Trumpeter 01020 Soviet BM-30 Smerch Rocket Launcher

The first works on the self-propelled rocket artillery system BM-30 Smiercz began at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s at the Spław plant in Tula. In 1989, the set was adopted by the Soviet Army. To this day (2017), it remains in service with the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Serial production started in 1989 and is continued to this day in Fabryka Spław Tule. The BM-30 Smiercz was a Soviet response to the American M-270 MLRS launcher. The BM-30 set is based on the MAZ-543M truck chassis. On such a chassis was mounted a 12-rail 300 mm missile launcher for the 9M55 family of missiles. They have a range of up to 70 km, and in 1998 their modification with a range of about 90 km was revealed. The BM-30 launchers, along with the BM-27 set, were and still are the backbone of artillery divisions and brigades in the Soviet and Russian troops. The BM-30 set has been exported to several countries, including India, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The BM-30 took part in several conflicts - mainly in the Second War in Chechnya and in the civil war in Syria.