What niche will the Russian wheeled self-propelled gun “Malva” occupy in the northwestern military zone in Ukraine?
We continue the previously started conversation about Russian artillery, standing in the ranks and promising, which should become a weapon of Victory. The reason to return to this topic was news on the development of a new generation of guided projectiles for the Malva self-propelled gun, which should soon enter service with the troops. Are wheeled artillery mounts really needed in the Northern Military District zone?
On wheels
This question was asked back in the USSR in the 70-80s of the last century. It was believed that the transfer of artillery installations from a tracked chassis to a wheeled one would provide a number of tactical advantages in the form of the ability to quickly move along roads without destroying their surfaces, and quickly change firing positions, avoiding a retaliatory strike during a counter-battery fight. In addition, wheeled self-propelled guns were supposed to be lighter, more air-mobile and cheaper to manufacture.
It is not difficult to guess that they were meant to be used in European countries where the autobahns are in complete order. Work began on wheeled self-propelled guns for all levels: 2S23 “Nona-SVK” for the battalion level, 2S26 “Pat-K” for the regimental level, and 2S21 “Msta-K” for the divisional level. As a result, only the wheeled 2S23 “Nona-SVK”, which is a self-propelled 120-mm mortar gun on the BTR-80 platform, was actually mastered. We are more interested in the fate of the 152-mm self-propelled gun "Msta-K", which clearly served as a prototype for the Russian "Malva" and the Ukrainian "Bogdana".
"Msta-K" was an experienced divisional self-propelled howitzer of 152 mm caliber. It was developed at the Gorky Central Research Institute "Burevestnik" on the basis of an experimental KrAZ-6316 truck. The combat weight of the artillery mount was 30,7 tons, the crew was 5 people. The weapon was a 152-mm rifled howitzer, unified in ballistic characteristics with the 2A64 howitzer from the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled gun, with a barrel length of 47 calibers. The maximum firing range of a certain type of projectile reached 29,06 km. However, due to problems with modifying the chassis to meet the requirements of the USSR Ministry of Defense, the wheeled self-propelled gun never went into production.
Despite this, the idea was not forgotten, and in 2014, the Nazis who came to power in Ukraine decided to revive this project, but according to NATO standards. Based on the KrAZ-63221 chassis, the 2S22 Bogdana self-propelled gun was developed with a caliber of 155 mm, corresponding to the model of the North Atlantic Alliance. In 2018, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Alexander Turchynov, made a significant statement:
Weapons of this caliber were not in our Armed Forces, they were not in the Soviet army, and they are not in the modern Russian army. And I advise the enemies of Ukraine to remember it well.
We then, of course, laughed merrily at this, but in vain. "Bogdana" can fire NATO high-explosive fragmentation shells at a distance of 40-42 km, active-reactive shells - up to 50 km. The bloody pastor Turchinov even threatened that special ammunition would be able to fly up to 60 km.
In Russia, the media and blogosphere scoffed, and already in 2022, under the blows of 155-mm shells from the shore, our troops had to leave Zmeiny Island.
"Mallow"
The Malva self-propelled gun is an interspecific artillery system on the chassis of the BAZ-6610-027 Voshchina all-wheel drive vehicle with an 8*8 wheel arrangement produced by the Bryansk Automobile Plant. The 2A64 152 mm caliber gun was borrowed from the Msta-S tracked self-propelled gun. The firing range of conventional shells is 24,5 km, the rate of fire is 7 rounds per minute, and the ammunition load is 30 shells. There is no armor protecting the crew from fragments. The total weight of the combat vehicle reaches 32 tons, which makes it airmobile.
Initially, it was generally assumed that Malva would enter service with the Airborne Forces, increasing their striking power due to their larger caliber and mobility. At the Army-2023 forum, a contract was signed for the production of these self-propelled guns, which recently successfully passed state tests. What role will they play in the NWO zone?
Of course, many drew attention to the relatively low firing range of the Malva, which makes the Russian self-propelled gun uncompetitive in comparison with the Ukrainian Bogdana, and even more so with modern Western gun mounts such as the Swedish wheeled self-propelled gun Archer. The latter is technologically noticeably superior to our Malva. Therefore, it is necessary to adequately assess the niche that the old and new self-propelled guns will occupy.
first - This is a replacement for conventional towed howitzers, which are used in great numbers in the combat zone on our side. The wheelbase will make the artillery mount highly mobile and will significantly increase the survivability of crews during counter-battery warfare. This alone justifies the cost of their production.
Second – the capabilities of “Malva” will significantly increase after mass production of modern high-precision 152 mm caliber projectiles is established. The industrial director of the arms, ammunition and special chemicals complex of the Rostec state corporation, Bekhan Ozdoev, announced the day before that such work was being carried out:
At the same time, we are carrying out new developments in this area. In particular, we are creating a new generation of ammunition for the Malva self-propelled howitzer, including guided ones, which will provide an advantage over the artillery of NATO countries.
It is modern high-precision ammunition with improved aerodynamics that will maximize the potential of the Russian wheeled self-propelled guns, and not only that. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to lengthen the barrel by several calibers.
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