Russia plans to deploy its newest self-propelled artillery units, Coalition-SV howitzers, in its Northern Military District bordering Finland and Norway. Testing has been completed and mass production has begun, Sergei Chemezov, head of state defence conglomerate Rostec, said in an interview published by state news agency RIA on Wednesday, the 27th of December, reports Reuters.
The first pilot batch will be delivered and deployed by the end of 2023, Chemezov said, stressing
the need to gain an edge over Western artillery models in terms of firing range.
In 2021, Vladimir Putin expanded the Russian Northern Fleet’s area of operations to include the Murmansk region, bordering Finland and Norway, and renamed it the Northern Military District. After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia accused the West of waging a proxy war and warned of increasing forces on its western borders, especially in response to Finland’s accession to NATO.
In early December, the Russian state news agency TASS reported that some Coalition-SV self-propelled howitzers had already been deployed on the Ukrainian front, as per Reuters.
According to TASS, Reuters reported that the new Coalition-SV self-propelled howitzers are equipped with a modern 152 mm 2A88 gun with a firing rate of more than ten rounds per minute, as well as a modern system that automates the gun’s ponting, target selection and navigation processes, and have a range of up to 70 kilometres.
Also read: Putin has “no interest” in attacking NATO; warns of “problems” with Finland
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