Artillerymen of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Southern Military District carried out live firing from Msta-S 152-mm self-propelled howitzers at the Tarskoye range in North Ossetia. Tactical shooting was carried out at full-size targets. The artillerymen of the motorized rifle division performed over 10 fire missions against single and group targets. The 58th Combined Arms Army is headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania.
Unmanned aerial vehicles were used to correct artillery fire against targets imitating enemy manpower and military equipment, as well as to assess the situation. With the help of drones, artillery spotters transmitted the exact coordinates of targets to the command posts of artillery battalions. In total, about 20 units of weapons, military and special equipment were involved in the exercise.
The 2S19 “Msta-S” (Msta River) 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.
The 2A64 ordnance of the 2S19 can fire the following types of ammunition, among others: HE (24.7 km), HEAT-FS, HE-BB (28.9 km), HERA (36 km), smoke, chemical, tactical nuclear, illumination and cargo (ICM). The laser-guided round “Krasnopol” (of the 9K25 system) can also be launched, as well as the shorter “Krasnopol-M” which fits into the automatic loader. Current production of the towed model is designated Msta-B, while the self-propelled model is the Msta-S.
