# Vilkha
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilkha
> Source revision: 1307758730
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|Ukrainian guided missile for MLRS}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Vilkha
| image = Vilkha missile complex, Kyiv 2018, 46.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = Vilkha in the [Kyiv Independence Day Parade](/source/Kyiv_Independence_Day_Parade), 2018
| origin = [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine)
| type = Multiple rocket launcher
| is_artillery =yes
| is_vehicle = yes
| service = 2018-present
| used_by = [Ukrainian Ground Forces](/source/Ukrainian_Ground_Forces)
| wars = [2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine](/source/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine)
| weight = 33 tons
| width = 3.05 m
| caliber = 300 mm
| barrels = 12
| crew = 4
| engine = YaMZ-7511.10 turbocharged [diesel engine](/source/diesel_engine)
| suspension = 8×8 wheeled
| speed =
}}
'''Vilkha''' ({{langx|uk|«Вільха»}}, "[Alder](/source/Alder) tree") is a [Ukrainian](/source/Ukraine) heavy [multiple rocket launcher](/source/multiple_rocket_launcher) that fires guided missiles. Designed by the [Luch Design Bureau](/source/Luch_Design_Bureau), it was based on the [BM-30 Smerch](/source/BM-30_Smerch) rocket launch system and developed in the 2010s. Vilkha entered service in the Ukrainian armed forces in 2018.[{{cite web |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/05/novel-capabilities-ukraines-vilkha-mrl.html |title=Novel Capabilities : Ukraine's Vilkha MRL |date=2021-05-10 |publisher=[Oryx](/source/Oryx) |access-date=2022-03-05}}]
== Operational use ==
The Vilkha was developed in the 2010s, based on the 1980s [BM-30 Smerch](/source/BM-30_Smerch). It entered service in 2018 with the Ukrainian Army. It uses two legs to stabilize the truck during firing. It has a crew of four and can fire all twelve missiles in 45 seconds. The claimed truck speed is 100 km/h using a turbocharged diesel YaMZ-7511.10 engine. The rockets that it fires are claimed to have micromotors that boost the range of the rocket and also keep it stable in flight. It has an automatic and manual [fire control system](/source/Fire-control_system).[{{cite web | url= https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2022/07/22/ukraine-fires-vilkha-missiles-with-momentum-increasing-micromotors/ | title=Ukraine fires Vilkha missiles with momentum-increasing micromotors | date=22 July 2022 |website=BulgarianMilitary.com}}]
Using the existing body of a 9M55 rocket with a range of 70 km and a 250 kg warhead, the upgraded R624 rocket adds a new solid-fuel engine, [GPS](/source/GPS)-aided [inertial guidance](/source/inertial_guidance), 90 small gas rudders (holes emitting propellant) and aerodynamic vanes that extend during the final approach to achieve a [circular error probable](/source/circular_error_probable) (CEP) of 10 m. The upgraded Vilkha-M uses the improved R624M rocket, which reduces warhead weight to 170 kg to reach a longer range of 130 km, though with less accuracy of 30 m CEP. Projectiles that extend range even further are in development.[{{Cite web |last=Altman |first=Howard |date=2023-03-02 |title=Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched Ones |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-is-using-guided-rockets-with-more-range-than-himars-launched-ones |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=The Drive |language=en}}][{{cite web | url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3418625-ukrainian-military-already-carry-out-about-50-precision-strikes-with-vilkha-missile-systems.html | title=Ukrainian military already carry out about 50 precision strikes with Vilkha missile systems|date=3 March 2022}}] Ivan Vinnyk, first deputy head of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries has confirmed on 1 March 2023 that “Yes, the Vilkha has been used in combat,” first used in May 2022. '''Vilkha-M''' rockets have a greater range and heavier payload compared to [GMLRS](/source/M270) rockets fired by U.S.-supplied [M142 HIMARS](/source/M142_HIMARS).