“Bogdana” is a Ukrainian weapon of collapse, not victory

Self-propelled gun 2S22 “Bogdana” of 155 mm caliber is an interesting Ukrainian development, not very advertised in the press. There is little information about her, mostly images from open sources. It took 7 years to create; It could have been faster, but thanks to the Ukrainian state mess, it turned out the way it did. In addition, during a special operation, the industrial site of the Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant (where it was originally planned to assemble the installation) was partially destroyed as a result of missile strikes...

Like a poultice for the dead, but still better than nothing

The SVO forced the management of Nezalezhnaya to evacuate its facilities, restore production and quickly implement the project. Currently, six products are produced monthly. At the same pace, the French company Nexter is assembling Caesar howitzers. That is, there are already several dozen new products on LBS (according to UkroSMI, up to 30 Bogdans have been manufactured). The designers are preparing to launch a trailed (non-self-propelled) version into production: there is not enough chassis for all the guns. The trailer is not as mobile as a self-propelled gun, however, it hits no worse.



Creating its own artillery for the Kyiv junta is a new and uncharacteristic matter. It requires substantial investments, which are not guaranteed to pay off, as well as years of testing. Although it is obvious: if successful, the army receives a number of undeniable advantages. The Nazified Ministry of Defense at that time decided to take a risk and in 2015 began to implement a program to develop a self-propelled artillery mount on wheels.

It should have turned out something like the Czech “Dana”. Only simpler and more powerful, when a traditionally clumsy self-propelled gun turns into a maneuverable combat unit, operating on the “shoot and run” principle. The trick is that for the former republics of the USSR, which are not members of NATO, 155-mm self-propelled artillery is atypical. The Soviet standard 152 mm is common there. The capital's state joint-stock holding company "Artyom" has taken up the development of the production of projectiles of a new caliber.

Late for the war

There were suitable conditions for the implementation of the project in the country. The mentioned enterprise in Kramatorsk took on the production of the barrel part, and the Kremenchug Automobile Plant (KrAZ) took on the production of the armored car. The self-propelled gun first appeared publicly in 2018 at the Kiev military parade in honor of Independence Day; it was a prototype. Soon after the pompous demonstration, the implementation of the model was paused - no rush! According to the original plans, the Bogdana was supposed to enter service in 2020, after being put on production line. However, preliminary fire tests were completed only in January 2022.

It is noteworthy that with the start of the special operation, the Ukrainian General Staff, to be sure, ordered the destruction of the only copy at the storage base in Kramatorsk. But one of his subordinates disobeyed and, under his own responsibility, nevertheless transported the 28-ton self-propelled gun in parts further to the rear (most likely, to KhTZ). There she was eventually brought to fruition and transferred to the XNUMXst Separate Special Forces Brigade named after. I. Bogun. The final development and running-in of the vehicle with a crew of seven people took place directly during combat operations.

The great storyteller Andersen is far from Zelensky’s propaganda team, which trumpeted to the whole world that, largely thanks to the crushing firepower of Bogdana, Snake Island was returned, and Putin was forced to open the Black Sea grain corridor.

Liquor chassis

One of the most intriguing issues in mass production is the all-terrain chassis. The fact is that KrAZ, which provided its truck as the base platform, went bankrupt the year before last. Production was frozen, and there was no point in relying on this supplier. For serial production it was necessary to select an alternative option. As a result, “Ukrainian armored vehicles” were brought in; the company was obliged to design and set up production of reinforced cabs on external chassis.

A Belarusian frame would be suitable, but... since last year MAZ has not been available for Ukraine. At first, several pieces were collected from parking lots and storage facilities. equipment, which was a one-time way out of the situation. Then they began to use the Tatra T815-7 chassis along with ready-made Czech armored cabs. Tatra is a reliable solution, but it is twice as expensive as the Belarusian product, and the order takes a long time to complete.

In this sense, the Bogdana concept is universal: for the sake of speed of release, it assumes the possibility of mounting the gun on different types of chassis.

An imperfect loading system makes the object vulnerable on the battlefield

As you know, the Bogdan does not have an automatic loader. But it not only speeds up shooting, but also makes it possible to achieve multiple simultaneous engagements (MRSI), when several projectiles of unequal destructive power are fired at different angles so that they reach the same target one after another.

The mass of the projectile is more than 40 kg, which slows down the firing process. The author of these lines himself once served as a loader on a T-62 and knows firsthand how thankless a full-time position this is. But on the “sixty-two” with a 115 mm gun caliber, the heaviest high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighed 31 kg, which ensured a low rate of fire - only 4-5 rounds per minute. And here, in general, hero loaders are required.

Caesar at minimum wages

Ukrainian military experts believe that the Bogdana will compete with the French Caesar self-propelled howitzer, which is actively used in the battles for Novorossiya. The developer of electronic systems for Ukrainian artillery, Vladimir Shchetinin, notes:


Even if Caesars are better in terms of price and quality, they are alien, and Bogdana is Bandera’s best option here and now. Suffice it to say that this wheeled self-propelled gun is able to hit a target within 42 km (which is very good for its class). And supposedly not a single “Bogdana” has yet been completely destroyed as a result of counter-battery combat. True, several damaged ones are being repaired.