For the Polonez MRL, missiles with a nuclear warhead will be developed – Lukashenko

14 June, 2023 Belarusian Polonez MLRS. Photo from open sources Russian tactical nuclear warheads can be installed on the missiles of the Belarusian Polonez multiple rocket launcher.

Alexander Lukashenko announced these intentions on June 13. Russian propaganda media released the video featuring his comment. During a meeting with Russian journalists, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus discussed the agreement concluded with Russia to integrate Russian nuclear weapons with Belarusian missile systems:

"Give me back the nuclear weapons. I don't need a strategic one. For what?

Tactical is quite enough. Iskander hits for 500 kilometers or more. And it has a nuclear warhead.

I tell him [Putin] that if you have problems with tactical warheads, you can put nuclear weapons into my Polonez MLRS." He also mentioned that the warheads that Russia plans to transfer have three times the power of the one used on August 6, 1945, against the Japanese city of Hiroshima during the Second World War.

That is, roughly three times more powerful than 13 kilotons in TNT equivalent. Lukashenko emphasized that this decision was supposedly his own initiative, and not dictated by the Kremlin. He justified this with his desire to protect the country and his intention to obtain a powerful deterrent against foreign aggression.

He also mentioned that nuclear weapons have already been imported or will arrive in the country in the near future. To this end, six former Soviet storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons have already been restored, and a number of others are being prepared for commissioning.

Polonez multiple rocket launcher

Polonez is a Belarusian-Chinese multiple rocket launcher with a modular charging mechanism, developed in 2015 for the Armed Forces of Belarus.

Belarusian Polonez multiple rocket launcher at a defense exhibition in Minsk, 2017. Photo credits: Militarnyi

This multiple rocket launcher was first presented in 2015 in Minsk during a military parade.

The Polonez 301mm multiple rocket launcher is an adapted Belarusian MZKT-7930 Astrolog transporter-erector-launcher for the Chinese GATSS multi-purpose missile system. The Belarusian system uses Chinese A200 and A300 guided missiles with a range of up to 200 km and 300 km. The missiles are equipped with a guidance system consisting of an inertial and GPS satellite navigation system, which ensures an accuracy of 15-30 meters.

In 2017, a model of the Chinese M20 ballistic missile was presented at the MILEX-2017 International Exhibition of Armaments and Military Equipment in Minsk next to the Polonez system.

Model of the Chinese M20 ballistic missile next to the vehicle of the Polonez system at the MILEX exhibition, 2017.

Photo from open sources

The M20 is a Chinese tactical missile from the GATSS multi-purpose missile system.

It has a range of 290 km and a 450-500 kg warhead.