A new Russian art installation "Malva" was noticed in the SVO zone. What is its uniqueness?

RIA: The Russian Federation began to use the new ACS 2C43 "Malva" near Kharkov

In the Kharkiv region, a Russian self-propelled artillery installation (ACS) 2C43 "Malva" was noticed. It is used for counter-battery fighting and hitting point targets.

Malva is the first Russian self—propelled gun on a wheelbase. The combat weight of the equipment is 32 tons, which allows it to be delivered by Il—76 military transport aircraft. It is noted that the machine is much lighter and more mobile than the main tracked howitzer of the Russian troops of the same caliber, the Mst-S. And it also has twice the fuel reserve — a thousand kilometers.

The Malva has a YaMZ-8424.10 engine with a capacity of 470 horsepower. The art installation is capable of accelerating on the highway up to 80 kilometers per hour and moving off-road. The combat vehicle is also equipped with a sniper artillery installation and a modern fire control system. A four-axle all-terrain vehicle "Voschina" of the Bryansk Automobile Plant is used as a running platform on self-propelled vehicles.

Self-propelled artillery installation "Malva", transferred by Rostec to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Source: © RIA Novosti / Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The firing range of the Malva exceeds 24 kilometers

The new ACS is equipped with a rifled 2A64 gun with a barrel length of 47 calibers. It hits targets at a distance of up to 24 kilometers with a high-explosive fragmentation projectile and up to 28 kilometers with an active—reactive one.

On June 2, the first video of the work of the Russian self-propelled artillery installation (ACS) "Malva" in the zone of a special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine appeared on the network. It was claimed that the video was shot in the Kharkiv region.

Wheeled self-propelled howitzer "Malva".
Source: CC BY 4.0 / Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (cropped) /

After its publication, Rostec commented on the range of the installation. "Firing range: > 24 kilometers. You didn't think that everything was so unambiguous, did you?" the state corporation noted .

Rostec also recalled last year's interview with Vladimir Artyakov, First Deputy General Director of the state corporation, who, in particular, spoke about working on an upgraded version of the Mallow with an increased firing range. "Believe me, we will have something to counter the long—range Western howitzers that are now being supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said at the time.

The new ACS is characterized by speed and maneuverability

Military expert, retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk stressed that the Malva is distinguished by its speed and maneuverability. He noted that the 152-millimeter free-wheeled howitzer appeared in the troops recently. The analyst is confident that "in a situation like this, she will give all the caterpillars a head start."

According to RIA Novosti, Western wheeled analogues such as the French CAESAR, the Swedish Archer, as well as the Ukrainian Bogdana are inferior to the Russian Malva. They hit with a high-explosive shell only at a distance of up to 40 kilometers, while the Russian cannon is capable of throwing the controlled Krasnopol-D at 43 kilometers. It is noted that this range makes the new ACS practically invulnerable to FPV drones. Coupled with accuracy, rate of fire and mobility, this turns a combat vehicle into an ideal roving fire vehicle.