XBradTC

We talked about Russian artillery yesterday.  The Russians are tactical masters at the use of artillery, with a very strong doctrinal base of knowledge in the use of indirect fire for maneuver warfare. But first and foremost, they’re also in the “shoot ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out” camp. And not surprisingly, so are their client states.

The BM-21 “Grad” 122mm multiple rocket launcher is a rather crude, but spectacularly effective weapon system, capable of spreading mass destruction over a wide area at low cost, rapidly. Under Russian doctrine, a battalion of launchers (say, 18 trucks) would quickly mass and launch on a target, then drive off to reload.  In Syria, a single launcher might attack a target. As you’ll notice, the BM-21 is hardly a precision weapon.  If the US did something like this, our own political left would be screaming about war crimes for weeks. But the fact is, this is the norm for war.