Pain and poverty of Russian artillery
I will start with a quote from the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia, General of the Army S. K. Shoigu and from large calibers.
“Counter-battery combat is being improved as one of the main tasks of fire destruction of the enemy. Long-range rocket artillery systems "Tornado-S" and artillery systems of high power "Malka" are involved in its implementation. This allows you to effectively hit foreign rocket and artillery systems.
How do I understand it? And so, that Soviet 2S7 Pion guns will be removed from long-term storage warehouses, and they will be worked on within the walls of Uraltransmash, turning Peonies into 2S7M Malki. Given that there are more than 250 2S7 guns in storage, there is work to be done.
What is the conversion of "Peony" into "Malka"? This is de-Ukrainization and digitalization. That is, they remove the Ukrainian engine and gearbox and install everything Russian. Digitalization implies a more modern stuffing. A new system of guidance, range calculation, firing direction, communication with satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as automated preparation of a shot, has appeared. Doubled (from 4 to 8) the number of shots in the ammunition load.
Here, however, as there was no UAV in the kit, it is not. But if anything, "Malka" can easily communicate with him and work according to data from the reconnaissance board.
So, if you believe the data of the RF Ministry of Defense, we have about 60 self-propelled guns 2S7M "Malka" in our troops. And at least 150 more can be quickly prepared at the plant from Peonies.
This is good? No. With the super-dense fire of Russian artillery, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already able to fight with the help of "Haymars".
But let's look at it this way. You can increase the number of 203 mm barrels. But they, guns, need shells. How many of them we have in our arsenals, it is unrealistic to say who releases and whether releases - too. And then, to shoot a disc weighing 50 kg for almost 110 km is half the battle. It is necessary that he, the shell, hit somewhere. Not to the target area, but to the target.
And what is needed for this? That's right, modern guidance systems. What's the point of a modernized cannon from the 60s of the last century if it is not able to provide accurate shooting? We return to the times of the First World War, when the destruction of the enemy was ensured by the hours of work of artillery regiments?
No, of course, today there are precision-guided projectiles. This, unlike missiles, is a very serious topic, since the projectile is unrealistically difficult to intercept in flight. What is Excalibur, what is Krasnopol.
What is the name of the high-precision projectile for "Malka"? That's right, no way. He is not.
Although in 2020, in November, the industrial director of the Rostec weapons complex, Bekhan Ozdoev, in an interview with RIA “News” announced the intention of Rostec to provide Malka with modern guided munitions.
“We have worked out options for a deeper modernization of the gun with the development of a new generation of ammunition, including guided ones. We have forwarded these proposals to the customer.”
Year 2022 - "... the dead with scythes stand along the roads ... And silence ...».
And the “Peonies” removed from storage will turn into “Malki” and continue to hit the squares. Like 110 years ago. Because no matter how hard I tried to find a mention of a 203-mm guided or corrected projectile from Rostec, I did not find anything.
Of course, an increase in the number of long-range guns to such quantities can significantly increase the firepower of Russian artillery. However, there are two huge BUTs here:
1. Russian industry is not in a position to provide the artillery troops today with at least a minimally sufficient amount of reconnaissance and control equipment, as well as guided and corrected munitions.
2. "Hold our beer," the Hymars' crew said. To be honest, this rocket system has practically nullified all the advantage of Russian artillery, quantitative and qualitative. Against the stupid firing on the squares, the Ukrainians, led by the Americans and the British, responded with very accurate hits on the military infrastructure.
In the end, the reality is this: Russian barrels fire thousands of projectiles, forming a "lunar landscape" with very little effect. And you can get a response, and it’s very painful.
And here it is time to talk about counter-battery combat.
This is an important element of the war. It became clear and understandable how important the KBS was back in 2014, and for Donetsk it has not lost its relevance to this day.
The fact that we have KBS, even despite the fact that the Minister of Defense of Russia himself spoke about it, is a very controversial statement. Well-established counter-battery firing today can be justly boasted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They have everything for this - how to detect, how to correct, how to shoot.
Of course, from time to time, Ukrainians also snatch in response, at least there is video evidence of the destruction (or hits) of American M777 howitzers. Yes, when it turns out to calculate this not very mobile weapon, then, of course, everything that can fly over it flies. But the M777 really has a minus - the howitzer is not very mobile, that's why it gets it. Unlike the Hymars, which work on the principle of "arrived - fired - left." And nothing can be done with them, because everything about everything takes no more than five minutes.
