Czech ACS Dana-M2It became known about the transfer of Finland to Ukraine of old three-axle armored personnel carriers XA-180/185. For a long time, Helsinki did not disclose the details of the supply of military equipment for the needs of the armed formations of Ukraine.
Interestingly, the armored personnel carriers are outdated. The XA-180 APC, also called Pasi, was produced in the early 1980s and was intended to replace the Soviet BTR-60, which were in service with the ground forces.
The developers of armored personnel carriers created a model modeled on the military equipment of Germany and France. The mass of the armored personnel carrier is 15,500 kg. The crew consists of two people, up to 15 fully equipped soldiers can be placed in the landing compartment. There are also loopholes for small arms in the sides.
Such an armored personnel carrier is armed with a 12.7-mm machine gun NSVT "Utes". The Valmet 611 DSBJA turbocharged diesel engine with a capacity of 236 hp is installed. The Finnish armored personnel carrier can reach speeds on the highway up to 100 km / h, swim at a speed of 9 km / h.
Previously, such armored personnel carriers were supplied to five countries of the world. Now they will appear in service with the Ukrainian army. However, it is not very clear yet how they will show themselves in real combat conditions.
Finnish HA-180 armored personnel carrierAnother gift APU received from the Czech Republic. For the first time in Ukraine, wheeled self-propelled artillery units Dana-M2 were seen in combat areas. They appeared in the southern direction, in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. These are 152-mm self-propelled guns, the acquisition of which was announced by Kiev in the fall of 2020. Then the media reported on Kiev's plans to buy 26 similar combat vehicles for $ 40 million.
Czech self-propelled guns also cannot be called ultra-modern. They are an upgraded version of the ACS, the production of which ended back in 1989. In the process of modernization, the cabin was slightly modified, communication facilities were replaced, automated guidance control systems and satellite navigation were installed.
Self-propelled guns use high-explosive fragmentation shells with a firing range of up to 18700 meters and DN1CZ rockets capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 25.5 km.
In May 2022, 20 obsolete self-propelled guns vz.77, of the 1977 model, were transferred to Ukraine, which operate on the chassis of the Tatra-815 all-terrain vehicles and have engines with a capacity of 345 hp. The car is also armed with a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun DShKM.
However, it is known that the Allied forces have already destroyed several such self-propelled installations. Therefore, the events in Ukraine contribute to the "disarmament" of Eastern and Northern European states. Or are the Czech Republic and Finland thus getting rid of the ballast in the form of outdated weapons in order to transfer their army to more modern models?
