"The 9K52 Luna-M was a Soviet rocket-projecting development of the Cold War period but still sees service on the battlefields today."
Power & Performance Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the 9K52 Luna-M 8x8 Mobile Battlefield Rocket Launcher.
2 x ZiL-375YA V8 diesel-fueled engine driving conventional 8x8 all-wheeled arrangement. Installed Power
40 mph 65 kph Road Speed
311 miles 500 km Range
Structure The physical qualities of the 9K52 Luna-M 8x8 Mobile Battlefield Rocket Launcher.
4 (MANNED) Crew
30.4 ft 9.26 meters O/A Length
10.3 ft 3.13 meters O/A Width
10.0 ft 3.06 meters O/A Height
30,865 lb 14,000 kg | 15.4 tons Weight
Armament & Ammunition Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the 9K52 Luna-M (Frog-7) 8x8 Mobile Battlefield Rocket Launcher.
1 x Tactical battlefield rocket with conventional, chemical, or nuclear warhead / payload.
AMMUNITION: Single-shot use requiring accompanying resupply vehicle (which carries up to three rockets).
Variants Notable series variants as part of the 9K52 Luna-M (Frog-7) family line.
9K52 "Luna-M" - Base Series Designation.
9M21B - Nuclear-capable variant.
9M21E - Cluster munition variant.
9M21F - HI-FRAG rocket variant.
9M21Kh - Chemical rocket variant.
Laith-90 - Iraqi export model.
PV-65 - Training rocket variant.
At a time when tensions between East and West ran extremely high during the Cold War period (1947-1991) and another major war in Europe seemed all but inevitable, the Soviet Union invested heavily in frontline rocket-projecting weapons to stave off an attack. One such development of the period became the 8x8 wheeled 9K52 "Luna-M" battalion-level mobile battlefield rocket launcher carrying a single large rocket over the modified chassis of a ZiL-135LM military truck. The rocket was capable of unleashing conventional, chemical, and nuclear payloads at range, reaching speeds of Mach 3 in flight, and could "touch" targets as far out as 40 miles. The vehicle was initially developed (under the designation of "3R-11" and "9R11") as a nuclear-capable solution to deter any advanced from the West, mainly in and around East Germany, but were later converted to a conventionally-minded variant to better serve a Soviet frontline assault.
The vehicle was known to NATO as "Frog-7" and remains in limited use worldwide. In practice, it proved inaccurate, sensitive to weather/environment, and required a resupply vehicle on hand to replenish the single-shot rocket component. As such, it was eventually succeeded in the Soviet inventory by the more effective OTR-21 "Tochka" (NATO: SS-21 "Scarab") of 1976 detailed elsewhere on this site.
First-use of this battlefield system was by Syria in 1973 during the Yom Kipper War against Israel. They remained in inventory long enough to be used in today's long-running civil war by Syria.
Major rocket variants of the line included the nuclear-minded 9M21B, the conventional 9M21F (High-Explosive, FRAGmentation - HE-FRAG), and the chemical-capable 9M21Kh. The 9M21E offered cluster munition capability and the Laith-90 was the version used by Iraq in its wars against neighboring Iran and, later, the West. The PV-65 designation covered training systems.
The 9K52 series had a prolific reach for its time, utilized in conflicts ranging from the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) and Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) to the Syrian Civil War (2011-Present) and the Yemeni Civil War (2014-Present). Its reach was such that it is still found on some battlefields today.
Active operators include former Soviet/Russian allied players such as Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, North Korea, and Ukraine. Former operators of note include Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Iraq, Kuwait, Poland, and Romania.
Operators Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the 9K52 Luna-M (Frog-7). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.
Total Production: 3,000 Units Contractor(s): State Factories - Soviet Union
[ Algeria; Afghanistan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria (former); Czechoslovakia (former); Cuba; East Germany (former); Egypt; Hungary (former); Iraq (former); Kuwait (former); Libya; North Korea; Poland (former); Romania (former); Russia; South Yemen (former); Soviet Union (former); Syria; Ukraine; Yemen; Yugoslavia (former) ]
Going Further... The 9K52 Luna-M (Frog-7) 8x8 Mobile Battlefield Rocket Launcher appears in the following collections:
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