Manufacturer catalog

licensed producers

Licensed producers are national arsenals, state-owned plants, and defense companies that manufacture a weapon or compatible subsystem under a foreign design, production licence, or documented derivative-production arrangement. In this catalog the name is used where public sources identify a licensed or country-level production line but do not support one single canonical corporate manufacturer.

1 weapons

Licensed production is common in long-lived artillery, rocket, armored-vehicle, and small-arms families because original designs are transferred, locally assembled, modified, or copied across decades of military procurement. SIPRI treats manufacturing licences as part of the arms-transfer record, and Forecast International separates prime contractors from licensee manufacturers in its BM-21 Grad program data.

For the Grad family, the manufacturing picture is especially distributed. Missilery.info describes Soviet development of the M-21 field rocket system and reports that BM-21 launch-vehicle production or modifications were organized in countries including China, Egypt, Iraq, Romania, and South Africa. The same source documents production of the 9M22 rocket from 1964 and 9M22U filling and assembly work at Soviet plants, while later public product pages from European manufacturers show continued production of Grad-compatible 122 mm rockets for BM-21 and RM-70 launchers.

Licensed and national production of defense systems122 mm Grad-family rocket launchers122 mm Grad-compatible rockets and ammunitionForeign derivatives and local assembly programs

Notable Systems

BM-21 Grad, 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

BM-21 Grad

122 mm multiple rocket launcher

Forecast International identifies the Soviet-origin BM-21 program as having prime and licensee manufacturers, estimating 14,362 systems produced by the prime contractor and licensees through 2023. Missilery.info also records foreign production or modification of Grad launch vehicles in several countries.

Sources: BM-21 122mm Multiple Launch Rocket System, M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.info
9M22U / M-21OF Grad rocket, 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket, Munitions

9M22U / M-21OF Grad rocket

122 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket

Missilery.info documents Soviet 9M22 rocket production from 1964 and later 9M22U filling and automated assembly-line work; STV GROUP's current 122 mm Grad product page illustrates continuing production of compatible rockets for BM-21 and RM-70 launchers.

Sources: M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.info, STV GROUP Rocket 122 mm Grad
RM-70, 122 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket system, Artillery

RM-70

122 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket system

Missilery.info describes the RM-70 as a Czechoslovak vehicle produced from 1970 that combined the BM-21 artillery unit with a Tatra 813 chassis; Forecast International lists RM-70 among license-produced BM-21-family models.

Sources: Fighting vehicle RM-70 - Missilery.info, BM-21 122mm Multiple Launch Rocket System

Manufacturer History

  1. 9M22 rocket production begins

    Missilery.info reports that series production of the 9M22 rocket for the Grad multiple rocket system was organized from 1964 at the Stamp plant.

    Sources: M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.info

  2. 9M22U filling line commissioned

    Missilery.info describes automated assembly-line work for 9M22U warhead filling at the Bryansk Chemical Plant, with the line commissioned in 1968.

    Sources: M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.info

  3. RM-70 production starts in Czechoslovakia

    Missilery.info states that the Czechoslovak defense industry produced the RM-70 from 1970 as a Grad-derived launcher on a Tatra 813 chassis.

    Sources: Fighting vehicle RM-70 - Missilery.info

  4. Forecast International summarizes BM-21 licensee production

    Forecast International's August 2024 archived BM-21 report distinguishes prime and licensee manufacturers and estimates total prime-and-licensee output through 2023.

    Sources: BM-21 122mm Multiple Launch Rocket System

Website links
SIPRI Arms Transfers Database sources and methodsMissilery.info M-21 Field rocket systemForecast International BM-21 reportSTV GROUP 122 mm Grad rocket

This is a production-category manufacturer record, not a single legal entity. Headquarters, ownership, and a single official manufacturer website are therefore not assigned; individual weapon pages should use named manufacturers when sources support a specific plant, bureau, arsenal, or company.

Manufacturer Sources

  • SIPRI Arms Transfers Database sources and methodsPublisher: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute | Note: Explains that SIPRI's arms-transfer coverage includes manufacturing licences and records licence year and produced quantities when reliable open information is available. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.infoPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports the M-21/BM-21 development chronology, 9M22 and 9M22U production milestones, and foreign Grad-family production or modification context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Fighting vehicle RM-70 - Missilery.infoPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports RM-70 production in Czechoslovakia from 1970 and its use of the BM-21 artillery unit with M-21OF-compatible 122 mm rockets. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • BM-21 122mm Multiple Launch Rocket SystemPublisher: Forecast International | Note: Supports the BM-21 program's prime and licensee manufacturer structure, license-produced model context, and estimated prime-plus-licensee production through 2023. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • STV GROUP Rocket 122 mm GradPublisher: STV GROUP | Note: Official product page supporting current manufacture of 122 mm Grad-compatible rockets for RM-70 and BM-21 multiple launch rocket systems. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Rosoboronexport GradPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Official Russian export page supporting current Grad system composition, including launch vehicle, transporter-loader, and 122 mm rockets. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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9M22U / M-21OF Grad rocket, 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket, Munitions2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, 2014 Second Libyan Civil War +1 more9M22U / M-21OF Grad rocket122 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocketBuilt in: Soviet Union / Russia / Bulgaria / Romania / CzechoslovakiaThe 9M22U / M-21OF is the standard Soviet 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation rocket associated with the BM-21 Grad family. Missilery identifies it as the M-21OF unguided rocket and traces licensed production to Bulgaria, Romania, and Czechoslovakia, while direct conflict sources document 9M22U use in Libya, Mali, and northeast Nigeria.