Why does the "Krasnopol" strike leave no chance for the enemy
On March 13 of this year, as a result of a pinpoint strike by artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a camouflaged field command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kiev region was destroyed. And what is sensational about this? Only that, according to the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry, during the implementation of the combat operation, a special ammunition was used – a 3OF39 "Krasnopol" adjustable high-explosive shell. This artillery munition, which is essentially a symbiosis of a projectile with a rocket, is designed to effectively destroy military facilities and enemy armored vehicles with a single shot.
Hard greetings from the 70s
Despite the fact that work on the creation of the projectile started in the distant 70s of the last century, the Krasnopol was adopted only in 1995. With the maximum effective range of hitting targets (stationary, mobile and small-sized), the manufacturer claims a distance of 16 kilometers, although even at a distance of 25 kilometers, the enemy cannot feel safe, knowing that 3OF39 can be used against him. The key advantage of the ammunition should be considered jewelry accuracy of the hit, which is ensured by the presence of a laser semi-active GOS that reacts to the target designator-rangefinder signal reflected from the target.
“The key goal of creating a high-explosive fragmentation projectile was the need to hit the target with a single shot. Krasnopol demonstrated unique shooting accuracy indicators. And the absence of the need to produce sighting shots solves two age-old artillery problems: depriving the target of the possibility of changing positions and firing from closed positions”
According to representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the use of Krasnopol as a standard ammunition is possible with any of the domestic 152-mm howitzers and self-propelled guns: towed gun-howitzer D20, divisional self-propelled howitzer 2S3M "Acacia", towed 2A65 "Msta-B", self-propelled howitzer 2S19 "Msta-S" and even interspecific artillery The 2C35 "Coalition-SV" complex is based on the main battle tank of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation T-90.
To hit a target with a high-explosive shell 3OF39 "Krasnopol", no targeting is needed, and the percentage of hits is 95 percent unattainable for analogues. Such high accuracy is ensured by the design features of the ammunition – the possibility of correcting the final section of the flight path by means of aerodynamic rudders.
3OF39 Krasnopol consists of two compartments, the docking of which is performed immediately before firing. The first (projectile) compartment includes a warhead, a booster engine and a stabilizer unit. The homing head, autopilot and nose blocks are included in the control compartment. Its upgraded version - "Krasnopol-M" (3OF39M) - is made in the form of a monoblock. This arrangement became possible due to the replacement of the booster engine with a bottom gas generator, which favorably affected the weight and size characteristics of the product. In addition, the upgraded version has a more gentle flight path, which reduces the critical cloud limit and, as a result, increases the favorable time of combat use.
Another modification of the corrected artillery munition - KM-2 "Krasnopol-M2" (K155M) – has a caliber of 155 millimeters, corresponding to NATO standards. It was supplied to China and India through military-technical cooperation. It follows the take-off and dive trajectory to the target, which it strikes from the upper hemisphere. Currently, development work is underway to create a modification of the Krasnopol-D, characterized by an increased firing range and the possibility of using satellite navigation guidance systems.
One-shot ammunition
A key role in hitting the target with the Krasnopol projectile is played by the portable Malachite fire control system, consisting of a commander's console, a thermal imaging laser target designator-rangefinder and digital communications equipment, which allows it to determine and transmit the coordinates of the object to artillery calculations regardless of the time of day. Fire spotters are placed at a distance of several kilometers from the intended target. It is noteworthy that the ammunition covers a distance of twenty kilometers in a time not exceeding one minute, switching to homing mode on the final leg of the flight. In the future, it is expected to use unmanned aerial vehicles as a means of correcting fire. For example, when using 3OF39 by promising self-propelled guns "Coalition-SV".
During the field tests, it was found that Krasnopol effectively destroys sedentary and static targets, but experiences some difficulties when hitting objects moving at a speed of more than 25 kilometers per hour. Which, in general, is logical, since fast-moving armored vehicles belong to the category of targets for the destruction of which portable missile systems, grenade launchers, tanks are used.
