Troops from the russian invasion forces operating in Ukraine came up with another interesting weapon hybrid, composed of an RBU-1200 Uragan shipborne bomb thrower mounted on a towed carriage of a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft twin-gun. The result is a quasi-artillery rocket installation that can be used where conventional multiple launch rocket systems are lacking, and it's conspicuously similar to the Nebelwerfer rocket mortar created by Germany during World War II, probably inspired by it.
Speculations aside, this new example of russian custom-made war solutions has an exceptionally thoughtful design, more so than many previous "frankensteins" of russian weapon artisans, like the RBU-6000 launchers placed on top of tank chassis or trucks.
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For starters, a few words on the possible source of this RBU-1200 installation and the general availability of these launchers in russia. After all, the RBU-1200 is an old weapon, mass-produced as far back as the 1950s, and currently, the only ships of the russian Navy that utilize them are Project 266 and Project 266M Akvamarin minesweepers.
Taking into account the weight and dimensions of the RBU-1200 Uragan, the using the chassis from ZU-23-2 for this system was a pretty good choice to make this bomb thrower mobile. The weight of the RBU-1200 launcher itself is 620 kilograms, while the guns of ZU-23-2 weigh 920 kilograms.
As for the firepower of this hybrid, the picture is a bit more complicated. The declared firing range of the RBU-1200 Uragan is mere 1,200 meters, and the rate of fire is 2.5 rounds per minute, that is, it takes 2 full minutes to fire a full volley of only 5 rockets.
Separately, there is the issue of shooting accuracy. The standard rockets (each weighing 72 kg) were designed to destroy submarines and torpedoes, their ballistic properties are hardly well optimized for indirect fire along an arcuate trajectory.
We can logically assume, based on previous practice, that such a hybrid with naval weapons will be deployed by russian marine units. Regardless, there is no information indicating in which region of the Ukrainian battlefield this frankensteined weapon surfaced or when exactly this photo was taken.
Extending the comparison with the Nebelwerfer, we should note that the German towed rocket-firing mortars had a range of 7.9 kilometers, and fired all six shots in five seconds.
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