Piorun GROM Thunder MANPADS
Man-Portable Air Defense Missile System - Poland
Description
The Piorun also called GROM-M and nicknamed "Thunder" is a modernized version of the GROM MANPADS (MAN-Portable Air-Defense Systems) including a single-shot short-range missile designed and manufactured by the Polish Company MESKO based on the Soviet-made 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grail). The progress in micro-electronics, chemistry, and production technologies has allowed a depth upgrade of the existing GROM MANPADS system. The development phase was initially supposed to conclude before the end of 2014, but the deadline was later pushed to September 2015. The Piorun was presented for the first time to the public during the Defense Exhibition MSPO in September 2015 under the name of GROM-M. The Piorun (Thunderbolt) has an entirely new set of characteristics meeting the future battlefield, including the planned air attack and jamming systems. In December 2016, Poland's Defence Ministry has signed a contract with the Polish Company Mesko for the purchase of 1,300 Piorun (Thunderbolt) short-range anti-aircraft missiles. On November 29, 2022, the Norwegian army announced the signature of a contract with Poland for the purchase Piorun man-portable air defense missile systems manufactured by Polish company Mesko S.A. MESKO announced on December 31, 2022, a new contract to deliver Piorun MANPADS to a Baltic country.
Piorun MANPADS variants:
- GROM: Previous version of the Piorun with a hitting range of 5.5 km.
Technical Data
| Launcher Unit |
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The Piorun MANPADS is designed to be operated by one soldier. It consists of a single-stage projectile, a single-use tubular launcher, a starting mechanism, and an on-ground power supply. The Piorun system including the launch unit and the missile has a total weight of 16.5 kg, the same as for the GROM. One of the main features of the new Piorun, there is a mini keyboard on the right side of the trigger module which can be used to select types of targets, environments, and work modes. There is also a day/night optical sight mounted on the tube launcher.
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 The mini keyboard to select types of targets, environments, and work modes |
| Missile |
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The Piorun MANPADS uses a new short-range missile including a new warhead that can hit a flying target at a distance from 400 m to 6 km and from an altitude of 10 m minimum to 4 km maximum. The missile has a weight of 2 kg. A proximity fuse is used to allow more effective destruction of small size aerial targets, such as UAVs. The missile of the Piorun has a hitting probability of 10% when jammed.
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 New Piorun or GROM-M missile |
| Features |
| New rocket missiles, warheads, tracking and control systems, sights, power supply, etc. allow significant expansion of the hitting zone against a whole range of air attack systems. |
| Combat Use |
| The Piorun MANPADS is designed to engage low-flying targets on head-on and pursuit courses in clutter and IR jamming environments. It can be used in all-weather conditions during day and night. It has a detection range of 8 km, 1 km more than the GROM MANPADS. |
Specifications
| Armament | Type of engaged targets |
| One Piorun missile | Tactical aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, and cruise missile |
| Country users | Missile |
| Poland, Ukraine, Norway | Weight:10.5 kg Weight Warhead:1.82 kg Warhead type: HE (High Explosive Fragmentation Flight speed: 660m/s Altitude: 10 - 4,000 m |
| Combat Weight | Reaction Time |
| 16;5 kg ready to fire | 5 to 10 sec. |
| Target engagement | Guidance System |
| 400 to 6,000 m | Passive IR Infafred homing device and night vision (operating in the medium IR range) with target engagement selection |
| Operator | Missile Dimensions |
| 1 | Diameter: 72mm; Length: 1,596 mm |
Details View
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Pictures - Video
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