Depending on the conclusion, the state commission will determine whether or not to sign a contract for the weapon’s development. The military department will review the commission’s materials and decide whether to induct the howitzer by December 2022.
According to the media, the “fully-automated” platform, based on the T-90 tank chassis, is activated by the press of a button. A robot delivers the shells, and an onboard computer loads them.
The cannon was revealed for the first time at the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade to replace the 2S19 “Msta-S” self-propelled howitzer.
The Koalitsiya-SV’s 70-80 km (43-50 miles) firing range is more than double that of the 2S19 at 30 km (18.6 miles). The gun’s range is comparable to that of the American Extended Range Cannon Artillery, which is now in development. This year, the weapon reportedly fired its longest shot at 43.5 miles (70 km) using an M982A1 Excalibur guided artillery shell.
However, the Russian gun’s firing rate of 16 rounds per minute outmatches its Western counterparts by a wide margin. The reported firing rate of the American gun is 3-10 rounds per minute. The Coalition has an alcohol solution-based cooling mechanism that avoids overheating during intensive firefights.
A remote-controlled 12.7 mm Kord machine gun is also included with the platform. Moreover, the gun’s automated command and control system allows it to receive “target designations from external sources – scouts, aviation and drones.”
