Avibrás Astros II Artillery Saturation Rocket System, IWM Duxford.
The Astros II Artillery Saturation Rocket System is a Self-Propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher was produced in Brazil by the Avibrás Company. It features a modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 5in to 17.72in. It was developed on the basis of a Tectran VBT-2028 6x6 All-Terrain Vehicle for enhanced mobility based on Mercedes-Benz 2028 truck chassis. A full Astros System includes 1 wheeled 4x4 Battalion Level Command Vehicle (AV-VCC) which commands 3 Batteries, and a series of 4x4 and 6x6 wheeled vehicles. Each battery consists of:
▪︎1 Wheeled 4x4 Battery-Level Command Vehicle (AV-PCC)
▪︎1 Wheeled 6x6 Radar Fire Control vehicle (AV-UCF)
▪︎6 Wheeled 6x6 Universal Multiple Rocket Launchers Vehicle (AV-LMU)
▪︎6 Wheeled 6x6 Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AV-RMD)
▪︎1 Wheeled 6x6 Field Repair / Workshop Vehicle (AV-OFVE)
▪︎1 Wheeled 4x4 Mobile Weather Station vehicle (AV-MET).
In the older version of the system, the Fire Control Vehicle were listed as an optional vehicle in a battery. The Command Vehicles and Weather Stations are recent additions, designed to improve overall system performance on newer versions. All vehicles are transportable in a C-130 Hercules. The launcher is capable of firing rockets of different calibers armed with a range of warheads. Each Rocket Resupply Truck carries up to two complete reloads.
The Astros II Artillery System entered service with the Brazilian Army in 1983, it has been battle proven, having been used in action by the Iraqi Army in the Gulf Wars. In the 1980's, Avibrás sold an estimated 66 Astros II Artillery Systems to Iraq. Iraq also built the Sajeel-60 which is a license-built version of the Brazilian SS-60. Sixty Astros II were sold to Saudi Arabia and an unspecified number sold to Bahrain and Qatar. Total sales of the Astros II between 1982 and 1987 reached U.S $1 billion. This fact made the Astros II Multiple Rocket Launcher the most profitable weapon produced by Avibrás. In the 1980's and early 1990's, Avibrás manufactured almost exclusively Rockets and Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) such as the Astros II, in addition to developing Anti-Tank and Anti-Ship Missiles. At its peak, Avibrás employed 6,000 people, later on it would be reduced to 900 people in the early 1990's as the arms industry demand fell. Even so, in the first Gulf War in 1991, the Astros II was successfully used by Saudi Arabia against Iraq. Years earlier, the Astros II system had helped Angola to defeat the UNITA.
The next step is an ambitious program, the Astros 2020 Mk.6, based on a 6x6 wheeled chassis, being a new concept, it will require an estimated investment of R $1.2 billion, of which about U.S $210 million will be invested solely in development. It will be integrated with the Cruise Missile AVMT-300 with 300km range during the stage of testing and certification. It is said that the venture will, for example, enable the Army to integrate the Astros with Defence Anti-Aircraft Guns, paving the way for the utilization of common platforms, trucks, parts of electronic sensors and command vehicles. The new Mk.6 system will use Tatra Trucks’ T815-790R39 6x6 and T815-7A0R59 4x4 trucks instead of the original Mercedes-Benz 2028A 6x6 truck. ASTROS 2020 offers several basic improvements including an improved armoured cabin, modern digital communications and navigation systems, and a new tracking radar that replaces the AV-UCF's Contraves Fieldguard System. The new tracking radar used by the Mk.6 AV-UCF was latter revealed to be the Fieldguard 3 Military Measurement System from Rheinmetall Air Defence. The Astros 2020 will also be equipped with a 180mm GPS-guided rocket called the SS-AV-40G with a range of 40km and SS-150 newly developed rockets with a claimed maximum range of 150km, four of them are carried. 36 Astros 2020 systems are to be acquired.
General characteristics:
▪︎Type: Rocket Artillery / Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
Place of originBrazilService historyIn serviceSince 1983WarsIran–Iraq War
Gulf War
Angolan Civil War
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
Military Intervention in YemenProduction historyManufacturerAvibrasNo. built270+SpecificationsMass10,000 kg
(22,046 lbs)[1]Length7 m (20 ft)Width2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)Height2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)Crew3CartridgeRocket length: 4.20 m (13 ft 9 in)[2]
Rocket weight: 152 kg (335 lb)[2]Caliber450mm (7.08in)[2]Maximum firing range30 (SS-30) to 300 km (AV-TM 300)[2]
Main
armament
Universal Multiple Launcher Module 127–450 mm
Secondary
armament
1 × 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun[1]EngineMercedes OM422 8-cylinder diesel
280 hp (209 kW)[1]Suspension6×6
Operational
range
500 KmMaximum speed100 Km/h
Avibrás Astros II Artillery Saturation Rocket System, IWM Duxford.
