9K52 Luna-M

9K52 Luna-M
9P113 TEL with 9M21 rocket
Type	Artillery rocket
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1964 – present
Wars	Soviet War in Afghanistan, Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War, Yugoslav Wars, Invasion of Iraq, Libyan Civil War
Production history
Variants	9M21B (nuclear) , 9M21F (HE) and 9M21G (chemical) , Laith-90
Specifications (9M21B)
Weight	2.5-2.8 short tons
Length	30 ft (9.1 m)
Diameter	1.8 ft (0.55 m)
Crew	4
Maximum firing range	70 km (43 mi)
Warhead	High explosive, chemical, nuclear
Warhead weight	550 kg (1,210 lb)
Speed	Mach 3
Launch platform	8 x 8 ZIL-135 missile launcher

The 9K52 Luna-M (Russian: Луна; English: moon) is a Soviet short-range artillery rocket system. The 9M21 rockets are unguided and spin-stabilized. Its GRAU designation is 9K52, and its NATO reporting name is FROG-7. "FROG" is an acronym for "Free Rocket Over Ground".

The 9M21 rockets are mounted on a wheeled 9P113 transporter erector launcher (TEL) based on the ZIL-135 8x8 army truck. The TEL features a large hydraulic crane used for reloading rockets from 9T29 transporters (also ZIL-135 based). The 9M21 has a range up to 70 km and a CEP (circular error probable) between 500 m and 700 m. The road mobile rocket has a 550 kg warhead and is capable of delivering high explosive, nuclear, or chemical warheads.

Six of the initial version of the 9M21 were in Cuba during the missile crisis in October 1962. These missiles, which were ready to fire, had nuclear warheads installed. A further 70 warheads were stockpiled on the island.

The Luna was later extensively deployed throughout some Soviet satellite states. The rocket has been widely exported and is now in the possession of a large number of countries. After the war with Iran, Iraq modified its stock of 9M21s with a joint assistance programme with Egypt and Egyptian Army engineers, by extending their range to 90 km and fitting a submunition-carrying warhead. The rocket was renamed Laith-90.

In the course of the Yugoslav Wars, Serb forces launched FROG-7 rockets on a number of Croatian cities, like Zupanja, on 12 December 1992, or the capital Zagreb, on 11 September 1993, while the battle of Medak Pocket was still ongoing.