Anti-aircraft machine gun and artillery installations of the armed forces of Romania
Currently, Romania has a relatively compact army. The number of ground forces is about 36 people. The main strike force of the Romanian Ground Forces are two infantry divisions, which include motorized rifle, tank, artillery, engineering and anti-aircraft units. Directly subordinated to the Main Headquarters of the Ground Forces are: a special operations brigade, a rocket artillery brigade and a pontoon engineering brigade.
The Romanian army is mostly equipped with outdated equipment and weapons. Although in recent years defense spending has been increased from 1,7 to 2% of GDP and it has been stated that the armed forces are striving to completely switch to NATO standards, there are still a lot of frankly outdated, and in some places archaic models in the troops that in no way correspond to modern realities. . The Romanian armed forces still have a significant number of anti-aircraft machine guns and artillery installations, some of which were produced in the 1960-1980s. This is primarily due to the lack of effective portable and self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems.
Anti-aircraft gun mounts
Prior to the country's entry into NATO, the only type of 12,7-mm machine gun operated by the Romanian army was the DShKM. Licensed production of this weapons was carried out at the Tsugirsky Mechanical Plant (ROMARM), and the machine gun, produced in Romania, at the first stage, in terms of its combat and service performance, fully corresponded to the Soviet model.
12,7 mm DShKM machine gun on a Romanian tank TR-85M1
The DShKM machine gun was very widely used in the armed forces of Romania, it was used in the infantry on a wheeled tripod machine, mounted on armored vehicles, boats and even helicopters.
It even got to the point that after Romania joined NATO, a heavy machine gun with Soviet roots was installed on Spanish-made URO VAMTAC off-road army vehicles.
In the 1970s and 1980s, modernization attempts were made, aimed mainly at reducing the mass of weapons.
The infantry model, developed at the ROMARM design bureau, was distinguished by sights, a machine tool, an armor shield of a different shape and a barrel without fins.
Although the Romanian army is striving to switch to NATO standards, there are still more than 1 machine guns chambered for the Soviet 000x12,7 mm cartridge in service and storage.
Relatively recently, a machine gun appeared in Romania, structurally similar to the DShKM, but using a NATO standard 12,7x99 mm cartridge.
Together with Western-made armored vehicles and HMMWV vehicles, Browning M2HB machine guns chambered for 12,7x99 mm came to Romania. In total, the Ground Forces have at least 200 of these machine guns.
The Romanian army still has such Cold War relics as the MR-14,5 4-mm quad anti-aircraft guns, created in the late 1960s.
Quadruple 14,5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun mount MR-4
The Romanian installation on a two-axle carriage with similar combat characteristics is much lighter and more compact than the Soviet ZPU-4. The Soviet installation weighs 2 kg, while the MR-100 weighs about 4 kg.
For firing from the MR-4, a very powerful cartridge of 14,5x114 mm dimensions is used. An armor-piercing incendiary bullet weighing 64 g has an initial velocity of about 1 m/s, and at a distance of 000 m at a meeting angle of 300 ° from the normal, it is capable of penetrating 20-mm armor and setting fire to the fuel and lubricants behind it.
The MR-4 quadruple anti-aircraft gun has a total rate of fire of 2 rounds per minute. ZPUs with such characteristics are still capable of posing a danger to low-flying aircraft and helicopters at distances up to 200 m. However, sighting devices that are primitive by modern standards and the low maneuverability of towed installations greatly reduce their combat value.
Towed anti-aircraft artillery
In 1980, anti-aircraft artillery battalions of the Romanian army began to receive twin 30-mm A-436 artillery mounts, designed to replace obsolete 37-mm Soviet-made anti-aircraft guns of the 1939 model of the year (61-K).
Twin 30mm A-436 anti-aircraft gun in firing position
Unlike most Eastern European allies, Romania, which pursued a defense policy largely independent of the USSR, chose not to adopt the 23-mm twin ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun, but to create its own, increasing the caliber to 30 mm. At the same time, the Romanian 30-mm twin A-436 turned out to be much heavier, the artillery unit and the electric drive for centralized aiming had to be placed on a four-wheeled “cart”. To power the electric drive and ignite the electric capsules, a rechargeable lead-acid battery was used, which was recharged from a gasoline generator.
Each tool can be used individually. To measure the distance to the target, the crew commander has an optical rangefinder at his disposal.
If the Soviet ZU-23 weighed about 1 kg, then the 000-mm Romanian anti-aircraft gun had a mass of 30 kg, and its movement even for short distances by calculation forces is extremely problematic. For towing the A-3, transporting 460 crew members and ammunition, a 436-ton three-axle all-wheel drive vehicle of Romanian production DAC 5T, created in cooperation with the German company MAN, is involved.
When creating the A-436, Romanian designers relied on Soviet automatic gas-operated artillery guns used as part of the 30-mm AK-230 naval anti-aircraft gun. For shooting, ammunition with a dimension of 30x210 mm is used. The power supply of each 30-mm machine is carried out by a tape for 30 shells. The ammunition load includes shots with armor-piercing incendiary, armor-piercing tracer and fragmentation tracer shells. At a distance of 1 m, an armor-piercing tracer with a mass of 000 g and an initial velocity of 360 m/s is capable of penetrating armor of medium hardness 1 mm thick.