Why? Yes, everything is elementary: but there is nothing. Yes, seriously, in the Russian army, where "more than 70% of new equipment”, There is practically nothing to carry out CBS.
Now the opponents of the “all-propellers” will immediately object to me: what about 1B75 and 1B76 “Penicillin”? How about our ultra-modern sound-thermal complex? About which so much has been said and so much has been said?
The whole problem is that they actively praised it, but to see / read about the real ... no, not the application. There was no need for real production and entry into the troops, although it appears in the “lists”, that is, it was officially adopted.
By the way, in the same place, in the lists of weapons of the Russian army, there is also such a product as 1B33 AZK-7 Mesotron, to which literally last year RT devoted a mega-laudatory article. Link for those interested / willing to check at the end of the article.
What confuses me here is that the product 1B33 AZK-7 "Mesotron" was developed in the mid-80s by talented Soviet engineers O. M. Marchenko and V. B. Smagin within the walls of the Molniya design bureau in the city of Odessa ... And it was adopted by the Soviet army in 1988. In service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine - in 1991.
Name match? I don't think so. Of course, it is possible that everything there has been modernized and redone, but the sediment from the “new complex” remains. So the “newest” AZK-7M is a thirty-year-old Soviet complex with Ukrainian roots.
The same is true of the Zoo.
The complex was created as a replacement for the terribly unsuccessful 1RL239 "Lynx". It was created as long and dreary as the Lynx, because the following was started: two parallel projects, Zoo-1 (developer of the Strela Research Institute) and Zoo-2 (developer of Iskra Research and Production Company, Zaporozhye, Ukraine). The beginning of work on the complexes - the end of the 80s, the Russian army "Zoo-1" stood in 2008, the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Zoo-2" - in 2003.
"Zoo-2" APU
With the "Zoo-1" happened about the same as with the "Lynx" - the complex proved to be absolutely unusable, and its modernization immediately began. But Zoo-1M was accepted only on the third attempt, having changed members of the selection committee twice, because no one wanted to take responsibility and adopt IT. Therefore, the Russian "Zoo" entered service much later than the Ukrainian one.
"Tests" in Syria showed that, despite the full support of the generals from Moscow, the "Zoo" turned out to be worthless and expensive crap. CBO only once again showed this.
There are sites on the other side where Ukrainian specialists compare their own and our equipment (for obvious reasons, there will be no proofs, Google will help), since they now have a shaft of our equipment. So, in comparison with their own, older Zoo-2, they wiped their feet on ours. Say, everything and everything is like that - but it’s not. Reviews about our T-90M were very respectful and on the verge of admiration. There was a tank major as an expert - he unequivocally said that the T-90M would have done complete chaos, and that this tank is much better than the latest T-64BV model.
However, the best indicator of the "effectiveness" of the "Zoo" can be considered the fact that since 2002, no country in the world has concluded a contract with Rosoboronexport to purchase this miracle.
In many media (and in the catalogs of the Ministry of Defense) such products as 1RL232 SNAR-10 "Leopard" and 1RL232M1 SNAR-10M "Panther" are mentioned. It is, of course, tears.
The Leopard was developed from 1966 to 1971, the last cars were assembled in 1991. What is now in the army is completely unnecessary trash. It is impossible to say how much work is going on on the Panther, the essence of which boils down to installing the 1RL133-3 Credo-1E on the Leopard base.
But it is worth noting that there are good reviews from the troops about Credo as a fully functional station, the only problem of which is the frequent burnout of electronics on the channels.
By the way, the same is said about the 1L271 "Aistenok", which, as an artillery reconnaissance station, is not bad, it can see its gaps, equipment well, but the accuracy of detecting flying projectiles, mines and enemy firing positions leaves much to be desired.
But there are reports of how, with the help of Aistenok, they successfully crushed mortar batteries in the DPR.
But everyone has the same pain - a maximum of two weeks of hard daily work - and the microcircuits burn like candles. There is simply no reliability, mainly due to the use of microcircuits not of the “we need” type, but of the “set what they gave” type.