The Astros II Artillery Saturation Rocket System is a Self-Propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher was produced in Brazil by the Avibrás Company. It features a modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 5in to 17.72in. It was developed on the basis of a Tectran VBT-2028 6x6 All-Terrain Vehicle for enhanced mobility based on Mercedes-Benz 2028 truck chassis. A full Astros System includes 1 wheeled 4x4 Battalion Level Command Vehicle (AV-VCC) which commands 3 Batteries, and a series of 4x4 and 6x6 wheeled vehicles. Each battery consists of:
▪︎1 Wheeled 4x4 Battery-Level Command Vehicle (AV-PCC)
▪︎1 Wheeled 6x6 Radar Fire Control vehicle (AV-UCF)
▪︎6 Wheeled 6x6 Universal Multiple Rocket Launchers Vehicle (AV-LMU)
▪︎6 Wheeled 6x6 Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AV-RMD)
▪︎1 Wheeled 6x6 Field Repair / Workshop Vehicle (AV-OFVE)
▪︎1 Wheeled 4x4 Mobile Weather Station vehicle (AV-MET).
In the older version of the system, the Fire Control Vehicle were listed as an optional vehicle in a battery. The Command Vehicles and Weather Stations are recent additions, designed to improve overall system performance on newer versions. All vehicles are transportable in a C-130 Hercules. The launcher is capable of firing rockets of different calibers armed with a range of warheads. Each Rocket Resupply Truck carries up to two complete reloads.
The Astros II Artillery System entered service with the Brazilian Army in 1983, it has been battle proven, having been used in action by the Iraqi Army in the Gulf Wars. In the 1980's, Avibrás sold an estimated 66 Astros II Artillery Systems to Iraq. Iraq also built the Sajeel-60 which is a license-built version of the Brazilian SS-60. Sixty Astros II were sold to Saudi Arabia and an unspecified number sold to Bahrain and Qatar. Total sales of the Astros II between 1982 and 1987 reached U.S $1 billion. This fact made the Astros II Multiple Rocket Launcher the most profitable weapon produced by Avibrás. In the 1980's and early 1990's, Avibrás manufactured almost exclusively Rockets and Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) such as the Astros II, in addition to developing Anti-Tank and Anti-Ship Missiles. At its peak, Avibrás employed 6,000 people, later on it would be reduced to 900 people in the early 1990's as the arms industry demand fell. Even so, in the first Gulf War in 1991, the Astros II was successfully used by Saudi Arabia against Iraq. Years earlier, the Astros II system had helped Angola to defeat the UNITA.
The next step is an ambitious program, the Astros 2020 Mk.6, based on a 6x6 wheeled chassis, being a new concept, it will require an estimated investment of R $1.2 billion, of which about U.S $210 million will be invested solely in development. It will be integrated with the Cruise Missile AVMT-300 with 300km range during the stage of testing and certification. It is said that the venture will, for example, enable the Army to integrate the Astros with Defence Anti-Aircraft Guns, paving the way for the utilization of common platforms, trucks, parts of electronic sensors and command vehicles. The new Mk.6 system will use Tatra Trucks’ T815-790R39 6x6 and T815-7A0R59 4x4 trucks instead of the original Mercedes-Benz 2028A 6x6 truck. ASTROS 2020 offers several basic improvements including an improved armoured cabin, modern digital communications and navigation systems, and a new tracking radar that replaces the AV-UCF's Contraves Fieldguard System. The new tracking radar used by the Mk.6 AV-UCF was latter revealed to be the Fieldguard 3 Military Measurement System from Rheinmetall Air Defence. The Astros 2020 will also be equipped with a 180mm GPS-guided rocket called the SS-AV-40G with a range of 40km and SS-150 newly developed rockets with a claimed maximum range of 150km, four of them are carried. 36 Astros 2020 systems are to be acquired.
General characteristics:
▪︎Type: Rocket Artillery / Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
Place of originBrazilService historyIn serviceSince 1983WarsIran–Iraq War
Gulf War
Angolan Civil War
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
Military Intervention in YemenProduction historyManufacturerAvibrasNo. built270+SpecificationsMass10,000 kg
(22,046 lbs)[1]Length7 m (20 ft)Width2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)Height2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)Crew3CartridgeRocket length: 4.20 m (13 ft 9 in)[2]
Rocket weight: 152 kg (335 lb)[2]Caliber450mm (7.08in)[2]Maximum firing range30 (SS-30) to 300 km (AV-TM 300)[2]
Main
armament
Universal Multiple Launcher Module 127–450 mm
Secondary
armament
1 × 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun[1]EngineMercedes OM422 8-cylinder diesel
280 hp (209 kW)[1]Suspension6×6
Operational
range
500 KmMaximum speed100 Km/h