New “Polonez-M” Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Have Entered Into Service With The Armed Forces of Belarus
The Belarusian Armed Forces’ 336th Rocket Artillery Brigade has put into service new “Polonez-M” multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) complexes. The official handover ceremony was held in the Asipovichy garrison in the Mogilev region of Belarus, and was attended by numerous military officials, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defense Viktor Gulevich.
Speaking at the occasion, Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defense Viktor Gulevich stated:
“The leadership of our state attaches great importance to the development of missile forces and artillery units. This process is carried out by careful study of the combat experience of the armies in the war. This day is another significant event in the life of the brigade’s military staff – the awarding of a new multiple launch rocket system “Polonez-M”. I express my sincere gratitude to the teams of enterprises of the State Military Industrial Complex for their significant contribution to the development and modernization of missile units and artillery weapons and their active participation in strengthening the defense capacity of the Republic of Belarus. I congratulate the brigade personnel who received the new complex.”
Polonez-M MLRS is an improved variant of the Polonez MLRS that is currently in service with the Armed Forces of Belarus. Polonez-M, based on the Chinese A200 artillery rocket system, began to be developed by Belarusian State Military Industrial Complex companies in 2016 to replace the former Soviet 220mm Uragan and 300mm Smerch artillery rocket systems. The modernized Polonez was unveiled for the first time at the MILEX Fair in Minsk in 2017, and tests-fires of the system were also conducted that year. The system was accepted into service by the Belarusian Ground Forces in May 2019, after successfully completing all trials in 2018. A source from the Belarusian defense industry complex also told TASS at the MILEX 2019 fair that Belarus has supplied improved Polonez-M multiple rocket launchers to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
The “Polonez-M” system consists of a command center vehicle, a loading vehicle, a launch vehicle, and a technical maintenance vehicle. The “Polonez-M” system’s loader and launch elements are based on the MZKT-7930 Astrolog 8×8 military truck chassis. The system’s technical maintenance and command center are supported by the MAZ-6317 6×6 vehicle. The launch vehicle contains two pods, each containing four A300 missiles. Because of the A300 missile with inertial and GPS guidance, the “Polonez-M” system can neutralize targets at a maximum range of up to 300 km. The circular error probable (CEP) of the warhead at maximum range is between 30 and 50 m. A salvo of eight missiles against eight different targets can be fired in 50 seconds, with a salvo preparation time of 8 minutes.