonstration of the first Georgian gun mount. This is of great importance not only for our ground units, but also for the army as a whole. The Georgian Armed Forces have always had good artillerymen, but, what a pity, there have always been quite a few gun mounts. Now the situation should radically change, and this gun mount will be able to fully satisfy our Armed Forces. In the future, we will think about the issue of modernizing the machine,”the head of the Georgian military department made a statement to the journalists present at the demonstration.
As noted, the Georgian designers tried to take into account the accumulated experience in this industry. The MLRS was created by the designers of the military scientific and technical center "Delta". This center is directly supervised by the Georgian Ministry of Defense. The main characteristics of the Georgian MLRS:
- number of trunks - 40-80 units;
- ammunition caliber - 122 mm;
- vertical angles - 0-60 degrees;
- horizontal angles: 80 to the right, 130 to the left;
- time of one volley - 1/3 minute;
- Range of application - 1-40 kilometers;
- machine speed - up to 80 km / h;
- cruising range - up to 500 kilometers.
The new vehicle can start firing without pre-preparation and without leaving the vehicle cabin by the personnel, which, according to the calculations of the designers, reduces the time required for a salvo.
The President of Georgia noted that several thousand specialists of various levels and profiles are involved in the production of military equipment in the country. “Domestic production is now beginning to develop and improve. Soon the problem of liquid fuel will be completely solved. We plan to produce as soon as possible artillery ammunition for this MLRS, "Saakashvili assured the journalists. In the visible future - the export of Georgian arms. For example, Georgian armored transporters "Didgori" and infantry fighting vehicles "Lazika" are 4 times cheaper than any solution of foreign production. For Georgia, the main question now is not to depend on anyone for the armament of the army. There will always be sense in own production of military equipment and weapons - after all, well-proven weapons and equipment will always be in demand on the world arms market.
