Russian 300-mm Multiple Rocket Launcher, by Edward L. Cooper, 1988. The large 300-mm (BM 9A52) multiple rocket system developed by the Soviets in the early 1980s was capable of laying down a broad, devastating field of fire, threatening armored vehicles, infantry, airfields, and rear service areas. Russia has sold this system under the export name Smerch (Sandstorm) since 1993 to such countries as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and India.