Czech volunteers will hand over RM-70 MLRS to Ukraine

Czech volunteers purchased the RM-70 multiple rocket launchers and several hundred missiles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Czech Ceske Noviny reported on this.

According to Dalibor Dědek, founder of the initiative, the RM-70 MLRS will arrive in Ukraine within a few weeks. The delivery will also include 365 missiles.

To purchase the MLRS, Czech volunteers raised over 30 million Czech korunas (about $1.4 million) for the “Gift for Putin” charity project.

The multiple rocket launcher was overhauled at the STV Group plant in Polička. The company’s specialists spent approximately 2,000 hours on this work.

“This is a complete overhaul, including the engine, chassis, launcher, and fire control system, so that the MLRS meets all possible requirements for combat use,” said Ivo Strejček, the Development Head.

The Czechs selected the MLRS from the STV Group company with the consideration of the Ukrainian army requirements. Another prerequisite was the rapid receipt of the combat vehicle and its production in the Czech Republic.

According to the founder of the initiative and businessman Dalibor Dědek, the necessary funds were collected very quickly.

“We are proud that the Czech public raised several dozen million in a few weeks, as we announced this campaign on the first anniversary of the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine,” Dědek said.

RM-70

RM-70 (raketomet vzor 1970) is a multiple rocket launcher (MSR) produced since the 1970s in the Czechoslovak Republic and then in the Czech Republic.

The rocket launechr of the MLRS is a replica of the Soviet BМ-21 Grad. The MLRS is equipped with a 40-round launcher. The system uses the unguided missiles (9M22 and 9M28 – ed.) of Soviet origin and similar ammunition of foreign production.

Tatra T813 “Kolos” (8×8) is used as the chassis. The original hydraulic device to reload the launcher is located in the middle part of the vehicle. The chassis is equipped with a V-shaped 12-cylinder Tatra T-930-3 diesel engine with a capacity of 270 horsepower.