| UR-77 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1978-present |
| Used by | Russia Syria Ukraine |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1977 |
| Manufacturer | Kharkiv Traktor Plant Soviet Union |
| Produced | 1978 |
| No. built | 550 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 15,500 kg (34,200 lb) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Effective firing range | 90 m (300 ft) |
| Main armament | Mine-clearing line charge |
The UR-77 Meteorit (Russian: УР-77 «Метеорит», lit. 'Meteorite') is a Soviet mine clearing vehicle, based on a variant of the tracked 2S1 Gvozdika chassis.
Description
The vehicle is armed with a launcher and two mine-clearing line charges. When launched, a rocket deploys a line charge by extending it out into a line that crosses the minefield. When detonated, the charge causes a shock wave that destroys or disables all the shells or mines in an area along the line charge with a width of 6 metres and length up to 90 metres. Thus a break in the minefield is created.
The vehicle has also been used offensively, where its line charge has been used to destroy entire streets in urban combat in Syria and by the Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine.
Current operators
Similar systems
References
- ^ "UR-77 Meteorit". WEAPONSYSTEMS.NET. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^ "Боевики ударили "Горынычем" по Марьинке: видео мощнейшего взрыва". Liga.net (in Russian). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- Tutov, Kuzma; Kuznetsov, Michael (17 December 2016). "Dangerous objects: the base of an army engineering unit of Russian invaders in Donetsk". Inform Napalm. Translated by Kalashnik, Evgeniy. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
- ^ Beckhusen, Robert (12 October 2014). "Spotted — Al Assad's Brutal Mine-Clearing Tank in Syria". Medium. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ Nekrasov, Mikhail (29 March 2017). "UR-77: Clearing one landmine at a time". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- "UR 77 demining system used in urban warfare". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- Roblin, Sebastien (2022-04-26). "Russia's 'Meteorite' Could Be Putin's Secret Weapon to Kill Ukraine's Cities". 19FortyFive. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
- "Russia Launches Thermobaric Rockets, Ukraine Flings A Line-Charge—And Bakhmut Explodes".