Greece intends to donate part of the RM-70 multiple-cannon missile launchers it has deployed on the Aegean Sea islands to Ukraine, writes the Serbian “Balkan Security System”/”Balkanska sefikštika mreža”.
These need to be replaced by ones more effective in range and firepower, and that option may be the Serbian Tamnava multi-barrel rocket launcher that has a range of 70 km and 40 km, which is being developed by the Serbian public company Jugoimport-SDPR.
Now the matter of acquiring Tamnava for Greece is open. That is why a month ago, a delegation from Belgrade was in Athens and presented the package, which is now the subject of analysis at the Greek Ministry of Defense and Army.
Turkey is following the developments with interest and is exerting very strong pressure on Greece to effectively disarm the defense of the islands. In early June, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan personally informed the Greeks that they should not strengthen military forces on the islands and that if they continue to do so, the result will be regrettable.
The RM-70 launchers, Czechoslovak derivatives of the Soviet BM-21 Grad of the sixties, had a range of about twenty kilometers. The Tamnava in the islands would have ranged to many points deep into Turkish territory, and this would be a major challenge for Turkish politics and the military.
Tamnava launchers use two rockets. One is the successor to the Orkan, which was designed by the Military Technical Institute from Žarkov in the 1980s.
The new missile called Jerina-2 has a range increased from 50 km to 70 km. Depending on the need, at shorter distances from Tamnava, it can be launched with G-2000 caliber 122 mm rockets with a range of 40 km.
Both missiles are the work of the private Belgrade company EDePro. At Krušik in Valjevo, the G-2000 missile is in production for foreign customers. The Jerina-2 rocket is still a project under development.
The chassis of the Tamnava prototype is a Russian KAMAZ 8×8 off-road vehicle. Behind the crew cabin is a crane that reloads rocket units from the logistics vehicle. If Jerina is used, there are two units with six missiles each, and for the G-2000 two units with 24 missiles each.
The KAMAZ vehicle has armor plates that provide protection against the effects of infantry weapons and fragments of artillery rockets and mortar mines. At first glance, it appears to be a vehicle adaptation of the Nora-B52 155mm self-propelled howitzer for a multi-barreled rocket launcher.
With both artillery systems, it is very easy to use another all-terrain vehicle instead of the Kamaz according to the wishes of the customers.
A prototype of the Aleksandar self-propelled howitzer has a chassis made by modifying the German MAN.
Since Greece is on the list of countries equipping Ukraine, of course Russian vehicles would not be an option and Athens can choose a vehicle according to its own assessment and needs.
It is possible that the experience of the Cypriot National Guard with the Nora-B52 howitzers strongly influenced Greek interest.
On the island, the training in 24 shells is conducted dynamically and regularly, and the firings are attended by Greek officers who had the opportunity to see the accuracy and functionality of the Nora-B52.
With the help of the long-range MLRS multicannon, Greece will be able to protect its remote island territories. This increases the chances of a contract for the supply of Serbian MLRS. In turn, the Tamnava array already delivered to Cyprus and the production for the Athens supply increase the chances of serial production of MLRS for the Serbian national army.
