The experience of the Ukrainian military with a Romanian rocket launcher: “We stopped every 10 hours and poured water, because the engine was boiling”

Ukrainian soldiers from the 118th Mechanized Brigade talked about their experience with the Romanian-made APR-40 rocket launchers, used on the front against the Russians. A military man said that the system he operates is old and breaks down often, according to the publication Militarnyi, which cites a report by Channel 5 Kanal TV.

The APR-40 is a Romanian rocket launcher that uses Soviet-style 122 mm shells and has been in front-line use since last year.

According to Militarnyi, the APR-40 is a licensed Romanian copy of the BM-21 Grad MRL system, which was produced by Aerostar in the 1970s and 1980s. It has the same artillery unit, but received a new DAC 665T three-axle chassis.

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A soldier with the call sign “Bolya” said that the launcher assigned to him is about 40 years old, so it is quite worn and breaks down often.

“I drove this car 550 kilometers and I stopped every 10 hours and poured 10-15 liters of water into it because it was boiling,” says the soldier.

“Bolya” also says that the launcher was broken when they received it, but that his team repaired it and got it back to working order. The artillery part of the installation has seen very little use, so it is in good condition.

The gunner says it only takes 1.5 minutes for his already well-coordinated crew to fire the first shot. The salvo of 40 missiles can be fired in 30 seconds.

Publisher: MB