UR-77 Meteorit

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.[4]

UR-77
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1978-present[1]
Used byRussia
Syria
Ukraine
Wars
Production history
Designed1977[5]
ManufacturerKharkiv Traktor Plant Soviet Union
Produced1978
No. built550
Specifications
Mass15,500 kg (34,200 lb)
Crew2[5]
Effective firing range90 m (300 ft)[5][4]
Main
armament
Mine-clearing line charge

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.[5][1]

The vehicle has also been used offensively, where its line charge has been used to destroy entire streets in urban combat in Syria[4] and by the Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine.[6][7][8]

Current operators
  •  Ukraine - As of 4 September 2023, at least 17 vehicles had been captured from Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9]

Similar systems

References
  1. "UR-77 Meteorit". WEAPONSYSTEMS.NET. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  2. "Боевики ударили "Горынычем" по Марьинке: видео мощнейшего взрыва". Liga.net (in Russian). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. 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.
  4. Beckhusen, Robert (12 October 2014). "Spotted — Al Assad's Brutal Mine-Clearing Tank in Syria". Medium. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  5. Nekrasov, Mikhail (29 March 2017). "UR-77: Clearing one landmine at a time". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  6. "UR 77 demining system used in urban warfare". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. Roblin, Sebastien (2022-04-26). "Russia's 'Meteorite' Could Be Putin's Secret Weapon to Kill Ukraine's Cities". 19FortyFive. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  8. "Russia Launches Thermobaric Rockets, Ukraine Flings A Line-Charge—And Bakhmut Explodes".
  9. https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html
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