UR-77 Meteorit

A Soviet-designed tracked engineering vehicle that launches explosive line charges to clear lanes through minefields and can employ the same charges as a short-range demolition weapon.

Overview

The UR-77 Meteorit is a lightly armored mine-clearing vehicle developed for Soviet combat-engineer units and retained by Russia and several other post-Soviet operators. Built on a variant of the 2S1 Gvozdika chassis, itself descended from the MT-LB family, it carries two rocket-towed explosive line charges in a roof-mounted launcher. Each charge is projected across a mined area and detonated to create a lane approximately 6 m wide and up to 80–90 m long, depending on the charge type and battlefield conditions, according to WeaponSystems.net.

The vehicle's intended function is to maintain the momentum of armored and mechanized formations by opening routes through mine barriers. Its tracked, amphibious chassis allows it to accompany those formations across difficult terrain, but its protection is limited and it carries more than a tonne of explosives when fully loaded. Those characteristics make the UR-77 both a valuable breaching asset and a conspicuous target.

Russian, Syrian and Ukrainian forces have also employed the line charges directly against buildings, trenches and fortified positions. This improvised demolition role produces a powerful blast over a confined area, but requires the vehicle to operate close to the target and does not convert it into a precise or long-range fire-support system. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated both the destructive utility of the Meteorit and its vulnerability to artillery, first-person-view drones and small munitions dropped from uncrewed aircraft.

🔒 The full UR-77 Meteorit file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: development history, design and capabilities, variants, the combat record, advantages and limitations, comparable systems, outlook, the full specifications table, our sourcing, and the analyst assessment — procurement, suppliers and the BattlePolicy verdict. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →