PERM, August 30 (AVN) - The modernised Grad multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on the basis of the 2B17 automatic combat vehicle has passed service tests successfully, Mikhail Romanov, head of the special equipment export bureau in the local Motovilikhinskie Zavody JS, said on Thursday.
The tests were supervised by Motovilikhinskie Zavidy Chief Constructor Rafael Shvarev, Romanov told the Military News Agnency.
In the course of comprehensive modernisation the 2B17 vehicle was fitted with a satellite navigation system. The equipment installed in the operator's position allows him to calculate flight mission parameters for rockets, see the vehicle's position on the electronic map, input data in the rocket exploder in the automatic mode, home and control the rocket launch without leaving the cabin.
The vehicle is mounted on the Ural-4320 chassis powered by a diesel engine. Comprehensive modernisation also increased accuracy of fire and doubled range of fire to 40km. The crew was reduced from four to three people and the time of putting the system in the combat mode from 14 to two minutes.
According to Romanov, over 2,000 Grad systems made by Motovilikhinskie Zavody are in the inventory of more than 40 nations. They can now be upgraded to the 2B17 automatic combat vehicle. The modernisation price will be different for each contract, Romanov added.