On May 15, the Serbian Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, attended the construction tests by firing from the modernized 122 mm “Gvozdika” self-propelled howitzer at the “Pasuljanske livade” military complex. Minister Vulin pointed out that 122 mm 2S1 “Gvozdika” is an artillery piece which, according to the plans of some former ministers and former ministries, was supposed to be put out of use in our armed forces. Its range has been increased, one of the most modern fire control systems has been installed, it is able to act from a position after only 20 seconds of reaching the appropriate position, and it needs the same amount of time to change position.
The basis of modernization is a new navigation system that allows for a much higher speed of target setting – fire will be delivered in a shorter time and the trajectory manoeuvre will be performed, and accelerating the trajectory manoeuvre leads to simultaneous impact of several projectiles fired by one weapon. Serbian Army tested firing with four projectiles, and we expect to achieve a simultaneous impact with six projectiles – which means that one weapon can replace the entire battery. Completion of this modernization process and initial equipping of the Serbian Army Forces’ units with this artillery system by the end of the year.
The 2S1 Gvozdika (Carnation) is a Soviet self-propelled howitzer based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mounting a 122 mm 2A18 howitzer. “2S1” is its GRAU designation. An alternative Russian designation is SAU-122 but in the Russian Army it is commonly known as Gvozdika. The 2S1 is fully amphibious with very little preparation, and once afloat is propelled by its tracks. A variety of track widths are available to allow the 2S1 to operate in snow or swamp conditions. The 2S1 entered service with the Soviet Army in the early 1970s and was first seen in public at a Polish Army parade in 1974. It was designated the M1974 by the U.S. Army and manufactured in Soviet, Polish and Bulgarian state factories.
