Profile
- Origin
- Russia
- Built by
- NPO Splav
- Type
- 300 mm rocket with 9N268 self-guiding submunitions
- Service note
- 2000s-present
- Designer
- NPO Splav
- Designed
- 2004
- Unit cost
- Price on request
- Produced
- 2004-present
Munitions
9M55K6 self-guiding submunition rocket
Also known as
- 9M55K6
- 9M55K6 rocket
- 9M55K6 Smerch rocket
- 9М55К6
- 9N268
- 9Н268
- 9N268 sensor-fuzed submunition
The 9M55K6 is a Russian 300 mm Smerch-family cargo rocket built around five 9N268 sensor-fuzed submunitions for top-attack strikes on armored vehicles and tank groupings. Missilery lists the round at 800 kg, 7,600 mm long, and 25 to 70 km range, METIS places it in the standard-range 9M55 family, and Army Recognition lists it among older Smerch rockets compatible with the Tornado-S launcher.
Profile / Specs
Specifications
- Caliber
- 300 mm
- Weight
- 800 kg
- Length
- 7,600 mm
- Warhead weight
- 243 kg
- Warhead length
- 2,049 mm
- Self-targeting submunitions
- 5 x 9N268
- Submunition weight
- 17.3 kg
- Submunition diameter
- 185 mm
- Submunition length
- 384 mm
- Submunition explosive weight
- 5.8 kg
- Range
- 25-70 km
- Armor penetration
- 70 mm homogeneous armor at 100 m and 30 degrees
- Temperature range
- +/-50 degrees C
- Two-rocket container weight
- 1,934 kg
Sensor-Fuzed Payload
The 9M55K6's combat effect comes from the 9N268 submunitions rather than from a unitary warhead.
| Element | Documented detail | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier rocket | 300 mm Smerch-family cargo rocket with a 25-70 km firing range. | Places the munition inside the long-range BM-30 / 9K58 rocket family. |
| Payload | Five 9N268 sensor-fuzed submunitions, each listed at 17.3 kg with 5.8 kg explosive content. | Shows why the round is an anti-armor cluster munition rather than a fragmentation cargo rocket. |
| Attack mechanism | Missilery describes ripple-fired rockets as top-attack weapons against armored groupings and tanks; Human Rights Watch describes SPBE-type submunitions as detecting vehicles and firing downward. | Explains the top-attack anti-armor role without implying a documented conflict-use row for this exact rocket. |
Sources: 9M55K6 rocket | Missilery.info; METIS 9M55K6 munition profile; Human Rights Watch Syria SPBE report.
Variants
METIS identifies 9M55K6 as part of the standard-range 9M55 Smerch rocket family, which includes cargo, mine-laying, thermobaric, high-explosive, and sensor-fuzed anti-armor rounds.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Standard-range cargo rocket | METIS lists 9M55K in the same standard-range 9M55 family as the 9M55K6. Sources: METIS 9M55K6 munition profile |
 | Self-targeting anti-tank submunition rocket | METIS lists 9M55K1 in the same standard-range 9M55 family; Missilery describes both K1 and K6 as Smerch rockets with self-targeting anti-armor submunitions. Sources: METIS 9M55K6 munition profile, 9M55K6 rocket | Missilery.info |
 | Remote mine-laying rocket | METIS lists 9M55K4 alongside 9M55K6 in the standard-range 9M55 family. Sources: METIS 9M55K6 munition profile |
 | Cumulative-fragmentation submunition rocket | METIS lists 9M55K5 alongside 9M55K6 in the standard-range 9M55 family. Sources: METIS 9M55K6 munition profile |
Launch Platforms
The 9M55K6 is a Smerch-fired 300 mm rocket with self-targeting submunitions.
| Launcher | Launcher type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 300 mm multiple launch rocket system | Missilery says the rocket is designed to use from the 9K58 Smerch multiple launch rocket system, and Rosoboronexport lists it in the 300 mm ammunition catalog. Sources: 9M55K6 rocket | Missilery.info, Rosoboronexport 300 mm ammunition catalog |
 | 300 mm multiple launch rocket system | Army Recognition lists the 9M55K6 among the older Smerch rockets that Tornado-S can fire, while the Tornado-S record documents its legacy Smerch compatibility. Sources: Tornado-S 9K515 MLRS |
Timeline
9M55K6 self-guiding submunition rocket Key Events
Export documentation re-registered
Missilery cites export and advertising passport records for the 300 mm 9M55K6 rocket re-registered on 2004-09-02.
Sources: 9M55K6 rocket | Missilery.info
Syria SPBE evidence caveat
Human Rights Watch reported SPBE sensor-fuzed submunitions near Kafr Halab and noted that 9M55K6 could deliver five such submunitions, while also stating it had not seen 300 mm rocket remnants there.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Syria SPBE report
Conflict-Use Sourcing Boundary
Open-source conflict reporting documents Smerch-family rockets and SPBE sensor-fuzed submunitions in several wars, but the cited evidence for this munition does not directly identify 9M55K6 remnants or firing in a specific conflict. Human Rights Watch's Syria report is a useful boundary case: it says a 300 mm 9M55K6 rocket can deliver five SPBE sensor-fuzed submunitions, but for Kafr Halab it assessed an air-delivered RBK-500 SPBE as more likely because no 300 mm rocket remnants were visible.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Syria SPBE report; SPBE submunitions employed in Syria.
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
9M55K6 rocket | Missilery.infoPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports 9M55K6 identification, its 9N268 self-targeting submunition warhead, top-attack role, performance specifications, and image provenance for the diagram used on this entry. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Rosoboronexport 300 mm ammunition catalogPublisher: Rosoboronexport | Note: Official export catalog page used as background for the 9M55K6's inclusion in Rosoboronexport's 300 mm land-forces ammunition listings and its price-on-request status. | Accessed: 2026-06-29METIS 9M55K6 munition profilePublisher: Fenix Insight | Note: Supports the 9M55K6's 9N268 sensor-fuzed submunition payload, Russian manufacture, and placement in the standard-range 9M55 Smerch rocket family. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Human Rights Watch Syria SPBE reportPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports the SPBE sensor-fuzed submunition context and the conflict-use sourcing boundary: HRW notes that 9M55K6 can deliver five SPBE-type submunitions, but states it saw no visual 300 mm rocket-remnant evidence near Kafr Halab. | Accessed: 2026-06-29SPBE submunitions employed in SyriaPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports SPBE-family submunition function, technical context, and the caution that Syria evidence discussed by ARES did not conclusively identify 9M55K6 as the delivery munition. | Accessed: 2026-06-29Tornado-S 9K515 MLRSPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports Tornado-S launch compatibility for older Smerch rockets including the 9M55K6. | Accessed: 2026-06-29