In general, the situation is as follows: apart from words about the importance of CBS, nothing more. That is why the arrivals of missiles are still somehow trying to reflect our air defense, but with artillery shelling, which are performed by mobile groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they look more and more serious - everything is bad.
The problem is that two armies clashed - one from the time of the First World War (this is Russian), the second - the level of the 1990 Gulf War. And alas, the second army really nightmares the first. And the first one cannot do anything about it, because the second army has a huge advantage: it sees farther and better, it exchanges information faster at all levels, it is more mobile.
Russian artillery today has simply huge problems. It is difficult, perhaps, to say who has fewer of them than the gunners.
Area work. A huge number of trunks. Usually, the “barrage of fire”, which is so colorfully described by the media, is followed by a lull for several days in anticipation of the delivery of ammunition. Well, this can be said to be normal, because logistics has never been a strong point of our army.
There is another doubt that touches the soul a little. But will our factories (surviving in the market) cope with the replenishment of the stock? The reserve sooner or later ... will end. Work in three shifts - it is, of course, yes, but this is on condition that there will be someone to work in these three shifts.
Counter-battery fight. Even worse, because it needs to be provided, but there is nothing to do it. All our "latest" equipment, in fact, again turns out to be slightly modernized Soviet. No, the new "Aistenok" and "Credo" are really not bad, they would still have Soviet reliability and you can really exhale. But alas, not in one place there is a hole, but in another there is a hole.
Equipment. Thank God the slide rules are gone history and on the tables of the gunners there are at least calculators. I had a number of conversations with a lieutenant of one of our artillery regiments, a graduate of this year. True, Comrade Lieutenant graduated not from a military school, but from an ordinary university in my city. But after the release of all those who could (16 people out of 28, which, as it were, hints at the state of health of modern mathematicians), they were taken to the artillery.
What is the dream of a young artillery officer? You won't believe... about being in the 21st century because they were basically in the middle of the 20th. "Tablet-A" or "Tablet-M"? Don't tell me, we are not on the "Army-****". Happiness is to become the owner of an ordinary tablet, in which you can put programs for calculations. And here are two more options, if the commanders are sane, then any tablet that is normal in terms of characteristics will do.
If the commanders "do not shine" - parents knock down their legs in search of tablets without SIM cards. But they do, fortunately.
And so - a notebook, a calculator - and go ahead, carry out a combat mission. A civilian tablet, a smartphone is a misdemeanor in the eyes of some.
Speaking of "some". it about various auditors from division, district and above. Do you know what the big problem of gunners is? The fact that they are at a distance from the front end. And in some cases it is even more difficult for them than for tankers and infantrymen in terms of inspectors, because inspectors love to check where it is safe. And the higher the rank and position of the inspector, the safer he should be.
So to come to the gunners and check how they are there - do not feed honey and do not hang medals. They love it. And they check not the wear of the trunks (still Soviet), not the replenishment of the b / c, not how the fighters are fed. These are things that you need to work on, I'm not afraid of this word!
But to check the cleanliness and completeness of the uniform, whether the boots are statutory, whether towels are available (I'm not kidding, it cost one officer's regiment), whether there is a violation of the secrecy regime (smartphones and tablets), and so on. That is, according to that very long list, which is called "army insanity."
Starley, due to the lack of a bath towel, received a remark, but, apparently, he was wedged, and he simply asked the checking colonel the question: why do they need bath towels if they haven’t seen a bath as such for a month? As a result, the commander received a remark, a starley reprimand, and a report was placed on the table for the regiment commander. As a result, the regimental commander lost a trained officer, but the staff rat with satisfaction gave birth to a report on the work done. I found, you know, an enemy who does not have a bath towel. There is an undermining of the combat state of the entire division, if not the regiment.
How not to remember here the immortal Hasek, who described this?
Reporters, by the way, today are a matter of commonplace.
There are some funny stories too. I won’t name the number, but in one artillery regiment, having received the full program based on the results of the check, they came up with a military trick, since there was a thought, and there was something to implement the trick. "Mavic".
The picture was oil: the division is standing, the colonel from the division headquarters, already initially dissatisfied with what he saw at the disposal, is preparing to carefully examine everything, sort it out in detail and fuck everyone in a row. The division stands in line, the colonel and commanders are in front of the line, and suddenly - such a high and tedious sound of propellers. High, at the limit of hearing. The people in the ranks shook their heads nervously, the inspector tensed. “Today, something earlier than usual,” said the division commander.
