ARTILLERY: FEW PERSPECTIVES IN BRIEF

The armed conflicts of the most recent past, including Syria, Libya, our war in the autumn of 2020, as well as the ongoing battles in Ukraine, time after time confirm the enduring importance of artillery, traditional barrel and rocket, as well as tactical ballistic missiles.

The party that can most link their artillery with both the rest of the components of combined arms combat and modern technologies will acquire a significant if not decisive superiority over their enemy. This article will emphasis which artillery is considered appropriate, useful and economically sound at this particular time and place.

Mortars
They still remain an effective and economical means of destruction at the tactical level. Placing a battalion-level mortar (120mm) on a wheeled chassis makes it highly mobile. In addition, its computerized systems of positioning, targeting and aiming make it highly accurate. Another benefit is that its highly cost-efficient: its system makes it possible to compensate for the absence of GPS/image/laser beam guided rounds. Israeli-made 120 mm self-propelled Cardom mortars on a wheeled chassis^[1] and 2C31 "Vienna" Russian-made self-propelled guns on BMP-3^[2] chassis were used by Azerbaijani Army in autumn 2020.

The relatively small weight and dimensions of 82mm mortars make it possible to transport them both by small crossed-terrain vehicles (the Russian project based on the RM-500 6x4)^[3] and motorcycles with a sidecar (the Ukrainian project based on the Dnipro-11M)^[4]. The weak side of both designs can only be called a small number of ammunition carried.

Despite all the advantages of these mobile and unobtrusive systems, they are not adopted by any armed forces. It should be assumed that the reason is the lack of a concept of the use of such systems in the established methodology of warfare, as well as a certain inertia of decision-makers` mindset.

Towed or self-propelled
The advantages of self-propelled artillery are high cross-country capability, short firing position deployment time, carried ammunition and protection of personnel.

There are several disadvantages. Its high cost being one of them not only of the SP howitzer itself, but also of its operation and maintenance. Use of the SP howitzer also requires extended training for its crew. Its size is another factor. Its considerably large and leaves a track on the terrain make camouflaging a difficult task. Lastly, the time it takes to re-load ammunition is relatively long.

In contrast to the towed barrel artillery, self-propelled is characterized by a modest price tag. Other advantages are its simplicity, low cost of operation and maintenance, easy to camouflage, less training required for the crew work where a certain level of knowledge and skill is required of the gunner who makes calculations. At the same time, it takes much longer to deploy towed guns in a firing position - and, what is really critical, to bring them into a marching position and leave. An important unmasking factor is a fairly large tractor truck.

Thus, if it is preferable to recruit the SP howitzer crew from contract professionals, then the preparation and cohesion of the towed gun crew can be carried out in a fairly short time by conscripts or reservists.

An interesting alternative to the towed and self-propelled guns are guns that are installed onto the aft part of the chassis of a wheeled all-terrain vehicle. The first such example was French CAESAR (CAmion Équipé d'un Système d'Artillerie - Truck Equipped with an Artillery System) with a 155-mm howitzer based on a 6×6 Renault Sherpa or Unimog chassis^[5]. Another is the Israeli 155-mm ATMOS 2000 system (Autonomous Truck MOunted howitzer System) based on a 6x6 Tatra chassis^[6] (in service with the Azerbaijani army) and the Chinese 155-mm SH1 system on a 6x6 chassis manufactured by Norinco^[7]; Iran is also developing a similar system. All of them are deployed to a firing position by simply lowering the large stabilizer where they are easier to operate and maintain because they are much lighter due to the absence of the turret.

The concept seems promising. Further analysis of its advantages or disadvantages can be carried out only after comparing it to "traditional" artillery systems in long run-in combat at warfare theater similar to ours.

Multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS)
In the "classical" meaning of the past, MLRS were considered weapons of destruction of manpower and protected targets by carpet-shelling large areas. Currently, guided and homing ammunition is being used more and more actively allowing to solve a combat task with greater efficiency and considerably less projectiles fired. Smart munitions allow to minimize the collateral damage (which favors media coverage and information warfare in general) while multiplying moral/psychological pressure on the adversary. A painful example from the autumn warfare of 2020 is the battlefield testing of the 230mm TRLG-230 MLRS developed by the Turkish company Roketsan^[8]; its projectile used GPS guidance, inertial navigation system and laser seeker. It is worth keeping in mind that the miniaturization and cost reduction of microelectronic components makes them reasonable not only for 300mm caliber (Roketsan T-300 Kasirga^[9], 9K58 "Smerch"^[10] and Lynx Extra^[11]), but also for 160mm LAR-160^[11]) - all operated by Azerbaijani Army. In the fairly near future, it is possible to expect the production of "smart" ammunition for 122mm MLRS - BM-21 "Grad", Lynx and Roketsan T-122 Sakarya, which are also in the Azerbaijani Army inventory.

Despite the high cost of missiles (especially guided) in comparison with barreled artillery shells, the former is preferred for its efficiency and short time it takes to deploy, fire a salvo and change firing position. The relatively vulnerable side remains the dependence on hi-tech dimension, namely the GPS signals and/or laser pointer from the ground and/or air. Naturally, technologically advanced weaponry requires personnel considerably much more trained and skilled.

Tactical Ballistic Missiles (TBM)
Scientific and technological progress have made previously extremely expensive, difficult-to-operate systems available to all states both financially and technically. Moreover, today a significant part of TBMs is offered in container/launch pods ready for installation on a unified chassis (like the aforementioned Elbit and Roketsan MLRS’s). In our theater of operations it was Israeli-made LORA TBM with its combat debut in the fall of 2020.

In the meantime one has to keep in mind that the buyer is actually not the owner, but just the user of the product, since it is developer/manufacturer who maintain control over electronic hardware and software.

Conclusion
This article does not offer ready-made recipes; it is risky to do so in military affairs. Moreover, it does not call for buying another Wunderwaffe capable of raising the ratings of the political leadership in peacetime and instantly providing victory in war. Here (as in all other areas) it is necessary to correctly define goals, set tasks, and only then choose the most appropriate tools. Simple logic suggests that not only the tools should be different, but also their size; however, the main determining factor remains the level of knowledge and skills of operators.

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Published: 14/03/22

Updated 15/07/22