At the Motovilikhinskiye Zavody facility in Perm, Russian industry showcased a new variant of the 9A52-4 Sarma multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). Built on an 8×8 KamAZ-63501 truck with an armored cab, the system carries six 300mm launch tubes and is equipped with an upgraded automated fire-control chain tied to reconnaissance and targeting assets.
According to its designers, the Sarma builds directly on earlier KamAZ-based work and represents one of several modernization tracks in Russia’s rocket artillery, emphasizing modular launcher design, precision-guided munitions, and high mobility. The project originates from the early-2000s “Kama” program, which explored lighter, truck-mounted 300mm launchers as an alternative to heavy tracked platforms. Kama prototypes were shown publicly at MAKS 2007, featuring removable launch containers and fixed six-tube launchers supported by transport-reloaders, but the concept remained limited to trials and never entered mass production.
Advances from later projects—including Tornado-S modernization of the Smerch family, Uragan-1M dual-caliber launcher development, and the Vozrozhdeniye program—established the use of modular containers, satellite navigation, and advanced fire-control systems. These efforts proved that wheeled MLRS could reduce logistics complexity, accelerate reloading, and assume roles once reserved for tracked systems. The Sarma now brings together these modernization lessons with the mobility and containerization concepts pioneered in the Kama program.