The verification, as you understand, did not take place. Thank God, the headquarters already know how the visits of Ukrainian drones, but they still do not know how to distinguish their own from others. So for now it works.
Total: Soviet hardware radio-electronic base with partially replaced by Chinese civilian microcircuits, calculators and tablets bought on their own or transferred by assistants, civilian Chinese copters purchased at the expense of the rear, issued individually guided projectiles, the absence of such for 122-mm and 203-mm calibers, wretched communication is the present day of Russian artillery.
Against the NATO satellite constellation, unmanned aerial vehicles in sufficient numbers, an excellent communication system that allows you to spend a minimum on data transmission anywhere - this is the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
There are positives. With shells, the APU is even worse than ours. But Ukrainian gunners are trying to compensate for this with accuracy and operational control.
Trunks, it is worth saying that German and American ones, are definitely worse than Soviet ones and wear out much faster. This is a big plus, because creating “barrages of fire” is not for Ukrainians yet for sure. However, there is no special essence in these senseless firing of tens of thousands of shells either. "Lunar landscape" is certainly impressive, but it impresses with its brutal senselessness, since the shells simply plow fields or residential areas.
Unfortunately, the “God of War”, artillery, which does play a very important role in the war in Ukraine, really looks like some kind of Cinderella. Trying to do at least something with all her might, but alas, without a fairy in any way.
And fairies, alas, are not expected. And the officers, tired of the madness of command, continue to write letters of resignation. And they are being replaced by basically untrained guys from civilian universities. And they, yesterday's graduates, must replace in the ranks those who have been trained for more than one year.
And the prospect after impressive, but useless "barrages" - to be left without shells. Yes, as it was in the First Chechen War. When the cannons and howitzers fall silent, because there will be the last b / c left, which can be spent exclusively at the command of the army commander and no lower. Passed.
Exploration and processing of the received information. Here, at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is, if not a network-centric system, then its semblance. Ukrainian commanders of artillery units receive the coordinates of the targets and (which is very important) make decisions on their defeat, while Russian artillerymen are forced to spend time (and a fair amount) on coordination and obtaining permits. For Ukrainians, this can be called not network-centricity, but decentralization, but the information put “on a silver platter” to artillerymen is a very important component of the battle.
And yes, far from every coordinate can be fired at by our gunners. There are zones forbidden for artillery fire. It is not known for what reasons, but they are, and there are quite a few of them.
What we have: nothing. Orlan-10, if any, will be at the disposal of the Msta-B battery / division (my interlocutor simply served on them), plus fire control devices - this is not a network-centric control system. This is a UAV operating in the interests of the division. And the data transmitted to them is not seen by either the neighbors, or the tankers, no one. Yes, it's better than nothing, but...
But when you are “better than nothing”, and your opponent is better than you, what does this lead to? That's right, defeat. Well, or "regrouping", which, in principle, is almost the same thing.
Modern Russian artillery (modern - this translates as “currently in service, so it’s all entirely Soviet) will continue to experience big problems in the fight against the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the side of which there are more modern weapons, and - most importantly - more quality information supply.
Unfortunately, in the clash of two artillery, between which more than 100 years of military evolution, the more modern one will definitely bring victory. Falling asleep with shells (tens of thousands) of squares and hoping that something will fly where it needs to - these are the times of the First World War. And it is in this mode that Russian artillery operates.
Many call this approach “all-propal”, threaten to write to Sportloto and other authorities. That is, those who disagree. But then try to answer one question: is the fact that today the Armed Forces of Ukraine is methodically destroying Donetsk - is this normal? Belgorod? Settlements of Kursk, Belgorod, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye regions?
No, it just takes and destroys. Yesterday Today. Tomorrow will destroy. Excuse me, where is the very counter-battery fight that Shoigu spoke about? Where are the really tracked and destroyed guns and MLRS that fire at Donetsk?
Russian artillery today is somewhat different from what we would like to see. World War I level. And I would like to see the 21st century. Modern guns and MLRS, network-centric systems, satellites, drones, world-class computers, guided missiles and more. That is, the artillery of the modern army.
So far, only Soviet-style artillery systems can be seen, capable of arranging a lunar landscape on hectares. But the "God of War" won't win the war that way.
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