Artillery

Vilkha

Also known as
  • R624
  • R624 Vilkha
  • R624M
  • R624M Vilkha-M
  • Vilkha-M
  • Vil'kha

Vilkha is a Ukrainian 300 mm guided rocket artillery system derived from the BM-30 Smerch family and rebuilt around domestically produced precision rockets from State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch. The baseline R624 gave Ukraine a guided heavy-rocket option in the Smerch caliber class, while Vilkha-M extended the family into the 110-120 km range band documented in Ukrainian test and wartime reporting.

Vilkha, 300 mm guided multiple launch rocket system, Artillery
Image source: Vilkha MLRS missile launch 01.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Ukraine
Type
300 mm guided multiple launch rocket system
Service note
Entered Ukrainian service before the 2022 full-scale invasion; documented in wartime use from 2022
Designer
State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch
Designed
2010s
Unit cost
Not publicly confirmed
Produced
Serial deliveries reported by 2019-2020
Number built
Not publicly confirmed; Ukrainian defense-industry official cited about 100 Vilkha-M rockets produced by March 2023

Specifications

Caliber
300 mm guided rocket
Launcher family
Smerch-derived 300 mm multiple launch rocket architecture; public reporting describes modified BM-30 Smerch launchers for Vilkha rockets
Range
About 70 km for baseline Vilkha; 110-120 km reported for Vilkha-M tests and production references
Warhead
Baseline R624 reported with a 250 kg class warhead; Vilkha-M reported with a 300 mm warhead around 485 lb
Guidance
Precision guided rocket; Vilkha-M described with gas-rudder course correction
Designations
R624 Vilkha baseline rocket; R624M/Vilkha-M extended-range rocket branch
Builder
State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch with Ukrainian closed-cycle production emphasized in official testing reports
Launcher Family

Vilkha belongs to the 300 mm Smerch-derived launch architecture rather than the smaller 122 mm or 220 mm rocket-artillery families.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
BM-30 Smerch, 300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket system, ArtilleryBM-30 Smerch300 mm multiple launch rocket system family

The War Zone describes Vilkha as a guided, domestically produced 300 mm rocket for a modified BM-30 Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, and Oryx describes the Vilkha MRL as based on the Soviet BM-30 Smerch.

Sources: Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched Ones, Novel Capabilities: Ukraine's Vilkha MRL

Rocket Family and Smerch Lineage

Vilkha is useful to read as a Ukrainian guided-rocket modernization of the 300 mm Smerch caliber class, not as a standard unguided Smerch ammunition entry. The public sources separate the baseline R624 rocket from the longer-range Vilkha-M/R624M branch.

ElementDocumented pointReader note
Launcher lineageSpecialist reporting describes Vilkha as a Ukrainian system based on or fired from modified BM-30 Smerch 300 mm launch architecture.The catalog links the Smerch page for family context without treating Russian Smerch conflict use as Vilkha conflict use.
Baseline R624Defense Express identifies R624 as the 300 mm Vilkha rocket and gives a 70 km class range for the baseline branch.This is the branch cited in early 2022 Ukrainian precision-strike reporting.
Vilkha-M/R624MOfficial Ukrainian reporting describes Vilkha-M testing at 120 km, while later wartime reporting gives a 110 km range figure and combat-use context.This branch explains why Vilkha appears alongside longer-range precision-fire systems in Ukraine coverage.

Sources: Novel Capabilities: Ukraine's Vilkha MRL; DP Luch completed contract for supplying Vilkha rockets to the Armed Forces; Successful tests of the Vilkha-M missile with 120 km destruction range were held in Ukraine; Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched Ones.

Timeline

Vilkha Key Events

  1. Vilkha-M 120 km test reported

    Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council reported successful Vilkha-M tests with a 120 km destruction range and described the system as a closed-cycle Ukrainian development by Luch.

    Sources: Successful tests of the Vilkha-M missile with 120 km destruction range were held in Ukraine

  2. Luch supply contract completed early

    Defense Express reported that Luch completed a contract for Vilkha rockets for the Ukrainian Armed Forces ahead of schedule, linking the serial R624 supply effort with the later Vilkha-M branch.

    Sources: DP Luch completed contract for supplying Vilkha rockets to the Armed Forces

  3. Early wartime precision strikes disclosed

    Ukrinform, citing Luch, reported that Ukrainian forces had already carried out about 50 precision strikes with Vilkha missile systems during the opening phase of the 2022 full-scale invasion.

    Sources: Ukrainian military already carry out about 50 precision strikes with Vilkha missile systems

  4. Vilkha-M combat use detailed

    The War Zone reported Ukrainian defense-industry comments describing Vilkha-M combat use, a May 2022 combat debut, and production of about 100 longer-range rockets by March 2023.

    Sources: Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched Ones

Media

Vilkha Videos

Vilkha Images

Vilkha, 300 mm guided multiple launch rocket system, Artillery - view 1
Source: Vilkha missile complex, Kyiv, 2018 28.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
BM-30 Smerch, 300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket system, ArtilleryArtilleryBM-30 Smerch300 mm heavy multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-30 Smerch, also designated 9K58, is a Soviet-designed heavy multiple launch rocket system built around 300 mm rockets and a 12-tube launcher on an 8x8 wheeled chassis. Its ammunition family includes high-explosive, cargo, mine-laying, sensor-fuzed, and thermobaric rounds, making Smerch a deep-fire artillery system rather than a front-line direct-fire weapon. In Ukraine, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh, documented Smerch-family remnants and firing reports tie the launcher to long-range area fires, including cluster-munition attacks.

Sources

Successful tests of the Vilkha-M missile with 120 km destruction range were held in UkrainePublisher: National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine | Note: Official Ukrainian source for Luch testing Vilkha-M, 120 km range, closed-cycle Ukrainian development, and Land Forces context. | Accessed: 2026-06-30DP Luch completed contract for supplying Vilkha rockets to the Armed ForcesPublisher: Defense Express | Note: Supports Luch production/delivery background, R624 300 mm rocket references, and baseline/Vilkha-M range context. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Ukrainian military already carry out about 50 precision strikes with Vilkha missile systemsPublisher: Ukrinform | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict use: R624 Vilkha missiles used by Ukrainian forces for precision strikes, citing State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched OnesPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict use: Vilkha-M used by Ukrainian forces, with a reported May 2022 combat debut, production context, and 110 km range/warhead reporting. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Novel Capabilities: Ukraine's Vilkha MRLPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports background on Vilkha as a Ukrainian 300 mm Smerch-derived multiple-launch rocket system and gives system-family context distinct from direct conflict-use sourcing. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Vilkha MLRS missile launch 01.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Primary image provenance: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine image hosted on Commons under CC BY 4.0 attribution terms. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Vilkha missile complex, Kyiv, 2018 28.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Gallery image provenance: photographed at a 2018 Kyiv parade rehearsal and licensed on Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-30