The Ministry of Defence of Serbia Republic, announced that on June 18 the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, attended the completion of factory reception of the 0-series of the modernized “Oganj” rocket launcher.  The Minister also attended the test firing in the “Nikinci” Weapons and Military Equipment Testing Centre.

“Our power has significantly increased with the digitalized Oganj, a modernization we have been doing for the first time since 1977” the Minister said.

The system features an inertial navigation system (INS), improved communication systems and reduces the set-up and fire time from 26 minutes to only 3! 

Minister Vulin said that “this is a big change in modern warfare where everything is done in a matter of minutes and seconds”, adding that “there is nothing more important than to arrive safely, fire your ammunition accurately and get out of the firing position as quickly as possible.”

 The Minister of Defence said that the Serbian Armed Forces will get one and a half batteries in its composition in a few days (2 weeks) and that the modernization will continue for all the “Oganj” systems of Serbian Armed Forces. By the end of the year at least one more battery will be delivered.

Several companies of the Serbian Defence Industry participate in this project, and the company in charge of the serial modernization is “Prva petoletka” which delivers main sub-systems. A great part of work is done by the Technical Overhaul Institute “Čačak”. 

According to the Assistant Minister for Material Resources, Nenad Miloradović, PhD, the development of a new generation of ammunition for this weapon is just being completed, and one type of rocket with appropriate fuses has already been introduced into the armaments – the M-18 rocket. The modernised “Oganj” is modular and is able to fire all calibres, but also the “ALAS” type guided missiles.

ALAS ©Ministry of Defence Republic of Serbia

The Assistant Minister also said among others that “Oganj”, is capable of firing all existing types of unguided rocket projectiles, including the 40 km-range projectiles that have already been developed and 50 km-range rocket projectiles that are being developed, including the rocket with flight path correction.

He pointed out also that an “ALAS” programmable guided missile was launched from the container mounted on the modular “Oganj” for the first time, and the launch was successful, as well as the launch of “grad” rockets. We note that the National Guard of Cyprus also has a number of Grad missiles in its arsenal.

“This is the basis for further improvement, because the “ALAS” rocket is neither the final nor the most powerful rocket that will be launched from this system. The Military Technical Institute is also developing “Košava 1” and “Košava 2” rockets, which will increase the range of our missile artillery to over 50 kilometres and they will have warheads of great destructive power, capable of destroying hardened targets and significant stationary objects” the Assistant Minister for Material Resources pointed out.

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