Profile
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Built by
- Splav
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
- Type
- Cargo or mine-laying rocket
- Service note
- Cold War-present
- Produced
- 1963-present
Munitions
122 mm 9M28K Grad rocket
Also known as
- 9M28K
- 9М28К
- 122 mm 9M28K
- 122mm 9M28K Grad rocket
- 9M28K mine rocket
- 9M22K2/9M28K
The 122 mm 9M28K is a Soviet-era Grad-family mine-laying rocket for BM-21-class launchers, carrying three PTM-3 anti-tank mines in a submunition payload. Public references place it alongside the 9M28F and adjacent 9M22K/9M22K2 Grad rockets, with a short 13.4 km maximum range that makes it a close-range remote-mining round rather than a general-purpose fragmentation rocket.
Profile / Specs
Specifications
- Caliber
- 122 mm
- Role
- Unguided mine-laying rocket
- Payload
- 3 PTM-3 anti-tank mines
- Warhead
- 22.8 kg
- Range
- 13.4 km
- Weight
- 57.7 kg
- Length
- 3.019 m
- Fuzing
- Base-ejection, electrically initiated
- Stabilization
- Fin and spin stabilized
- Launcher
- BM-21 Grad-family 122 mm multiple rocket launchers
Variants
The 9M28 designation covers short-range 122 mm Grad-family rockets. Public references use 9M28K for the mine-laying PTM-3 carrier and 9M28F for an HE-fragmentation round, while some remote-mining references discuss the closely related 9M22K2/9M28K designation pair.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | HE-fragmentation 9M28 family rocket | Deagel groups 9M28K and 9M28F under the 9M28 rocket family; the 9M28F uses a high-explosive fragmentation warhead instead of the 9M28K's PTM-3 mine payload. Sources: 9M28K - Deagel |
| Adjacent Grad mine-delivery rocket | OE Watch discusses the BM-21's 9M22K2/9M28K scatterable-mine rocket pairing, while CAT-UXO and GICHD identify 9M22K as another 122 mm Grad rocket associated with PTM-3 delivery. Sources: U.S. Army OE Watch Remote Mining, GICHD Explosive Ordnance Guide for Ukraine |
Launch Platforms
The 9M28K is a Grad-family rocket projectile for BM-21-class 122 mm launchers; its payload and range make the launcher relationship central to understanding the round.
| Launcher | Launcher type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 122 mm multiple rocket launcher | Missilery.info lists the 9M28K as part of the Grad multiple launch rocket system, Deagel describes it as developed and produced for the Grad launcher, and OE Watch identifies 9M22K2/9M28K rockets as the BM-21's three-PTM-3 mine-delivery option. Sources: M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.info, 9M28K - Deagel, U.S. Army OE Watch Remote Mining |
Payload And Designation Notes
The 9M28K is best read as a payload-specific Grad rocket: the rocket body delivers a small PTM-3 mine package instead of a unitary high-explosive fragmentation warhead.
| Topic | Source-backed detail | Reader caution |
|---|---|---|
| Mine payload | Deagel and OE Watch identify a three-mine PTM-3 payload for the 9M28K or 9M22K2/9M28K Grad mine rocket. | PTM-3 mine sightings or use reports should not be treated as 9M28K rocket evidence unless the delivery rocket is identified. |
| Grad launcher relationship | Missilery places the 9M28K in the M-21 / 9K51 Grad rocket family, and Deagel describes it as developed for the Grad launcher. | The page links to the broader BM-21 Grad catalog record rather than creating separate records for every Grad-compatible vehicle. |
| Adjacent designations | Deagel groups the mine-laying 9M28K with the HE-fragmentation 9M28F family member; OE Watch uses the 9M22K2/9M28K designation pair for the Grad mine rocket. | Public references do not always draw a clean boundary between 9M22K, 9M22K2, and 9M28K. |
| Conflict-use status | Mine-monitoring sources document PTM-3 mines in Ukraine, but they do not identify the 9M28K rocket as the delivery munition in those cases. | This entry therefore remains relationship-only instead of copying BM-21 or PTM-3 conflict coverage onto the rocket page. |
Timeline
122 mm 9M28K Grad rocket Key Events
9M28 family IOC listed
Deagel lists 1963 as the initial operational capability year for the 9M28K and adjacent 9M28F Grad-family rockets.
Sources: 9M28K - Deagel
Remote-mining role discussed by OE Watch
U.S. Army OE Watch described 9M22K2/9M28K rockets as the BM-21 Grad route for delivering three PTM-3 scatterable anti-tank mines, while noting the payload is small compared with larger Uragan and Smerch mine rockets.
Sources: U.S. Army OE Watch Remote Mining
Media
122 mm 9M28K Grad rocket Images
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
122mm 9M28K Grad Rocket - CAT-UXOPublisher: CAT-UXO | Note: Supports the 9M28K as a Russian 122 mm submunition carrier, electrically initiated, fin and spin-stabilised ground-to-ground rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-299M28K - DeagelPublisher: Deagel | Note: Supports the 9M28K as a 122 mm unguided anti-tank mine-laying rocket projectile developed and produced by Splav, with three PTM-3 mines, a 22.8 kg warhead, 13.4 km range, 57.7 kg weight, 3.019 m length, and 1963 IOC. | Accessed: 2026-06-29M-21 Field rocket system - Missilery.infoPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports the 9M28K as a Grad-family rocket projectile and its launcher relationship to the BM-21 system. | Accessed: 2026-06-29U.S. Army OE Watch Remote MiningPublisher: U.S. Army TRADOC G-2 Foreign Military Studies Office | Note: Supports 9M22K2/9M28K designation context for BM-21 scatterable mine rockets, the three-PTM-3 payload, and the operational limitation compared with larger Russian mine-dispensing rockets. | Accessed: 2026-06-29GICHD Explosive Ordnance Guide for UkrainePublisher: Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining | Note: Supports PTM-3 background, magnetic-influence anti-vehicle mine context, and the guide's listing of 122 mm Grad 9M22K as one PTM-3 delivery route used for designation-family caution. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Ukraine Mine Ban PolicyPublisher: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor | Note: Supports the caution that PTM-3 antivehicle mines are documented in Ukraine while the mine-monitoring source does not identify the 9M28K as the delivery rocket for those cases. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Soviet 122 mm Artillery Rocket ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain 122 mm artillery rocket photograph used as contextual gallery media. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Soviet 122 mm Rocket Tail Fins ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain photograph showing the tail fins of a Soviet 122 mm artillery rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-29