The M-87 Orkan (from ) is a Yugoslav fully automated self-propelled multiple rocket launcher.

History

Development started as a joint Yugoslav and Iraqi project under the name of KOL-15 with professor Obrad Vučurović as a concept designer and chief engineer on the project. In early talks with Iraq, Yugoslavia offered two options:

  • Development of a MRL with 12 barrels and a 50 km range
  • Development of a MRL with 4 barrels and a 120 km range

Iraq chose the first option as did Yugoslavia.

At the start of development, two prototypes were built: one for Yugoslavia and one for Iraq. In accordance with requests from purchasers, rockets were developed with cluster warheads.

According to the chief operating officer of the Artillery department of Military Technical Institute professor Obrad Vučurović, Orkan was never a copy of any previous designs. The Yugoslav doctrine when developing the system was based on the premise that countries who copy designs are at least five years behind those who have the weapons developed.

The following types of rockets are known:

  • M-87-APHE with a fragmentation warhead to 91 kg. Range 50 km.
  • M-87-APHE-ER with a fragmentation warhead to 91 kg. Range 65 km.
  • M-87-PFHE-ER pre-fragmented warhead containing double-size balls. Range 65 km.
  • M-87-ICM-AT with 288 piece shaped charge bomblets type KB-2 . Range 50 km.
  • M-87-ICM-AP with 420 piece splinter bomblets. Range 50 km.
  • M-87-AT with 24 piece YU-S-AT (KPOM) mines with Magnetos. Range 50 km.

Some of the rockets are no longer in production.

Features

Unique features at the time of introduction (1987) when compared to other MRLs operational at the time include:

  • Ability to disperse anti-tank or anti-personnel mines up to 50 km from the firing location.
  • Semi-automatic loading.
  • Preparations to fire take two minutes.
  • Automatic leveling. Automatic Leveling of weapon was very precise. The system has a TV camera corrector for correcting missile path.
  • Automatic barrel sight.
  • Hard chromed barrels without the need for cleaning.
  • Mines KB-2 with wings and parachutes with two fuses (magnetic and mechanism for self-destruction after 24 or up to 48 hours) Newly developed rockets increased range of Orkan II to 65 km.

Iraq

  • Ababil 50 − A locally assembled M-87 using some parts made in Iraq prior to 1991 and used by the Iraqi Army during the Gulf War, it fired rockets with a warhead and a maximum range of . It could fire conventional high-explosive, cluster, or minelayer rockets.
  • Ababil 100 − An enlarged version firing rockets with a maximum range of , it could also fire cluster and minelayer rockets. It never entered service since it was in development, though production of rocket motors reportedly resumed after the Gulf War. For continuing work on development of domestic MRLS Turkey obtained Orkan M-87 documentation, launcher and rockets from Bosnia and Herzegovina's "Bratstvo Novi Travnik" factory in 1995. They used them for development of a domestic 260mm rockets and launcher thus shortening development for more than 5 years. First launches of new 230mm and 260mm rockets respectively based on 227mm M26 and 262mm Orkan rockets produced in Turkey from Orkan M-87 launcher were conducted in April 1999.

Operators

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thumb|400px|Map with M-87 operators in blue and former operators in red

Current operators

  • - 4 M-96 Orkan II 1 completed and 3 partially assembled units destroyed along with rockets.
  • - 1 In 2000-2001, the reload vehicles were transformed into launchers, using modified SM-90 launchers from the S-75 Dvina SAM system, with six tubes instead of 12. No longer operational.
  • - 9 + 1 prototype

See also

  • - an earlier, very similar system
  • - rocket artillery system developed by reverse engineering the M-87 Orkan.

References