By the end of this year, units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will receive more than 35 self-propelled artillery installations (self-propelled guns) with an automated fire control system. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry. We are talking about upgraded versions of the Msta complex.
“The Msta-SM self-propelled artillery mount is designed to destroy strategic military installations, destroy artillery and mortar batteries, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons, air defense and missile defense systems, as well as enemy manpower,” the military department website says.
Msta was developed within the walls of the Ural Transport Engineering Plant (Yekaterinburg) in the 1980s. The 152-mm self-propelled gun was designed by specialists of the Volgograd OKB-2.
The weight of the Msta is 42.5 tons, the crew is 5-7 people, the maximum firing range is 24.7 km, the rate of fire is 8 rounds per minute, the transportable ammunition is 50 ammunition, the engine power is 780 hp, the speed is on the highway - up to 60 km / h.
The Msta crew uses guided and unguided high-explosive shells for firing. Self-propelled guns can fire from different positions, including closed ones. When performing tasks in an open area, the domestic complex is often disguised as the environment.
In addition to ammunition, Msta, like a towed artillery, can use shells that are fed into the car using a special tray. This mechanism provides a high rate of fire without the expense of ammunition located inside the howitzer.
In recent years, domestic self-propelled guns, including non-modernized vehicles, have been given the opportunity to fire a unique 2K25 Krasnopol-M high-explosive high-explosive fragmentation projectile. Using laser homing technology, this ammunition is capable of hitting even small targets with a first shot without a shot.
In January 2018, with a strike from Krasnopol, a group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Syria destroyed the UAV warehouse of terrorists who had previously attacked the Khmeimim air base in Idlib province. The Russian Defense Ministry estimates the accuracy of the upgraded ammunition at 95%.
"Preparedness for opening fire"
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Msta-SM surpasses its Soviet predecessor by 40% in its combat capabilities. In particular, thanks to the improvement of loading mechanisms, specialists were able to increase the howitzer rate of fire up to 10 rounds per minute.
A key feature of Msta-SM is the automated guidance and fire control system (ASUNO). This product includes a ballistic computer, topographic and orientation equipment, satellite navigation system.
As noted in the materials of Rosoboronexport, it allows "to reduce deployment time at a firing position by 1.5-2 times, increase readiness for firing by 25-30%, and increase survivability of a self-propelled howitzer by 2 times." The developer's website says that this system provides "automatic aimless guidance and storage of information for at least 10 fire tasks."
As experts interviewed by RT explained, ASUNO carries out the calculations necessary for hitting a target and creates a kind of algorithm to successfully complete a combat mission. The system takes into account the location of self-propelled guns, terrain, weather conditions, selects the type of ammunition.
“In fact, the crew of the modernized Msta just needs to monitor the correct operation of automation, how it copes with the implementation of all processes. It is also important that the system has communication and navigation facilities unified with other armored vehicles of our Armed Forces. This ensures the necessary interaction on the battlefield, ”Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, told RT in a commentary.
- Shooting from Msta from a closed position
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The military expert Alexei Khlopotov in conversation with RT emphasized that thanks to this automated self-propelled system, they are quicker to navigate the terrain, quickly carry out calculations for delivering a fire strike and implement several shooting algorithms depending on the situation in the theater of military operations.
“A battery of self-propelled guns with such an ASUNO can fire a single target from different directions almost simultaneously. It gives several shots in a row at once and while the shells are in the air, self-propelled guns can turn around and leave their position so as not to fall under return fire, ”Khlopotov noted.
The automated system, the expert says, significantly increases the survivability of howitzers on a modern theater, where various reconnaissance tools are actively used, which almost unmistakably determine the location where the shooting started.
As noted in the materials of Uraltransmash, the Msta-SM is a modern combat tracked vehicle "with long-range artillery weapons, armor protection and protection against weapons of mass destruction, increased range, excellent maneuverability, and autonomy of combat use."
"Flurry of Fire"
The military call the brainchild of Ural engineers a “harbinger” of the arrival of the Coalition-SV inter-service artillery complex, which will have higher combat characteristics. Currently, the latest self-propelled guns are in the testing phase.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Coalition-SV is capable of hitting targets at ranges of up to 70 km and is radically different in layout. In particular, the Coalition is equipped with an uninhabited tower. The crew is placed in an armored capsule and separated from the ammunition.
- The latest self-propelled guns "Coalition"
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The Coalition will surpass Mstu-SM in firing accuracy, rate of fire, ammunition volume, ammunition loading speed and driving performance.
As military expert Yuri Knutov emphasized in an interview with RT, the key advantage of the Coalition-SV will be the firing mode, known in Russia as a “barrage of fire”. Abroad, the term MRSI is used. The bottom line is that a self-propelled gun releases several types of ammunition from a gun that fly to a target along different trajectories.
“Of course, this mode is not suitable for all types of purposes and will be used in cases when it is required to destroy large, well-protected objects. The probability of completing a combat mission with MRSI increases to almost 100%. The modernized Msta is not capable of this, but it will still be in service for a long time as a modern and inexpensive artillery installation, ”summed up Knutov.