The war in Ukraine has seen an anachronistic array of weaponry. As Task & Purpose has reported in the past, the conflict has seen both modern, high-tech systems from attack drones to Western-supplied rocket systems and Patriot missile batteries. It’s seen those modern weapons ground down by the muck and mire of trench warfare.
Even with a somewhat steady influx of new weaponry, both Ukraine and Russia have relied on homemade, slapped-together weapons to help with the fighting. From repurposed commercial drones to an array of technicals, if a weapon can be mounted on a moving machine, it will be used. And nearly two years into the fighting, there are still new inventions and ways for both sides to wage war. After all, war breeds necessity and necessity breeds innovation. In this case, it’s strapping a massive anti-submarine missile system to the back of a flatbed truck.
Yes. That is a Russian Navy RBU-6000 anti-submarine weapons system mounted on a truck.
The heavy-duty technical was spotted on social media. The weapons system features 12 rocket barrels that can fire rockets and depth charges. It is almost exclusively put onto ships, meant to fire into the water to take out submarines. Those rockets can be devastating on land, but they generally aren’t put onto surface vehicles. Until apparently now.
There were some reports of the RBU-6000 being deployed or at least moved on tractors through Ukraine in September. But this new photo of the anti-submarine weapons system fixed to a flatbed truck shows a clear look at how desperate Russia has become for new artillery and rockets in its ground war. This isn’t the first naval weapon repurposed to ground artillery. Russia has previously fitted 57mm S-60 cannons to tanks in a way to get additional firepower.
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But also, look at this technical. The mounting of the rocket launcher looks somewhat shoddy, and there is wood in the base of the truck bed for support. It’s unlikely the heat generated by a salvo would be good for the truck. Cars are probably easier for the Russian military to replace than missiles, but this does not look like the most sturdy mobile artillery platform.
It’s not as if the Russian fleet is launching any offensive of its own. And instead of submarines, the Russian ships have mostly been dealing with swarm attacks by aerial and waterborne drones, which have managed to sweep past many of the defenses. Anti-submarine rockets aren’t going to be effective.
So, if you are a Russian soldier right now, you might find yourself in another part of the world. And you might find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. And that large automobile might have an anti-submarine rocket launcher mounted on the back.
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