Artillery of the NATO "Spearhead Force" demonstrates firepower
Source: Bundeswehr
Missiles, mines, precision ammunition. Artillerists from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway practise their combat capabilities by sharpshooting.
Four nations in one battalion. Under the aegis of the 325th artillery demonstration battalion, all soldiers belong to NATO’s spearhead VJTF (Very High Readiness Joint Task Force).
Their mission: to destroy the enemy as quickly as possible.
The 2S7 Pion ("peony") or Malka is a Soviet self-propelled 203mm heavy artillery. "2S7" is its GRAU designation.
It takes the crew of seven men 5–6 minutes to come into action and 3–5 minutes to come out of action. It carries four 203 mm projectiles for immediate use. It is capable of firing nuclear ammunition. The gun has a range of 37,500 m, but this can be extended to 55,500 m by using RAPs (Rocket Assisted Projectiles). The Pion has been the most powerful conventional artillery piece since entering service in 1983. One interesting feature of the Pion is the firing alarm. Because the blast of the weapon firing is so powerful—it can physically incapacitate an unprepared soldier or crew member near it from concussive force—the Pion is equipped with an audible firing alarm that emits a series of short warning tones for approximately five seconds prior to the charge being fired.
The 2S7 carries a crew of fourteen; seven are carried by the Pion and seven are with an auxiliary vehicle. The system carries four rounds of ammunition; four more rounds are carried by the support vehicle. Due to the long range, the crew can fire one or two rounds and leave position before the first round hits the enemy position over 40 km away. This makes the 2S7 less susceptible to counter-battery fire, from an enemy with a counter-battery radar such as ARTHUR.
2S5 Giatsint-S
The 2S5 Giatsint-S (Russian: 2С5 «Гиацинт-С»; English: hyacinth) is a Soviet/Russian 152 mm self-propelled gun. "2S5" is its GRAU designation. It is NBC protected. The 2S5 is capable of engaging targets at longer ranges and at a higher rate of fire than the more widely produced 2S3 Akatsiya 152 mm self-propelled gun, and is capable of firing nuclear projectiles.
It was identified for the first time in 1975 in the Soviet Army and so was called M-1975 by NATO (the 2S4 Tyulpan also received the M-1975 designation), whereas its official designation is SO-203 (2S7). Its design is based on a T-80 chassis carrying an externally mounted 2A44 203 mm gun on the hull rear.
Production of the 2S5 Giatsint-S started in 1976 along with the towed version the 2A36 Giatsint-B. It uses a chassis modified from the SA-4 Krug surface-to-air missile system with good cross-country mobility, and can carry 30 152 mm rounds with a range of 28 kilometers, or 33-40 kilometers for rocket-assisted projectiles. In addition to high explosives, the gun can also fire HEAT, cluster, smoke and nuclear projectiles. Deploying to fire the gun takes 3 minutes, and it can sustain a rate of fire of 5 to 6 rounds per minute. Most of the crew, with the exception of the gunner, deploys outside of the vehicle while firing. It is usually accompanied by an ammunition carrier with an additional 30 rounds of ammunition.
The 2S5 was introduced into service in 1978, replacing the 130mm M46 field gun battalions in Soviet artillery brigades at the Army and Front level, and has also been known as the M1981 by the United States. Production ceased in 1991.
2S4 Tyulpan
The 2S4 Tyulpan (often spelled Tulpan, Russian: 2С4 «Тюльпан»; English: tulip) is a Soviet 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar. "2S4" is its GRAU designation. The Tyulpan is the largest mortar system in use today.
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Credits: Russian Ministry of Defense