Romanian 30-mm twin anti-aircraft guns can be used against targets flying at speeds up to 350 m / s. The maximum range for air targets is up to 3 m. Effective for ground targets is up to 500 m.
To control anti-aircraft fire in a centralized automated mode, a gun-guided radar station could be used, similar in its characteristics to the Soviet RPK-1 Vaza or SON-9A.
An interesting feature of the A-436 anti-aircraft gun is that each 30-mm machine gun has an adjustable rate of fire: 100, 250 and 500 rounds per minute. Thus, the maximum total rate of fire reaches 1 rds / min.
In 1988, a modernized A-436M installation appeared. Until the mid-1990s, some of the previously released 300 A-436 installations were converted to this version.
In addition to a general improvement in reliability and service performance, the attention of the developers was focused on improving the efficiency of firing. In order to increase the probability of hitting an air target when firing from a separate installation, it could be additionally equipped with an AST-30 radar sight. The parabolic antenna was mounted on the left side of the gun. The radar sight was able to detect a target at a distance of up to 12 km. After taking on escort, the parameters of the target were determined, ballistic corrections were calculated, the moment of opening fire, and the gun was automatically aimed in the horizontal and vertical planes. The whole process after the radar capture of the target and measuring the distance to it took 2–4 s.
In 2003, the VIFORUL centralized anti-aircraft fire control system was introduced to the general public.
Sighting and survey optoelectronic station
An optoelectronic sighting and survey station with remote control panels via cable lines can search for a target and centrally aim 8 anti-aircraft installations.
The SHORAR TCP radar station interacts with the OLS installed on a towed trailer, which provides timely detection and automatic target tracking. In conditions of poor visibility, the radar is capable of directing anti-aircraft fire without the use of OLS, but the accuracy is somewhat degraded.
According to reference data, there are now about 80 modernized 30-mm anti-aircraft twins in active operation. Some more are in storage. The last time live firing crew training took place at the Capu Midia training ground was in November 2021.
After joining NATO, the Romanian Defense Ministry acquired 24 Oerlikon GDF-35 towed 003-mm anti-aircraft guns.
35 mm anti-aircraft gun Oerlikon GDF-003 in firing position
In terms of its characteristics, degree of technical excellence and modernization potential, this product of the Swiss company Oerlikon significantly surpasses the Romanian 30-mm machine guns.
The towed 35-mm Oerlikon GDF-003 anti-aircraft gun in combat position weighs 6 kg. Sighting range for air targets - up to 700 m, reach in height - up to 4 m. Rate of fire - 000 rds / min. The capacity of the charging boxes is 3 shots. The effectiveness of shooting can be significantly increased by using projectiles with remote detonation.
Each 35-mm twin anti-aircraft gun is connected by cable lines to the Skyguard FC radar. The anti-aircraft fire control station, controlled by a crew of two, is located in a towed van, on the roof of which a rotating antenna of a pulsed Doppler radar, a radar range finder and a television camera are installed. There is the possibility of automated remote guidance of each anti-aircraft installation and firing without the participation of gun crew, which is activated only during reloading, preventive maintenance, cleaning and changing positions.
In addition to direct fire control of the anti-aircraft battery, an overview of the airspace at a distance of up to 40 km is provided at any time of the day. At the same time, the anti-aircraft installations themselves, the fire control radar and autonomous power generators can be placed in concrete caponiers, and the personnel and spare ammunition can be covered in well-protected bunkers. Taking into account the possibility of long-term duty and remote use without the direct presence of personnel on the position, Oerlikon GDF-003 installations are ideal for covering stationary objects from low-altitude air attack weapons.
During the Cold War, Romania received 40 S-60 anti-aircraft batteries, each battery had six 57-mm AZP-57 assault rifles and a SON-9 gun guidance station. Currently, the Romanian armed forces operate about three dozen 57-mm anti-aircraft guns, which are used in conjunction with VIFORUL gun guidance stations.
In the 1950s and 1960s, S-60 batteries replaced 37-mm anti-aircraft guns in the troops. Compared to the 37-mm 61-K assault rifle, the 57-mm AZP-57 anti-aircraft gun, with a slightly larger mass and a comparable rate of fire, had almost twice the firing range against air targets. The main feature of the S-60 was the ESP-57 centralized guidance system, which allows for synchronous remote guidance of guns using data from the radar or optical rangefinder.
Although in the 1980s in the USSR almost all 57-mm anti-aircraft guns were put into reserve, in a number of states, including Romania, they continued to remain in active service. This was largely due to the ability to effectively deal with armored and surface targets, as well as with enemy manpower.
An armor-piercing 57-mm projectile at a distance of 1 m is normally capable of penetrating 000-mm armor, and a fragmentation projectile weighing 100 kg contains 2,8 g of explosive and has an effective destruction zone of 168 m fragments. Taking into account the fact that the combat rate of fire of AZP-5 is 57 rds / min, each gun can bring down 70 kg of hot metal and explosives on the enemy in a minute.
