The Russianmilitary has shown-off its upgraded truck-mounted rocket launcher by filming ground forces playing war games in a remote region.
Filmed in the south-western Russian region of Kurgan Oblast, the footage was shared on social media by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.
In the clip, projectiles are fired skywards in quick succession from multiple rocket launchers – all of which are capable of launching a maximum of 40 rockets in 20 seconds.
The BM-21 rocket launcher is also known as "Grad" which means hail.
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According to the ministry, the practice took place on February 17 and footage shows Russian soldiers testing the "Grad" rocket launcher in the snowy terrain.
Reports said the updated weapon, first developed by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, can propel missiles as far as 25 miles.
A Russian MoD spokesperson said: “Soldiers tested a fleet of military vehicles which arrived in early February. The new vehicles will increase our combat capabilities by 50 percent.”
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The statement said the updated Grad system has a new remote launch system with fire control and guidance capabilities, and the rocket firing range has almost doubled to 25 miles.
Meanwhile, the vehicle has new off-road features and an updated diesel engine.
The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket is sometimes referred to as the M-21 field-rocket system but is more commonly known as a Grad multiple rocket launcher system.
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In NATO countries the rocket launcher, either the complete system or the launch vehicle only, was initially known as M1964.
Several other countries have copied the Grad or have developed similar systems.
This comes after Russia updated another military asset – the world's faster supersonic bomber.
The Tupolev Tu-160M jet completed a test flight after being given new engines that will widen its range.
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