Syrian opposition activists released a photo showing the remains of a unique artillery shell, which hit a militant position in the northern Hama countryside on March 11.
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The shell was identified as the Russian-made 2K25 Krasnopol artillery weapon system. Several Russian and Soviet-made 152mm artillery guns can launch the advanced shell, which is guided by semi-active laser. Krasnopol has a range of 20km and can hit its targets with a pin-point accuracy.
2K25 Krasnopol artillery weapon system
According to the available information, Russian forces in Syria are employing the Krasnopol with the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer. This type of howitzers was seen in the Homs desert in late 2017.
Like any other laser-guided weapon, the Krasnopol’s target should be illuminated with laser. The Malakhit portable automated artillery fire control system, which was developed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, is usually used to illuminate targets. However, experts believe that Russia has several types of drones, which are capable of illumining targets for the Krasnopol.
The Malakhit portable automated artillery fire control system
Russian forces used the Krasnopol to eliminated a group of militants, which conducted the drone attack on Hmeimim airbase on December 31, 2017. The guided shell was able to hit its targets with great accuracy.
The use of precision-guided weapons, such as the Krasnopol, allows Russian forces and its allies to inflict heavy losses to militants, while minimizing the risk to nearby civilians.
Drones illuminating targets for Krasnopol rounds are more effective eliminating the need of ground crews or equipment to be exposed as they paint the target.
there is also an advantage if the laser “dot” is painted from above, as the incoming round, flying overhead, has a larger chance to acquire and track it.
A drone is also fast in positioning itself to the best position in relation to the artillery tube and the target, while an infantry squad has much more obvious limitiations in doing so.
The front of this shell looks rather intact. The charge would be just behind the front fins I assume. A directional HE explosion out of the sides or a dud ?
it’s indeed a mystery how this shell is intact, even free-falling to the ground i expect more damage
i fucking LOVE this weapon system! Apparently it can even hit moving targets (im not sure what speed they must be travelling) In my view, this weapon system is perfect for idlib! A 40km max range is all they need to surround idlib and save a lot of money on airstrikes! i believe Russia makes the best Artillery systems in the world! (my opinion)
I wonder why system like 2S4 Tyulpan isn’t a bit more exploited. Imagine this kind of precision with basically an avio bomb (240mm/130kg mortar shell and there is precision variant of it). Battery of 2S4 can put an awful lot of HE rounds quickly and then retreat to safety.
one of those was spotted a year or 2 a go in idlib! it was shown in a convoy travel towards Damascus for the battle in North Eastern Damascus suburbs!
They may have a couple of them but i cant be certain! i do know that one was spotted though! This website showed it in a photo of the convoy!
Yes, i remember of that photo too. Syria has it in it’s arsenal but how many and in what condition are those guns it’s unknown. I was a bit unclear thou, i meant for Russians. There are rumors of modernization of 2S4 in Russian army. Idea behind this monsters are pretty scary. Arial bombardment without air force. With rocket propelled mortar shells range is up to 20km/12miles. Batery of 6 or 12 of these can fire up to 25/50 shells in 5 minutes and imagine the horror of being at the spot where those shells falls…
holy shit 20km? thats amazing for a mortar of any sort, let alone a caliber such as this one!
Yes, isn’t it? Even without rocket booster it flies 10km. If you didn’t watch clips with this beast, it would be interesting for you. There is a distinct sound when that pig leaves the barrel, almost like church bell… Ruskies, they need to do things differently, don’t they?
hahaha yes they do! ill take a look! ima big fan of the smerch systems too! No army stands a chance against them
Oh my word, SMERCH… It fires f*****g lampposts, 300mm rockets on a distance of 90km and Ruskies have upgraded version now… S.C.A.R.Y.
Wherever that flamethrower shows up in this syrian war, militants gets there asses kicked for a couple days and surrender.
I would not want to be on the receiving end. Terrifying.
have u seen the smerch missiles that release cluster bombs? hahaha holy shit!
I don’t know how much smerch is used in Syria. You maybe thinking of TOS-1A? It’s called as a flamethrower because it fires thermobaric munitions.
The world record for artillery was 120 km and it was against Paris in WW1. The grenade went into the thin air high above, but the explosion was very symbolic and propagandish.
I am no expert in that weapon, but its about what You get for the price and if You can handle what You have to send as well as what You send it from.
Normal Artillery grenades are much cheeper. You can use very big mortars to, but load the with only small amounts of explosives.
Very big single mortars also were given up for infantery, bacause the firing equipment as well as the grenades were too heavy to carry for 1 person.
Thats why the winners were Katushas as the small ones with longer ranges were the winner. They were less complicated and You could fire many of them – often in flocks.
And one more thing. Artillery has to be moved too and the time is weel used, because they have to cool down, so You again can fire a bunchof grenades.
Mortar shell of 2S4 carries almost the same amount of explosives as any arial bomb of similar size. Mobility of the sytem is another thing that makes this system interesting, it moves on a tracked vehicle so it’s ATV. Move six of these into a position, fire 4-5 mortarrs from each one in 4-5 minutes and retreat battery to a safe position i a fraction of a cost of same intensity of an arial bombardement.
That’s because Russians seem to LOVE artillery, just like Americans are infatuated with air power.
If you look at WW2 you see that air power was everything to the Western Allies. When their planes were grounded offensives either slowed down, or the Germans could even launch counter attacks. The fight essentially became more even. The Red Army on the other never enjoyed the same kind of air superiority that the Western Allies had. Luftwaffe Stuka’s could still operate on the Eastern Front as late as april 1945 to a limited degree, whereas in the West the Luftwaffe had all but ceased to be meaningful by 1943. As a result the Red Army never developed overdependence on air power and preferred to use massive amounts of artillery instead. Two of the biggest artillery barrages in the West were 2nd El Alamein (900 artillery guns) and Operation Veritable (The British Canadian assault on the Rhineland in 1945 with a 1000 artillery guns). Contrast that to the battle of the Seelow Heights, the opening stage for the Red Army assault on Berlin, where 1st Belorussian Front had like 17.000 artillery and mortar pieces at its disposal.
Your version of the WW2 american artillery is not correct. It was very different from the Russian one, becuse it was used for much more accurate hiding by much more acvurate observations and as inddirect firing in time too.
In days where things were perfect they could tell 2 batteries kilometers from each other to hit the same target area at fx 12.03 O.Clock. Russians could and did not.
They by that hit a lot. Its very well known, that when the first grenade land all targets like soldiers and vehicles then fast will tkae cover even before the next grenade are comming in.
I stead they often were able to hit with as many canons they had with their first grenade. The devellopment for that was started by the French moving their grenade strikes just in front of their advancing soldiers.
They knew their soldiers even better equipped wasnt as good as the German ones. So they tryed to hot Germans hard when they prepared for attack as well as in the counterattacks.
They of course did devastating total artillery strikes as the Russians did, But that use prevented a lot of losses. Russians even has blamed americans to have only 250.000 killed, but that and the airplanes was good reasons for it decimating the German attacks and counterattacks even before they came to the American soldiers.
Another good reason for the low losses was that the american troops were organized as deep defence – not in lines – Germans were experts in defeating line organisations having no defence from their behinds (Clausewitch-Molkthe).
Love that last video where that rat just grouping and krasnopol fall over them
Looks OLD, but in this theater, probably still effective.. The real point is , don’t mess with the Russians (and get to the negotiating table with real expetations).
That’s very nice. Bravo Russia!