ARTILLERY: Killer Drones Versus Howitzers
Ezoic
July 3, 2024: Ukraine has developed its own version of the French Caesar truck-mounted 155mm howitzer. The Ukrainian version is called the 2S22 Bogdana. This is a 28 ton, six-wheel truck armed with a NATO standard 155mm howitzer and operated by a crew of five. Development of the 2S22 began in 2015 and the first prototype was available in 2018 for test firings and other tests. Mass production began in January 2023 and by the end of 2023 production was ten 2S22s a month.
Currently 2S22a are replacing the many similar artillery systems sent to Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion. The first of these were eight Swedish Archer truck mounted 155mm artillery systems. Ukrainian artillerymen used the Archers for counterbattery, as in destroying enemy artillery. Ukrainians used UAVs to find targets for Archer and sent target locations to the nearest Archer system. Archer then fired a few 155mm shells at the target and moved, all in less than two minutes. Archer has 21 155mm shells onboard in a magazine that automatically loads these shells into the gun. This contributes to the speed of operation capability that makes Archer so effective. The Russians are also looking for counterbattery opportunities but have nothing like Archer, which can move, halt, fire and then resume moving faster than any Russian artillery. Archer can fire 20 shells at the rate of one every 7-8 seconds.
Archer counterbattery tactics have destroyed a growing number of Russian artillery and the Russians have not developed any defensive measures, except to shut down artillery operations and seek a hiding place from Archer. The Russians eventually developed the ability to use UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to find and destroy these truck-mounted artillery systems.
https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htart/articles/202407030439.aspx
