Russian defense industry has unveiled a new configuration of the 9A52-4 Sarma multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) at the Motovilikhinskiye Zavody plant in Perm, with senior officials in attendance. This latest variant is mounted on a KamAZ-63501 8×8 truck with an armored cabin, equipped with six 300mm launch tubes, and supported by a modern automated fire-control system linked to reconnaissance and target acquisition networks.
Developers describe the new Sarma as a continuation of earlier KamAZ-based projects, aligned with Russia’s broader modernization of long-range rocket artillery. The system reflects a design philosophy centered on modular launch packaging, guided rocket integration, and the increased mobility of wheeled truck platforms. Its conceptual lineage can be traced back to the Kama project of the 2000s, which aimed to create a lighter, road-mobile 300mm launcher using KamAZ-6350 trucks in place of heavier tracked chassis. Kama prototypes, displayed at events such as MAKS 2007, tested containerized rockets, a fixed six-tube launcher, and dedicated transport-reloaders. Although the project produced viable engineering solutions for containerization and rapid reloading, it never reached mass production.
Over the years, lessons from other modernization efforts—such as the Tornado-S upgrade of the Smerch, the Uragan-1M bi-caliber launcher, and the Vozrozhdeniye program—fed directly into the evolution of the Sarma system. These initiatives demonstrated the advantages of modular containers, satellite-guided munitions, and improved automated fire-control technologies. Collectively, they allowed wheeled vehicles to take on roles once reserved for tracked launchers by enabling faster reloading, simplified logistics, and more precise long-range firepower.
The new Sarma variant embodies these accumulated innovations, merging Kama-era mobility concepts with the advanced guidance, navigation, and modular containerization practices proven in Tornado-S and related systems. It highlights Russia’s continued drive to modernize its artillery forces with flexible, mobile, and network-integrated rocket systems.
