Image source: Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Recently, interest in the wars in Chechnya has reawakened. However, there are many inconsistencies about the use of various military equipment in urban battles. For example, the need to introduce 2S9 "Nona-S" self-propelled artillery installations into Grozny is questioned. Say, why were they needed there?
The fact is that 120-mm self-propelled guns are armed not just with a gun, but with a universal cannon-howitzer-mortar and therefore can fire direct fire, including cumulative and high-explosive shells.
If necessary, it is possible to hit the enemy behind the buildings with mines with significant destructive capabilities.
Of course, the armor of these self-propelled guns is too thin, but the Airborne Forces did not have heavily armored vehicles at all before the appearance of T-72B3 tanks, such is the specificity of these troops.
By the way, not everyone knows, but when the appearance of future tank support combat vehicles was being worked out in Chelyabinsk in the mid-80s, an option based on the T-72B with a 120-mm low-ballistics gun was considered, which would be very useful in operations like Grozny. However, everything was limited only to the production of the layout.
