Profile
- Type
- 300 mm guided multiple launch rocket system
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- Ukraine
- Service note
- Entered Ukrainian service before the 2022 full-scale invasion; documented in wartime use from 2022
Artillery
Vilkha
Vilkha is a Ukrainian 300 mm guided rocket artillery system derived from the BM-30 Smerch family and modernized around domestically produced precision rockets. Built by State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch and associated Ukrainian defense enterprises, it gives Ukrainian rocket artillery a heavier, longer-range precision-fire option than standard unguided Smerch ammunition, with Vilkha-M extending the family beyond the baseline rocket's range.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch
- Built in
- Ukraine
Service History
- In service
- In Ukrainian service before 2022; R624 Vilkha and Vilkha-M reported in combat during the Russia-Ukraine War
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch
- Designed
- 2010s
- Built by
- State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch
- Built in
- Ukraine
- 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
- Variants
- R624 Vilkha, Vilkha-M
Specifications
- Caliber
- 300 mm guided rocket
- Launcher
- 12-tube multiple launch rocket system derived from the BM-30 Smerch architecture
- 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
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
Ukrainian forces used R624 Vilkha guided rockets from the first days of the 2022 full-scale invasion, and Ukrainian defense-industry officials later confirmed combat use of the longer-range Vilkha-M variant.
Vilkha Images
Related Weapon Systems
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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: 2026-06-20DP 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: 2026-06-20Ukrainian military already carry out about 50 precision strikes with Vilkha missile systemsPublisher: Ukrinform | Note: Directly supports early Russia-Ukraine War use of R624 Vilkha missiles by Ukrainian forces, citing State Kyiv Design Bureau Luch. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukraine Is Using Guided Rockets With More Range Than HIMARS-Launched OnesPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports Vilkha-M conflict-use confirmation, reported May 2022 combat debut, production context, and 110 km range/warhead reporting. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Vilkha 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: 2026-06-20Vilkha 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: 2026-06-20