Self-propelled artillery mounted on a wheeled chassis are popular and sell well. Russia, being a major supplier of weapons, cannot help but grab this tidbit of the cake, the newspaper notes. The process of developing a new ACS was full of difficulties, but still she managed to create a "god of land warfare."
According to information that appeared on the Defense Blog website on July 20, not so long ago, the latest Russian 152-mm self-propelled artillery installation Malva was demonstrated to the general public. The appearance of this mysterious piece of weaponry attracted everyone's attention. What helped the promising ACS to win the favor of the Russian armed forces? What characteristics does it have?
Invincible self-propelled gun "Malva"
Recently, the appearance of a promising Russian 152-mm self-propelled gun "Malva" attracted the attention of many. A self-propelled artillery installation essentially consists of a howitzer and a truck, compared with previous tracked guns, a wheeled self-propelled gun has better reaction and maneuverability on a paved road.
The very first wheeled car cannon was developed in France, and the famous 155-mm self-propelled gun Caesar appeared in the same country. This development of the French armament industry led to the development of wheeled artillery guns on a global scale and provided huge opportunities for the development of self-propelled howitzers. Russia has achieved brilliant success in the development of the younger generation of wheeled self-propelled guns, an excellent example illustrating this can be the recently shown self-propelled gun "Malva". 152 mm wheeled self-propelled artillery 2C43 "Malva" was designed at the Central Research Institute. It stands out favorably against other models of Russian self-propelled guns, such as the 2C40, 2C41 Drok and 2C42 Lotus.
The firing means of the 2C43 Mallow self-propelled gun is located, just like other howitzers on a wheeled chassis. The gun is equipped with a three-chamber muzzle brake and a hydraulic system to reduce recoil. The gun itself has a long guide tube, the firing range can exceed 40 kilometers, and it is capable of firing eight shots per minute. The ACS has the ability to remotely control from a remote mobile point, which has significantly improved the characteristics associated with firing. Russia is famous for its vast territories, so the Malva self-propelled gun has low weight, good maneuverability and a six-meter hull, so it can be transported by armed transport aircraft, for example, Il-76 or An-124. All this makes it easier to strategically transfer the 2C43 Malva self-propelled gun.
The projectile is launched from a traditional rising and falling hydraulic footrest, which is also a coulter. While on it, the military personnel carry out all manipulations. Judging by the device of the rear part of the ACS, it uses a semi-automatic charging system. Compared to a fully automatic one, it slightly reduces the rate of fire, but at the same time reduces weight and costs.
As on the 152-mm tracked ACS 2C19 "Msta-S", the 2C43 uses the 2A64 howitzer. This gun is fully developed and has been in service for many years, besides using it as a fire element of the ACS 2C43 has greatly reduced the cost of production. The choice did not fall on the once popular 2A88 howitzer precisely because of its heavy weight.
Everything has changed, Malva has finally become the Russian CAESAR
It is difficult to call the Mallow self-propelled gun a completely new type of weapon. Back in October 2019, pictures of the project of a self-propelled artillery installation on a wheeled chassis, as well as fragments of a model that, due to the general similarity, could well have become a Russian version of the CAESAR self-propelled gun, but the development process of the Russian self-propelled howitzer was full of difficulties, were scattered on the Runet.
Given the technological power of the Russian artillery, from a technical point of view, it was not difficult for the country to create a self-propelled artillery installation. However, due to the lack of interest in this type of weapon, the country has created only the A-222 coastal self-propelled artillery complex and the incredibly simple 2S35-1 wheeled self-propelled gun "Coalition-SV-KSH".
Externally, the A-222 coastal gun looks like a car cannon. As a base, it uses a MAZ-543 car with an 8 × 8 wheel arrangement, on which a 130-mm artillery complex is installed, combining technical and design solutions characteristic of the AK-130 naval automatic cannon and the 2S19 self-propelled howitzer. The A-222 guns in combination with the Bastion-P coastal missile systems are mainly equipped with the coastal troops of the Navy to launch anti-ship missiles from the shore.
