Artillery troops of Russia’s Western Military District fired Msta-S 152mm self-propelled artillery guns to destroy a notional enemy’s bunkers and field installations during drills. The artillery troops performed a 50km march to the area of preparations for the fire, equipped their positions and camouflaged combat vehicles. The enemy positions were exposed with the help of the units of unmanned aerial vehicles, which have been set up as part of artillery brigades based on the experience of present-day local armed conflicts as operating in the interests of howitzer batteries.
The artillery squads delivered fire Msta-S 152mm self-propelled artillery guns against enemy positions in the early hours. The fire was adjusted online in interaction with the unmanned aerial vehicles teams. The fire was conducted to a range of up to 20 km. The artillery troops also practiced single-shot direct fire to strike mobile targets. The live exercise involved about 300 personnel and over 70 weapon systems.
The 2S19 “Msta-S” is a 152.4 mm self-propelled howitzer designed by Soviet Union, which entered service in 1989 as the successor to the 2S3 Akatsiya. The vehicle is based on the T-80 tank hull, but is powered by the T-72’s diesel engine. The Msta is a modern howitzer designed for deployment either as an unarmored towed gun, or to be fitted in armored self-propelled artillery mountings. Current production of the towed model is designated Msta-B, while the self-propelled model is the Msta-S (also known by the GRAU index 2S19).
