High-precision ammunition allows you to demolish buildings with one shot, destroying UAV control points even in basements.
Calculations of heavy 240-millimeter mortars "Tulip" began hunting for drone operators. Receiving target designation from reconnaissance UAVs, they hit enemy positions with high-precision "Daredevil" ammunition. Their destructive power allows them to destroy not only buildings housing drone control points, but also shelters equipped under them. According to experts, the new tactics will help Russian troops achieve superiority in the small sky and accelerate their advance on the front line.
How the Tulip mortars became hunters for UAV operators
Russian troops in the special operation zone have found a new use for 240-millimeter self-propelled 2C4 "Tulip" mortars. This powerful weapon was used to fight enemy calculations of FPV drones, sources familiar with the situation told Izvestia. Good maneuverability combined with the great destructive power of these self-propelled guns allows you to keep the enemy in constant tension, preventing him from conducting normal reconnaissance and attacking Russian units and equipment.
The Tulips operate for particularly important purposes: communication hubs, drone launch points, and control points. UAV calculations highlight objects, and the gun hits them with an accurate shot.
It is impossible to underestimate the "Tulip", it can rightfully be considered a weighty argument on the battlefield, military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
The cannon of the self-propelled mortar "Tulip" 2C4
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
"This is the most powerful mortar among those currently in service in all the armies of the world," he said. — It can be safely called a weapon of the "reserve of the Supreme Commander", which was created to break into the well-fortified enemy defenses. A two-hundred-kilogram projectile can not only destroy a concrete building to the ground, but also hit what is hidden under its foundation.
Today, UAV operators are the most important specialists on the battlefield, and the success of many operations depends on their training, military expert Yuri Knutov told Izvestia.
"Therefore, the hunt for operators is being conducted as a matter of priority," he said. — If there is a possibility of guaranteed destruction, this approach should only be supported. Mortar fire makes it possible to destroy dugouts. At the same time, the mortar itself, after firing, has the ability to quickly roll up and change position so as not to be hit by an enemy UAV. In general, all means to destroy Ukrainian drones, if they are effective, should be used.
"Daredevil" will figure it out
When firing "Tulips", they mainly use active-rocket ammunition "Daredevil" weighing more than 200 kg. They hit at 18-20 km. Where a nine-storey building stood before the mortar was used, after that only ruins remain around a crater up to three meters deep.
The work of a heavy mortar cannot be ignored by the enemy, which means that the Tulip does not have more than one shot from its position, military expert Yuri Lyamin told Izvestia.
"Most often, there is almost no time after the first shot to adjust the fire, which means that the use of high—precision guided projectiles is the key to maintaining the machine itself and its calculation," he explained.
240 mm self-propelled mortar 2C4 "Tulip"
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Kirill Kallinikov
"Daredevil" is not just a dummy filled with explosives. The projectile is capable of detecting the reflection from a laser aimed at a target and correcting its flight path.
— Thanks to this technology, combined with the good optics of reconnaissance drones, a mortar can destroy a well-fortified enemy facility with the first shot. After that, immediately change your position, avoiding a retaliatory strike. And the destructive power and large penetration, when accurately hitting the roof of a high—rise building, where UAV control points are most often located, will not leave the enemy a single chance," the expert summed up.
Hit with the first shot
Such firepower will never be ignored by the enemy, and therefore the mortar calculations have to be thoroughly prepared for work on the Tulip, Yuri Lyamin noted.
— Camouflage, shooting from pre-prepared firing positions and, of course, accuracy — all this is necessary to protect the mortar from enemy return fire. And the use of projectiles such as the Daredevil eliminates the targeting of the gun, which allows the Tulip to make only one, but 100% effective shot," the expert noted.
240 mm self-propelled mortar 2C4 "Tulip"
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Dmitry Makeev
It is important to note that only competent interaction of mortar operators with drone operators will help keep the equipment in service.
— The UAV crew must detect and identify the target even before the Tulip is ready to fire. As long as the car is covered with nets and stands still, it cannot be detected even with the help of special intelligence tools," explained Yuri Lyamin. — However, any movement of it, and even more so a shot, will instantly attract the attention of reconnaissance drones and counter-battery warfare systems.
Destructive power
The active use of "Tulip" mortars in a place with "Daredevil" shells will make it much faster to cope with the enemy's pre-prepared defenses, which will greatly facilitate the advance of our units.
Heavy flame-throwing system TOS-1A "Solntsepek"
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov
Currently, powerful fire weapons are being actively used in the special operation zone to destroy both a large concentration of enemy troops and objects that are particularly important to them. Izvestia wrote about the creation of new detachments based on the TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flame-throwing systems. Now they not only burn out specially carefully prepared fortifications, accumulations of enemy equipment or personnel, but also strike at UAV control points. As a rule, new special forces units are used in the offensive areas of the Russian troops. The systematic destruction of drone operators' positions allows them to achieve superiority in the low sky, increasing the effectiveness of assault units.
Andrey Buevich
Roman Kretsul
