The RM-70 Vampire is a Czech modernization of the Czechoslovak RM-70 Grad-family multiple launch rocket system, pairing a forty-tube 122 mm launcher with a Tatra 815-7 8x8 chassis, protected cab, digital fire-control equipment, and a carried reload pack. Czech government reporting and frontline media document the system in Ukrainian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, where it provides mobile area-fire and counter-battery rocket artillery.
Ukrainian forces operate Czech-supplied RM-70 Vampire launchers in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, with reporting from Donetsk-region fighting documenting frontline fire missions, counter-battery work, UAV-adjusted targeting, and 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade crews.
Role detailsThe Vampire upgrade is best read as a mobility, protection, reload, and fire-control modernization of an older Grad-family launcher rather than a new rocket caliber. The supported points below separate what the manufacturer states from the narrower Ukraine-use evidence.
| Area | Supported detail | Reader caution |
|---|---|---|
| Launcher and reloads | CSG describes a forty-tube 122 mm launcher with another forty rockets carried for rapid reloading. | Exact rocket model depends on ammunition stocks and is not narrowed to a single cataloged round here. |
| Vehicle modernization | The Vampire configuration uses a Tatra 815-7 8x8 chassis and protected cabin rather than the older RM-70 truck arrangement. | Protection level varies by cabin/configuration, so the entry keeps the manufacturer caveat in specifications. |
| Battlefield employment | Defense Express and RFE/RL document Ukrainian crews using the system for frontline and counter-battery fire missions in Donetsk-region fighting. | Those sources support Ukrainian 2014 Russia-Ukraine War use, not use by every RM-70 Vampire operator. |
The RM-70 Vampire sits inside the RM-70/Grad launcher lineage: it keeps the forty-tube 122 mm launcher concept while replacing major automotive, protection, and fire-control elements.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| RM-70 | Czechoslovak base launcher | Defense Express identifies the RM-70 Vampire as an upgrade of the Czechoslovak RM-70 multiple launch rocket system, before linking that lineage back to the BM-21 Grad. |
 | Grad-family predecessor | Defense Express describes the RM-70 Vampire as an upgrade of the Czechoslovak RM-70, which itself was created from the Soviet BM-21 Grad lineage. |
Excalibur Army marketed the RM-70 VAMPIRE 4D as a 122 mm rocket launcher modernization with the Tatra 815-7 8x8 chassis and the retained forty-tube launcher layout.
Sources: Rocket launchers - Excalibur Army, VAMPIRE
RFE/RL published footage of Ukrainian soldiers operating a Czech Vampire rocket system against Russian forces during frontline fighting.
Sources: Ukrainian Soldiers Unleash Czech 'Vampire' Rocket System On Russian Forces
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Czech support for Ukraine included dozens of multiple rocket launchers and citizen-funded RM-70 Vampire launchers.
Sources: Czechia Sends Hundreds of Heavy Military Systems Worth Tens of Billions to Ukraine
NV reported Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi's video of RM-70 Vampire crews from the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade in action.
Sources: Zaluzhnyi Shows Off RM-70 Vampire MLRS At Work
