The Tornado-S – Russia's Precision Strike System
A Brief History:
The system's full designation is 9K515 Tornado-S (the "S" stands for Smerch modernization). It is manufactured by NPO Splav in Tula—the "father" of Russian MLRS systems—under the Rostec umbrella. Its first public appearance was at the 2020 Victory Day Parade, though testing officially began in 2016 and it entered service in 2019. Its combat debut occurred at the start of the 2022 invasion, with precision-guided rocket debris first identified in March near Pokrovsk.
The Vehicle:
The combat launch vehicle is based on the MAZ-543M chassis. It features 12 launch tubes (300mm) and is operated by a crew of just 3-4. A key upgrade over the old Smerch is its fully digital fire control system (ASUNO). The system is supported by a Transloader Vehicle equipped with a crane; reloading all 12 tubes takes approximately 20-30 minutes.
The Rocket:
The rockets are 300mm and utilize GLONASS satellite guidance. Each rocket in a salvo can be programmed to hit a different individual target.
Main Types:
-9M544: Guided cluster warhead with 552 anti-tank (HEAT-Frag) submunitions.
-9M549: Guided cluster warhead with 72 fragmentation submunitions.
-9M542: Precision unitary HE-Frag warhead (150 kg) for bunkers and hardened structures.
-9M534: A specialized variant that deploys a small Tipchak reconnaissance drone over the target area.
The official range is 120 km, though modernized versions (like the 9M544) reportedly reach up to 200 km. The cost of a single guided rocket is estimated between $150,000 and $200,000.
Combat Usage:
Used daily, primarily by the 439th Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade. They are currently most active in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk sectors. Losses are extremely low because the system operates 100 km behind the front lines. According to Oryx, only 1 or 2 units have been visually confirmed as damaged or destroyed.
I hope you enjoyed the post! Next time, I’ll be covering 3 major Russian artillery pieces. Until then, stay strong and have a great day!