Artillery

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher

Also known as
  • WM-80 MLRS
  • Type 83
  • Type 83 273 mm rocket launcher

The WM-80 is a Chinese 273 mm wheeled multiple rocket launcher developed by NORINCO from the Type 83 family with two four-round rocket pods. Open-source reporting ties Armenian service to a 1999 transfer, later public parade appearances in Yerevan, and documented 2020 losses to Azerbaijani loitering munitions.

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher, Wheeled 273 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery
Image source: Wm-80.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
China
Built by
Norinco
Type
Wheeled 273 mm multiple rocket launcher
Service note
1990s export system; documented in Armenian service during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
Designer
NORINCO / Qiqihar subsidiary
Designed
1980s modernization of the Type 83 273 mm rocket system
Unit cost
Not publicly reported
Produced
1990s export production
Number built
Not publicly reported; Armenia reportedly acquired a small battery of four to eight launchers
Developed from
Type 83 / WM-40 273 mm multiple rocket launcher
Developed into
WM-120 multiple launch rocket system

Specifications

Caliber
273 mm
Launcher
Eight rockets in two four-round launch pods on an 8x8 truck chassis
Maximum range
Up to 80 km with standard unguided rockets
Minimum range
About 34 km
Rocket weight
About 505 kg
Warhead
About 150 kg; reported high-explosive, cluster, and thermobaric options
Crew
5
Combat weight
About 34 tonnes
Reload time
About 5-8 minutes with a transport-loading vehicle
Road speed
Up to 70 km/h
Variants

The WM-80 sits in the Chinese 273 mm Type 83/WM-40 rocket-artillery family, with WM-120 representing the later extended-range guided branch.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Type 83 / WM-40Tracked four-round predecessor

Sources describe Type 83/WM-40 as the earlier 273 mm system that WM-80 modernized for export with a wheeled eight-round launcher.

Sources: Type 83 / WM-80 273 mm Rocket, Type 83

WM-120Extended-range guided derivative

Missilery.info describes WM-120 as a NORINCO development of WM-80 with 273 mm guided missiles reaching up to 120 km.

Sources: WM-120 Multiple Launch Rocket System

Timeline

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher Key Events

  1. NORINCO modernizes the Type 83 family

    Open references describe the WM-80 as an export development of the earlier Chinese Type 83 273 mm rocket system.

    Sources: WM-80 Multiple Launch Rocket System, Type 83 / WM-80 273 mm Rocket

  2. Armenia reportedly receives launchers

    Open-source reporting on Armenian WM-80s says the country received four launchers from China in 1999.

    Sources: Dragons in the Caucasus: Chinese WM-80 MRLs of Armenia

  3. The system appears publicly in Yerevan

    The same open-source reporting places WM-80 vehicles in Armenian service and ties them to a public Yerevan appearance by the mid-2000s.

    Sources: Dragons in the Caucasus: Chinese WM-80 MRLs of Armenia

  4. Open-source loss tracking documents combat losses

    Oryx's Nagorno-Karabakh coverage documents two WM-80 launchers or reloaders destroyed by Azerbaijani loitering munitions during the war.

    Sources: The Fight for Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses, Chinese WM-80 MLRS in the Battle for Karabakh

Launcher And Ammunition

The launcher uses two four-round 273 mm rocket pods on an 8x8 truck chassis, with a transport-loading vehicle supporting rapid pod replacement after a full salvo.

Launcher load

Eight 273 mm rockets in two four-round pods.

Reloading

Reported reload time is about 5 to 8 minutes with the support vehicle.

Rocket family

Open references tie the WM-80 to the Type 83 rocket family and describe high-explosive, cluster, thermobaric, and later guided or extended-range development paths.

Sources: WM-80 Multiple Launch Rocket System; Type 83 / WM-80 273 mm Rocket; WM-120 Multiple Launch Rocket System.

Media

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher Videos

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher Images

273 mm WM-80 multiple rocket launcher, Wheeled 273 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery - view 1
Source: Wm-80.jpg
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Sources

WM-80 Multiple Launch Rocket SystemPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports WM-80 system background, NORINCO export context, launcher composition, range, rocket, crew, reload, and mobility specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Type 83 / WM-80 273 mm RocketPublisher: Federation of American Scientists | Note: Supports WM-80 relationship to the Type 83 273 mm rocket system, truck-mounted eight-tube layout, reload time, and range-class specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Type 83Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Type 83 / WM-40 predecessor context, Chinese origin, limited production, and the WM-80 as a product-improved export development. | Accessed: 2026-07-04WM-120 Multiple Launch Rocket SystemPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports WM-120 as a further NORINCO development of WM-80 with 273 mm guided missiles and an advertised range up to 120 km. | Accessed: 2026-07-04The Air and Missile War in Nagorno-KarabakhPublisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies | Note: Supports 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct context that the WM-80 was fielded by Armenia as part of its rocket-artillery inventory during the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Dragons in the Caucasus: Chinese WM-80 MRLs of ArmeniaPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct-use context: WM-80 systems were fielded by Armenia, moved toward the conflict area, suffered documented losses during the 2020 war, and the article also reports a 1999 transfer and a mid-2000s public display in Yerevan. | Accessed: 2026-07-04The Fight for Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting LossesPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct evidence that 273 mm WM-80 systems fielded by Armenian forces were destroyed during the 2020 fighting. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Chinese WM-80 MLRS in the Battle for KarabakhPublisher: VPK.name / Vestnik Mordovii | Note: Supports 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct-use reporting that WM-80 launchers were used by Armenian forces and that two were destroyed. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Wm-80.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the WM-80 launcher photograph shown on the page. | Accessed: 2026-07-04WM-80.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the second WM-80 gallery image from Wikimedia Commons. | Accessed: 2026-07-04