The latest artillery systems arrived for the Russian Southern Military District’s 49th all-arms army, the District’s press office reported on Monday, 16 March. "Two artillery batteries have been re-armed with the improved 152mm 2S19M2 Msta-SM2 self-propelled artillery howitzers capable of firing Krasnopol precision-guided munitions," the press office said in a statement.

Msta-SM self-propelled howitzer displayed at Army 2018 near Kubinka (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The upgraded howitzers feature a new automated fire control system, a higher rate of fire and the possibility to use digital electronic maps to accelerate finding positions on the terrain, according to official data. "The Msta-S artillery system has considerable design differences from the previous modification," the press office stressed. Specifically, the upgraded howitzers feature a new automated fire control system, a higher rate of fire and the possibility to use digital electronic maps to accelerate finding positions on the terrain.

The 2S33 Msta-SM is an improved version of the 2S19 Msta-S 152mm tracked self-propelled howitzer armed with a new 2A79 152mm cannon which has a greater range of fire. The 2S33 artillery howitzer has a now range of more than 40 km, compared to the 2S19 which has a maximum firing range of 25 km. The 2S3 Msta-SM was unveiled for the first time in September 2013 during the defense exhibition in Nizhny Tagil.

It is fitted with the 152mm 2A65 gun with a rate of fire of more than 10 rounds per minute, which exceeds the rate of other artillery systems. This was achieved owing to the upgraded design of the loading mechanism. Target selection and gun positioning can be executed both from the battery command post using a special automated control system and from the SPH itself.

Russian 2S33 MSTA-SM2 152mm tracked self-propelled howitzer in a live demonstration at Defense Exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, Russia (Picture source: Army Recognition)