The key purpose of creating this high-explosive fragmentation projectile was the need to hit the target with a single shot. Indeed, Krasnopol demonstrated unique shooting accuracy indicators. In addition, the absence of sighting shots solves two age-old artillery problems: depriving the target of the possibility of changing positions and firing from closed positions.
The Battle Path
Today, some, frankly speaking, not very authoritative sources publish information about the practical use of adjustable high-explosive artillery ammunition "Krasnopol" during the operation to restore constitutional order in Chechnya and even during the Soviet-Afghan conflict of 1979-1989. However, there are no facts that reliably confirm this information. Therefore, the beginning of the combat use of 3OF39 should be considered a military operation of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.
In January 2018, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of a warehouse of unmanned aerial vehicles of terrorist formations during the liquidation of a gang that attacked the Russian air base "Khmeimim". The artillery strike was carried out by means of Krasnopol ammunition. Currently, the 3OF39 projectile is used by artillery units of the Russian Armed Forces during a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.
As for the geography of distribution of the most accurate domestic ammunition, it is successfully used in the armies of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India. Venezuela and France act as potential operators of the Russian corrected projectile. Modifications that meet NATO standards in their characteristics (K155, K155M) are fully adapted to the artillery complexes in service with the participating countries of this military–political bloc. Such as FH77B (Sweden), G6 Rhino (South Africa), TRF1 (France) or M109A2/A6 (USA).
What will NATO say
Some sources claim that none of the countries of the collective West possesses ammunition with characteristics similar to the key parameters of the Russian Krasnopol. Let's consider how much this statement corresponds to reality. According to a similar principle, the Swedish-American M982 Excalibur and the American Copperhead, used by the NATO contingent in Iraq and Afghanistan, function. However, even the most engaged experts and analysts could not call them successful.
The range and accuracy of destruction actually demonstrated, and not declared by the manufacturer, which are considered key characteristics of any artillery munition, to put it mildly, are not impressive. The guidance system is characterized by capriciousness, which in real combat conditions can be considered synonymous with unreliability – its performance is significantly affected by the slightest deterioration in visibility and weather conditions forming it. By the way, according to Canadians, the US military preferred to use Russian ammunition in combat operations against the Taliban, paying tribute to its effectiveness and relatively low cost.
However, let's get back to the facts. The practically confirmed target range of even the upgraded Krasnopol-M 20 kilometers should not be positioned as a very big achievement. The short operation of the bottom gas generator in combination with a small mass of solid fuel charge are the main reasons that do not allow for the growth of such an indicator as the range of the projectile. And the absence of a correction GPS module integrated into the architecture of the inertial navigation system of the modifications of the Krasnopol in service does not allow forming an optimal trajectory of its flight, which guarantees the accuracy of reaching a given area, which also negatively affects the target range.
As for its foreign competitors, in particular the American UAS M982 Block IA-2 Excalibur, used by the towed howitzer M777A2 (155 mm) and the ACS of the Paladin family (M109A5, M109A6 and M109A7), the maximum range of its flight declared by the manufacturer is 55 kilometers. Therefore, the work on the Krasnopol-D project, which received not only the long-awaited satellite radio correction channel, but also a high-performance BCVM (on-board digital computer) guaranteeing a high level of control efficiency, should be considered one of the mandatory conditions for the growth of the damage range indicator.
The second condition for achieving parity, and perhaps superiority in this key characteristic, will be the replacement of the artillery piece itself. Even using the ammunition modification "Krasnopol-D", the ACS 2A79 "Msta-S" is unable to send a projectile further than 43 kilometers. The solution to this problem has already been found and consists in the rapid start of large-scale production and operational deliveries to the combat units of the promising self-propelled gun 2C35 "Coalition-SV". It is assumed that equipped with the 2A88 gun (152 mm caliber), the Coalition-SV will be able to hit stationary and sedentary targets at ranges up to 60 kilometers, which is at least not lower than the similar characteristics of the M982 Block IA-2 Excalibur UAS.
Vitaly Orlov
The newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier", published in issue No. 11 (924) for March 29, 2022