- Yes
- No
General Info
The story of this Italian MLRS system known as the FIROS 25 began during the late 1980’s. BPD (Bombrini Parodi Delfino) would begin development of a heavier MLRS, which used the 122.5mm rocket which had been under development by SNIA since 1975. BPD and SNIA at the time would be one of the leading national efforts in rocket propulsion devices, this woud in turn unsuprisingly lead them to begin to work in the defence sector. One of their most well known products included the FIROS (field rocket system) family, made to allow Italy to have a similar system that was already widely in use by the USSR. BPD would initially come out with the FIROS-6, which was mounted on several light platforms such as the Fiat Campagnola, Fiat 6614 and also the LWB Land Rover 4x4. Although it showed promise and several tests were conducted, the Italian army didnt adopt the FIROS-6. Shortly after that a new system would show up known as the FIROS-25, The System was first publically shown in June of 1979 at Le Bourget as a model on a CP-70 chassis, after testing of the launcher in Sardinia the first fully functional prototype of the FIROS-25 would be made in 1980. This prototype would be based on the Magirus Deutz 310 6x6 chassis, years later BPD would replace that chassis in favour of the Daimler Benz 2628. The FIROS-25 launcher was comprised of x2 122mm cells which could hold up to 20 rockets each, it would be able to fully traverse 360 degrees. Armament wise the launcher couldfire any NATO standard 122mm rockets this would include conventional types such as HE, PFF and WP to sub-munition types which could dispense anti tank, anti personnel mines and bomblets. The range of the FIROS-25 was around 25km, but if a customer needed more range it was possibile to extend it by changing its original propelent types. The system showed a lot of promise and the Italian army had decided to test the FIROS-25 but wanted a version which suited their needs better, thus they had opted to change the original platforms chassis and wanted a version with more range. Due to this the Italian army dropped the idea of purchasing FIROS-25 in favour of the improved FIROS-30 which was also made by BPD. It’s unknown what happened to the original FIROS-25 prototypes but we do know that BPD actually saw some export success. BPD would continue to market all of the FIROS family for many years which lead to Iraq, UAE, Mexico and many other undisclosed countries to put them into service with their respective armed forces. The system still boasted many upsides compared to contemporary platforms, it was lightweight, modular and could use a wide array of munitions. Survivability wise the system could withstand small arms fire and shell splinters but anything other than that would’ve likely damaged the platform. This lack of armour however is nothing too out of place as most MLRS prefer to remain as light as possibile and chances of encountering enemies in an active warzone would not have been common. Since it was based on a wheeled platform, nations would be able to peform quick attacks and leave the area before expecting any counter-battery fire. Reloading of the launchers was simple and quick if a special reloader vehicle was present. BPD would create a few more MLRS platforms such as the obscure FIROS-70 but would shift its focus on just making munitions.
Armament+Equipment
x2 122mm launchers (20 rockets per launcher, able to fire all 122mm nato standard munitions)
Specifications
Why it should be in game
Italy could use a fast firing rocket ground vehicle, other nations have access to similar vehicles at different battle ratings so theres no reason why Italy could not recieve one too. It would be fun to use and would not be OP, considering that its a big platform and hiding with such a thing would be nearly impossibile. Wouldnt be too hard to add and Gaijin could reuse part of the model to add many variants based on different trucks either as premiums or event vehicles.
Sources
Spoiler
Century of italian armored cars/Un secolo di autoblindate in Italia - Nicola Pignato
Armies and weapons 44 1978
IDR 2/1989
Firos 25 brochure
SNIA BDP product range
Jane’s A&A 1979-80
[ESERCITO CONSUNTIVO 1987 PROGRAMMAZIONE 1988 by Biblioteca Militare - Issuu]
https://en.missilery.info/missile/firos(https://issuu.com/rivista.militare1/docs/consultivo_1988-testo_a9acc25f61b19c/70)
Firos (artillery) - Wikipedia
FIROS-25/30 Multiple Launch Rocket System | MilitaryToday.com
FIROS - Wikipedia
https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=355
122 mm Firos 25/30 rockets (Italy) - Jane’s Ammunition Handbook
FIROS-30 - РСЗО - армия - Справочник - Fact Military
JOURNAL OF ITALIAN ARMY 1988 N.1 “RIVISTA MILITARE” by Biblioteca Militare - Issuu
Photos
Spoiler
