Profile
- Type
- Man-portable air-defense system
- Conflict side
- Russia-backed separatists
- Origin
- Poland
- Service note
- 1995-present
Air Defense
PPZR Grom
PPZR Grom is a Polish shoulder-fired infrared surface-to-air missile system built by MESKO for short-range defense against visually acquired aircraft, helicopters, and other infrared-emitting targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War context, open-source arms researchers documented a Grom launcher tube reportedly seized from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, making the entry a recovered-conflict-system record rather than a confirmed Ukrainian-operated aid item.
- Conflict side
- Russia-backed separatists
- Built by
- MESKO S.A.
- Built in
- Poland
Service History
- In service
- In service with Polish Armed Forces; exported
- Used by
- Polish Armed Forces, Russia-backed separatists
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Polish state armament design bureaus
- Designed
- Early 1990s
- Built by
- MESKO S.A.
- Built in
- Poland
- Unit cost
- Not publicly established
- Produced
- 1995-present
- Number built
- At least 2,000 missile sets reported by 2013
- Variants
- GROM E2, Grom-M / Piorun
Specifications
- Crew
- 1 operator
- Warhead
- FRAG-HE
- Engagement range
- 500 m to 5,500 m
- Altitude envelope
- 10 m to 3,500 m
- Average missile speed
- 580 m/s
- Missile set weight
- 18.5 kg
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Russia-backed separatists
ARES documented a Polish-made PPZR Grom MANPADS reportedly seized by Ukrainian forces from pro-Russian separatists in May 2014, noting markings that indicated a 2007 production tube and caveats about the route by which it reached eastern Ukraine.
PPZR Grom Images
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GROM MANPADSPublisher: MESKO S.A. | Note: Official manufacturer page for system role, production/service status, and technical data. | Accessed: 2026-06-20GROM / PIORUN Man-Portable Air-Defense SystemPublisher: CRW Telesystem-Mesko Sp. z o.o. | Note: Supports background on GROM/PIORUN optoelectronic and guidance-head elements. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Polish PPZR Grom MANPADS seized from pro-Russian Separatists in UkrainePublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports Russia-Ukraine War conflict-use context by documenting a PPZR Grom MANPADS reportedly seized from pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:PZR-Grom-01.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Primary image provenance; uploader self-published the image under GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:PZR-Grom-02.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Gallery image provenance; uploader self-published the image under GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20