The extension of the service life of the S-60 system is largely due to the fact that the Romanian armed forces have a shortage of not only modern air defense systems, but also artillery capable of countering amphibious assaults. Thus, 57-mm rapid-fire guns are considered as a universal tool designed to counter an air enemy and for use in coastal defense.
In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union transferred 168 100-mm KS-19M2 anti-aircraft guns, which replaced the 75-mm and 88-mm anti-aircraft guns of Swedish and German production in the Romanian army. Anti-aircraft artillery regiments were equipped with 100-mm cannons; there were 2 divisions in the regiment. Each division had 24 guns and 3 fire control radars.
Part of the 100-mm guns were placed near Bucharest on concrete stationary positions, but the bulk was used in a towed version. Together with anti-aircraft guns, SON-9A gun-guided radar stations were supplied. The guns transferred to Romania were equipped with the GSP-100M system, designed for remote automatic guidance in azimuth and elevation and automatic input of values for setting the fuse according to POISO data.
For its time, the 100-mm KS-19M2 anti-aircraft guns had good performance. With an artillery mount weighing about 9 kg, it could fire at targets flying at an altitude of up to 500 km, firing up to 14 shells per minute. The use of fragmentation projectiles with a radar fuse significantly increased the probability of hitting a target.
After Romania received a significant number of S-75 air defense systems, large-caliber anti-aircraft artillery ceased to play a significant role in the object air defense, and most of the 100-mm anti-aircraft guns were sent to warehouses. In the early 1970s, 56 KS-19 guns betrayed the Romanian Navy. Together with the Tunet-2A radar (the SON-9A modernized in Romania), 100-mm anti-aircraft guns covered the Constanta and Mangalia naval bases, commercial ports, and coastal facilities.
Artillery batteries stationed on the coast had a dual purpose. In addition to conducting anti-aircraft fire, they were considered as coastal defense weapons. In the 1980s, 5 anti-aircraft batteries that controlled approaches to naval bases received Romanian-made radar rangefinders, their final decommissioning took place in the mid-1990s. There are currently about two dozen 100mm guns in storage in Romania.
Anti-aircraft artillery self-propelled installations
Romania refused to purchase the ZSU-23-4 Shilka, considering it too expensive and not powerful enough. As a temporary measure, 60 ZSU-57-2, supplied by the USSR in the mid-1960s, were considered. In the 1980s, work was underway to create their own ZSU, which was supposed to be armed with 30-mm machine guns. However, research in this direction has not progressed beyond the paper stage. In the early 1990s, all hopelessly outdated self-propelled guns armed with two 57-mm guns were decommissioned, and the Romanian armored units were left without anti-aircraft cover capable of operating in the same battle formations as tanks.
After applying for membership in NATO, the Romanian defense department initiated the acquisition of Western-made anti-aircraft self-propelled guns, and in November 2004 the first batch of 18 West German ZSU Gepard was transferred.
ZSU Gepard of the Romanian army
As part of an intergovernmental agreement, Germany donated 43 Gepard A1 vehicles from the Bundeswehr stocks. At the Krauss-Maffei plant, 36 ZSUs were brought to working condition, and 7 vehicles were used as a source of spare parts. During the refurbishment, the radio-instrument complex of self-propelled units was upgraded to the Gepard A2 level.
The Gepard ZSU uses the chassis of the Leopard 1 tank, but the security of the self-propelled unit is lower than that of the base vehicle. Steel armor with a thickness of 30-20 mm will reliably protect against bullets of caliber no more than 12,7 mm and large fragments. Machine weight 47,3 tons. Diesel engine with a capacity of 830 liters. With. can accelerate on the highway up to 65 km / h. Crew - 3 people.
The armament of the vehicle consists of two 35 mm Oerlikon KDA cannons with a total rate of fire of 1 rounds per minute. For each gun there are 100 unitary shots. The mass of the fragmentation projectile is 340 g. The initial speed is 550 m / s. Armor-piercing incendiary and fragmentation-incendiary shells are mainly used for firing at air targets. Fragmentation projectiles with air blast can also be used, but this, apparently, requires the refinement of the instrumentation complex. To destroy well-protected targets, the ammunition load includes 1 armor-piercing sub-caliber shells, with armor penetration at a distance of 175 m along a normal of 40 mm. The maximum firing range for air targets is 300 m. Effective for those flying at speeds up to 80 m / s - 4 m.
To detect air targets, an MPDR-18S all-round pulse-Doppler radar with a built-in friend-foe radar interrogator operating in the centimeter frequency range with a range of up to 18 km is used. After detecting an air target, it is taken for escort by the Albis radar rangefinder sight, the antenna of which is located in the frontal part of the tower. The lead is calculated by the ballistic computer, and after the target enters the kill zone, the gunner opens fire on it. As a backup, there is an optical sight. Late production vehicles were equipped with laser rangefinders combined with a fire control system. But whether they are on the Romanian "Cheetahs" is unknown.
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Romanian air and missile defense system
Modern fighter aircraft of Romania
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