How Russian UR-77 System Used in Ukrainian Battlefield Life

Ukrainian troops have extensively used land mines in their bid to prevent Russian forces from advancing in combat zones in the country. UR-77 "Meteorite" is a Soviet-era self-propelled rocket mine clearance system that the Russian military has deployed in a special operation in Ukraine.

Russian UR-77 System Used in Ukrainian Battlefield

Airborne Forces engineers have repeatedly used this miracle of engineering to solve combat missions, and experience has shown that the UR-77 is equally effective against enemy fortifications.

The vehicle is based on the 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer platform and is currently operated by the Engineering Brigade of the Russian Army. Also dubbed the Zmey Gorynych (a human with traits of a dragon), the UR-77 has played a key role in saving the lives of hundreds of Russian troops by clearing areas rigged with land mines by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's soldiers.

How Does UR-77 Work?

Primarily built to navigate minefields on the battlefield, the UR-77 follows a unique method of clearing mines from areas that were occupied by enemy forces.

A single unit of UR-77 is equipped with a launcher, two detonating charges, as well as extractor rockets, which together form the mine-clearing-line system.

First, the vehicle sets a launchpad on the front line before using the mine-clearing-line system to good effect.

UR-77 Meteorit in Ukraine

Once launched, the UR-77 fires a detonating charge at the required distance, which is then stretched by an extractor rocket.

Furthermore, the vehicle can deal with all kinds of mines, including anti-tank ones, and use its mine-clearing line charge feature to take out mines from a range of up to 500 meters. Remarkably, this whole operation only takes three minutes to be executed.

However, much to the surprise of many Western military watchers, Russia has deployed the combat vehicle to dismantle enemy fortifications. The vehicle can be used to throw approximately 1.5 tons of explosives not only on a minefield but on fortifications of the enemy, completely wiping them out from the battlefield map.

Russia employed the UR-77 combat vehicle for this same purpose in its successful operation in Syria, where it gave Syrian forces an upper hand while fighting rebels, especially on the streets of highly-populated urban centers and cities.

Officially, Russia has never provided details about the production cost of the UR-77 vehicles. These mine-clearing systems have not been sold to any foreign country to arrive at an estimated cost of a single unit of the platform.

The UR-77 Meteorit is a Russian mine-clearing vehicle designed to create safe paths through minefields for infantry and other vehicles. The UR-77 is based on the chassis of the 2S1 tracked self-propelled howitzer and is equipped with a rocket-propelled explosive line charge system called the MDK-3. 

The mine-clearing system works by launching a line charge filled with explosives over a minefield. Once the line charge is in place, it is detonated, creating a shockwave and blast pressure that either neutralizes or detonates any mines within the vicinity of the explosion. This method effectively creates a safe path through the minefield for troops and vehicles to pass.

The UR-77 has been in service since the late 1970s and has seen action in various conflicts, including the Soviet-Afghan War, the First and Second Chechen Wars, and the Syrian Civil War. It is still in use today by the Russian military and has also been exported to other countries.

The UR-77 has undergone some modifications and improvements throughout its service life, with newer versions being more capable and efficient in mine-clearing operations. Overall, the UR-77 has proven to be an effective and reliable tool for mine-clearing tasks, significantly reducing the risk faced by soldiers and vehicles when navigating through mine-infested areas.

The primary function of the UR-77 Meteorit is mine-clearing, so its main "armament" is the MDK-3 mine-clearing line charge system. However, the UR-77 is not intended to be a heavily armed combat vehicle. Its primary purpose is to create safe paths through minefields rather than engage in direct combat with enemy forces. The UR-77 is equipped with a roof-mounted launcher for two-line charges. The launcher is mounted on top of the hull towards the rear and can be elevated and rotated to launch the line charges over minefields.