The Polish WR-40 Langusta was developed by Huta Stalowa Wola.
The Grad rocket launcher is one of the legendary weapons of the Soviet era. Produced since the 1960s, this system is in service in many countries around the world, with a total number of more than 8,500 units. Some versions are modernized to modern standards. In Russia, the 9K51M Tornado-G MLRS complex is a further development of the Grad system. In Poland a similar complex was also developed, the WR-40 Langusta.
The Polish WR-40 Langusta was developed by Huta Stalowa Wola. The first 32 units of the WR-40 entered service in 2010. The Polish Army is operating a total of 75 systems. The country has about 227 aging BM-21 Grad systems and it is speculated that about half of them will be converted into the WR-40.
Based on the cold war BM-21 launcher, the old petrol Ural-375D truck chassis was replaced with a modern one, and the launcher was fitted with a fire control system. The vehicle is lightly armored, offers STANAG 4569 Level 1 ballistic protection and is equipped with an NBC system and an air conditioning system.
Vehicle is powered by the IVECO Aifo Cursor 8 diesel engine, developing 350 horsepower. WR-40 can reach a maximum speed of 85 km/h, a range of 650 km. Truck has a central tyre inflation system. The vehicle has a length of 8.6m, a width of 2.54m and a height of 2.74m. The Langusta can be airlifted by the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
The fire system includes 40 launchers for 122 mm rockets for both original and newly developed rockets. The standard rocket of the BM-21 is 2.87 m long and weights 66.4 kg. Also new ammunition Feniks-Z with 42 km range was adopted.
WR-40 Langusta is equipped with modern fire control and navigation systems. The system components include a DD9620T terminal, layer’s display unit, stationary firing device, Talin 5000 navigation system, RRC-9311 AP VHF radio station, and FONET digital intercom system. The multiple launch rocket system is manually reloaded within seven minutes by the crew. The launcher can fire full salvo in 20 seconds. The projectiles are carried by a medium utility truck.
