The Russian military has recently begun to equip the Hurricane-1M multiple launch rocket system, and this news has attracted widespread attention. This rocket launcher has a modular design, similar to the American "Seahorse" multiple rocket launcher, capable of firing guided rockets. It is very convenient to replenish ammunition in a very convenient way, just remove the empty module and attach the module with ammunition. Compared to the American "Hippocampus", the "Hurricane-1M" has a significant advantage.
Among them, the "Hippocampus" uses a single module and carries 6 rockets with a caliber of 227 mm, while the "Hurricane-1M" uses a double module, each module can carry 6 rockets, and the caliber is available in a variety of options, including 122 mm "Hail" rockets, "Hurricane" rockets with a caliber of 220 mm and 300 mm "Tornado" rockets. As a result, the Hurricane-1M carries a larger amount of ammunition, and the proportion of guided rockets with a caliber of 300 mm is higher. In terms of guided rockets, the Russian military attaches great importance to the development of rocket artillery, and the performance of its guided rockets is not inferior to similar products in Europe and the United States.
The guided rockets launched by the Tornado-S have a range of more than 120 km, the maximum range of the Hippocampus is 75 km, and apparently the Hurricane-1M has a longer range. Moreover, the "Tornado-S" uses the "GLONASS" satellite guidance, and Russia has launched a number of military satellites after the Ukrainian crisis, which has developed its guidance capabilities by leaps and bounds. In addition, the Tornado-S repeatedly fired guided rockets and successfully hit important facilities of the Ukrainian army, demonstrating its powerful precision strike capabilities. As far as the reloading method is concerned, many people praise the modular reloading method of the "Hippocampus", believing that it is fast to replenish ammunition, while the "Tornado-S" needs to place ammunition one by one, and the reloading speed is slower.
However, this is not the case. After launching 6 guided rockets, the "Hippocampus" needs to retreat to the safe zone, and then use a crane to replace the module, which seems fast, but in fact it also takes a certain amount of time to replenish ammunition in the rear. The Tornado-S has a longer range and has 12 launch tubes, which means that it can continue to fight for a longer time and has a stronger combat continuity capability. The advantages of the Hurricane-1M and Tornado-S rocket launch systems have become apparent. In contrast, the Seahorse takes a full 5 minutes to fill, but that doesn't mean it can attack immediately. The opponent's equipment has 12 launch tubes, which is equivalent to twice the salvo power of the "Hippocampus".
The time required by the "Hippocampus" in the process of replenishing ammunition is much longer than that of the "Tornado-S", and the "Hurricane-1M" carries a 122-mm rocket module, which is much shorter than the 300-mm "Hippocampus". Today, the advent of the Hurricane-1M allows it to have more than double the launch tubes of the Hippocampus, and it also has an advantage over the Hippocampus in launching guided rockets, which means that it will last longer. In addition, the replacement of the ammunition module took only slightly longer than the "Hippocampus". At present, it is not difficult for the Russian army to invest more budget in the production of precision ammunition and improve the capabilities of guided rockets for long-range strikes.
With such a dual threat as "Tornado-S" and "Hurricane-1M", the assembly points, warehouses, headquarters, bridges and railway stations of the Ukrainian army behind the line of fire have become more dangerous. To compete with the Tornado-S, two salvos of the Hippocampus are required, which ignores the time and distance of returning to replenish ammunition. With a firing range of more than 120 km, the firing positions of "Tornado-S" and "Hurricane-1M" are much safer than those of the Ukrainian army. As for mobility, after all, they are all guided rockets, and who won't evacuate after a few rounds?