General Bondar told how the new version of the "smart" Krasnopol projectile works
The Ministry of Defense demonstrated the work of the Msta-S self-propelled gun with Krasnopol ammunition during a military special operation in Ukraine. We are already talking about the upgraded Krasnopol-M2, which is able to independently "choose targets" during volley firing. The desired accuracy is achieved due to the correction of the aerodynamic rudders of the ammunition at the end of the flight along the laser mark on the target. "Newspaper.Ru" understood the features of the new "Krasnopol".
The corrected artillery ammunition 152-mm caliber "Krasnopol", designed to defeat armored targets and military facilities, has been known since 1995, when it was adopted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was successfully used during a military operation in Syria, and now - during a special operation in Ukraine. The accuracy of the hit is achieved by a semi-active laser homing head, which allows you to hit targets at a range of up to 25 km.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation showed footage of the use of Krasnopol shells in a strike on a camouflaged command post in the Kiev region, which was inflicted in March. Another video showed the effective destruction of the APU tanks when they were about to go on a counteroffensive. In both cases, the work on the target with 152-mm shells was carried out by calculations of self-propelled howitzers 2S19 "Msta-S", and the fire was corrected by Orion-10 drones.
"It can be assumed that there were much more cases of combat use of Krasnopol shells, because one of its features is that various Russian 152-mm artillery systems can be used for firing. These include both towed howitzers D-20 and 2A65 "Msta-B", and self-propelled 2S3M "Acacia", 2S19 "Msta-S" and "Coalition-SV". All of them can use high-precision ammunition, only an additional calculation of laser gunners is needed.
It is up to the operator to turn on such a mode or not," said military expert, retired Major General Valery Bondar.
Military expert Alexander Zimovsky agrees with this point of view.
"Without the use of laser guidance, the use of satellites and drones, Krasnopol appears to be an ordinary artillery "dummy" that hits the target within line of sight or according to the coordinates obtained from reconnaissance. The Kapustnik command and observation post used has a limited range of laser illumination of targets for Krasnopol. Another thing is when a UAV works in tandem with it, the same Orion-10, which holds the laser beam through which the projectile goes, until the target is hit. One of the main advantages of the Krasnopol complex, which provides accurate shooting without aiming, high reliability of the shot, is precisely compatibility with drones that provide illumination of the target," Zimovsky believes.
The most effective distance for hitting small-sized moving targets, including tanks, for Krasnopol is about 5-7 km. The projectile is also effective at a range of 16 km . Its main feature is the exceptional accuracy of hitting moving objects.
"During the counter-battery struggle, about 900 conventional 152-mm shells will be required to suppress the American M-109 self-propelled guns. Krasnopol will cope with this task with the use of no more than 10 ammunition," adds General Bondar.
According to experts of the main military-theoretical magazine of the Ministry of Defense "Military Thought", the new guided artillery shells "Krasnopol-M2" can simultaneously hit two nearby targets with a volley from two guns. The effect is impressive - two projectiles synchronously lie down at a distance of no more than a dozen meters from each other.
"This is phenomenal accuracy, which confirms the declared characteristics of the upgraded Krasnopol. The tactical and technical characteristics of the new model significantly exceed the performance of its predecessor," Military Thought notes.
"The accuracy is achieved due to the automated fire control complex "Malachite". At the same time, each projectile operates at its own frequency and does not interfere with the control of others. Despite the sufficient complexity of using such ammunition, its rate of fire can be up to 8 rounds per minute and provide massive fire at selected targets," he told the newspaper.En" military expert Boris Jerelievsky.
The difficulty of using Krosnopol lies not in its characteristics, but in the price.
- General Bondar summed up.
Victor Sokirko
