Naval Systems

RBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher

Also known as
  • RBU-6000
  • Smerch-2
  • RBU-6000 Smerch-2
  • RGB-60 rocket depth-charge launcher
  • Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka

The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 is a Soviet-origin shipboard anti-submarine rocket-depth-charge launcher built around a remotely aimed 12-tube mount and below-deck reload system. It fires RGB-60 rocket depth charges and remains useful catalog context because Project 1331M / Parchim-class corvettes and many other Soviet-designed surface combatants carried the launcher as close-range undersea armament.

RBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher, Shipboard anti-submarine rocket launcher, Naval Systems
Image source: RBU-6000 Smerch-2 front view - Wikimedia Commons
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Shipboard anti-submarine rocket launcher
Service note
1961-present
Produced
1960s-present
Number built
Several hundred systems reported

Specifications

Caliber
212 mm RGB-60 rocket depth charge
Launch tubes
12
Fire control
Burya fire-control system with sonar input
Rate of fire
2.4 rockets per second
Ripple options
1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 rockets
Range
0.35-5.8 km for RGB-60
Reloading
Automatic loader from below-deck magazine
Magazine
72 or 96 rounds per launcher
Launcher weight
About 3.1 tonnes empty
Traverse
180 degrees left and right
Elevation
-15 to +65 degrees
Variants

The RBU-6000 family centers on the 12-tube Smerch-2 launcher and its ammunition path; later RPK-8 configurations reuse the launcher with guided 90R-series anti-submarine rockets.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
RPK-8Guided-rocket upgrade path

The same source identifies RPK-8 as a later configuration associated with 90R guided anti-submarine rockets launched from the RBU-6000 system.

Sources: RBU-6000 Smerch-2 - Weaponsystems.net

Documented Ship Classes

Open ship references list the RBU-6000 in the armament fit of Project 1331M / Parchim-class corvettes. This relationship is platform context only and does not imply independent conflict use for the launcher.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Project 1331M / Parchim-class anti-submarine corvette, Anti-submarine corvette, Naval SystemsProject 1331M / Parchim-class anti-submarine corvetteAnti-submarine corvette

RussianShips.info lists Project 1331M small anti-submarine ships with two RBU-6000 Smerch launchers as part of their ASW armament.

Sources: Small Anti-Submarine Ships - Project 1331M - RussianShips.info

Timeline

RBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocket launcher Key Events

  1. Smerch-2 enters service

    Weaponsystems.net lists 1961 as the RBU-6000's entry-into-service year after late-1950s development.

    Sources: RBU-6000 Smerch-2 - Weaponsystems.net

  2. Project 1331M production begins with RBU-6000 armament

    RussianShips.info lists Project 1331M ships with two RBU-6000 Smerch launchers, tying the launcher to the Soviet Parchim II batch.

    Sources: Small Anti-Submarine Ships - Project 1331M - RussianShips.info

Related Weapon Systems
4K51 Rubezh coastal-defense missile, Mobile coastal-defense missile system, Naval SystemsNaval Systems4K51 Rubezh coastal-defense missileMobile coastal-defense missile systemThe 4K51 Rubezh is a Soviet mobile coastal-defense system that puts radar, fire-control equipment, and twin P-15 Termit launch containers on a single MAZ-543-family 8x8 vehicle. Its compact TELAR layout made it exportable and self-contained compared with earlier Soviet coastal batteries; in the 2014 Yemen Civil War, Houthi forces acquired Rubezh/P-15 stocks from Yemeni military inventories and continued to display the type as part of their anti-shipping arsenal.

Sources

RBU-6000 Smerch-2 - Weaponsystems.netPublisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports the RBU-6000's Soviet origin, service-entry date, producer context, launcher layout, fire-control arrangement, ammunition, range, magazine, and variant relationship to RPK-8. | Accessed: 2026-07-01Small Anti-Submarine Ships - Project 1331M - RussianShips.infoPublisher: RussianShips.info | Note: Supports the documented relationship between Project 1331M / Parchim-class ships and two RBU-6000 Smerch launchers. | Accessed: 2026-07-01RBU-6000 Smerch-2 front view - Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an open-license photograph of an RBU-6000 launcher mounted on a Russian Navy surface combatant. | Accessed: 2026-07-01