The self-propelled gun 2S35-1 "Coalition-SV-KSH" is an automatic turret from the tracked howitzer "Coalition-SV" with a 152 mm 2A88 cannon, mounted on an off-road KamAZ-6560 chassis with an 8 × 8 wheel arrangement. All this has greatly improved the characteristics of the 2C35-1 Coalition-SV-KSH self-propelled gun: it has a high degree of turret automation and a high rate of fire, besides the barrel length of the newest 2A88 cannon is 52 caliber, and the range of high-precision shooting reaches about 40 kilometers.
This type of weapon has quite obvious drawbacks - a lot of weight and costs. The 2A88 cannon's own weight is 35 tons, which greatly reduces its mobility, and an automatic turret at modern prices on the arms market is very expensive and poses a challenge to the Russian economy. Nevertheless, the country needs to provide numerous troops with weapons and military equipment, replace outdated guns with new ones. In such a situation, Russia needs cheap and efficient self-propelled guns on a wheeled chassis to fill the deficit and replace the guns still in service on trailers.
In addition, Russian artillery performed admirably during the civil war in Ukraine in 2014 and the subsequent war in Syria. The load on the Armed Forces, which increased after that, contributed to the intensification of the development of inexpensive wheeled self-propelled guns. These vehicles are designed not only to meet the requirements of the Russian army, but also to maintain a certain number of self-propelled artillery installations in the ranks of the Armed Forces. And also, most importantly, the work on creating wheeled self-propelled guns will be a good training for its developers. Given the situation in the country, the profit from the arms trade occupies a significant place in Russia's GDP. Currently, wheeled self-propelled guns such as the French Caesar or the Swedish Archer are popular on the international arms market and sell well. As a major supplier of weapons, Russia, with its wheeled self-propelled guns, cannot help but grab a tasty piece of this "cake".
The Malva self-propelled gun showed the power and strength of the Russian army
The device of the 2C43 "Malva" self-propelled artillery installation helps it to quickly deploy and collapse, the transition time from marching to combat mode does not exceed one minute. Unlike conventional guns, the process of moving and loading a projectile in an ACS can take place practically without human help, which significantly saves time and human resources. In accordance with the combat situation, a wheeled self-propelled gun can quickly change direction and turn to face the enemy located behind it. In a short period of time, the machine is able to turn 180 degrees and react to the situation with lightning speed. ACS is "smarter" than a conventional cannon, a high level of informatization is achieved due to the ability to carry a large amount of electronic equipment. The French CAESAR self-propelled gun is equipped with a three-axis inertial navigation and positioning system Sigma-30 (Sigma 30), which provides the gun with data on the exact location of the target. Based on the results of radar surveillance, the internal fire control system identifies the target and determines its belonging to friendly troops or enemy forces, and the automatic data transmission system maintains communication and data exchange between the ACS and the higher command.
The adoption of a new wheeled self-propelled gun will be a great achievement for the Russian artillery. This weapon not only has increased survivability, strategic maneuverability, it has also become better able to respond in an extreme situation. During the war in Syria, the ACS proved itself not only in major battles, but also in street battles, providing powerful fire support. The lightweight wheeled howitzer has good maneuverability and is excellent for traveling on roads with difficult terrain.
The type of ammunition used by the guns depends on the situation. For example, the French self-propelled gun "Caesar" has different shells for certain circumstances. Grenades, projectiles with a nozzle for the discharge of bottom gases, buckshot, guided missiles, mines, smoke and lighting projectiles can be used.
During the Syrian and Afghan wars, the Russian military realized all the disadvantages of stationary artillery guns, for example, their lack of mobility. The main advantage of wheeled self-propelled guns is not in firepower, but in maneuverability. With the help of a C-130 transport aircraft, one CAESAR self-propelled gun with ammunition can be transported from France to Africa. For a self-propelled artillery piece moving on a wheeled chassis, just the presence of a passable road is enough. The excellent strategic and tactical mobility of wheeled self-propelled guns is suitable for modern artillery, which requires moving the gun to a long distance, quickly striking and moving away. Wheeled self-propelled guns increased the power and speed of providing artillery support. Taking into account all the advantages of these guns, their adoption will help the Russian army feel even more confident within the framework of local armed conflicts.
A wheeled self-propelled gun is a powerful weapon capable of adapting to situations at the front. Improving the maneuverability and viability of a self-propelled artillery installation made it a more advanced means of support on the battlefield and more clearly revealed the concept of the "god of land warfare".
