Stepan Poltorak's "Innovative" Proposal (read more about it Stepan Poltorak: The new Kuchma needs a new Kuzmuk) Filling the missile forces and artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with "Pions" and "Malkas" is stupid.
Victor Muzhenko, Stepan Poltorak
So, now we have something with which to "intimidate and punish" the rebels (who, however, are still officially referred to as "terrorists") who are maliciously violating the ceasefire. It's a cannon. Or rather, 72 cannons. Very large cannons. Last week, the entire spectrum of national electronic media enthusiastically described the "peace and tranquility" that would reign in the "buffer zone" between the armed formations of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" on one side and the government ATO forces on the other—after the rebel firing positions from which our forces are being shelled begin to be suppressed by fire from eight-inch (203,2 mm) Pion self-propelled guns...
They're also known as the Pion-M, Malka, 2S7, 2S7M, SO-203, SO-203M, M-1975, M-1975M—everyone named them their own way, apparently according to a source they found online. With a firing range of up to 47,5 km, these weapons are truly capable of hitting rebel targets even when the opposing forces are separated by a 30-kilometer "buffer zone." But... is there any benefit to us from this?
But first, a few details about what's going on. A top secret organizational directive of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the re-formation of the 184th and 188th separate high-power artillery regiments in the Ground Forces, which were disbanded back in late 2005 (each consisting of three fire battalions with three fire batteries each; a battery with two fire platoons with two guns each; in total, thus, each regiment will have 36 2S7 Pion or 2S7M Malka guns) was issued on October 21, 2014. The guns to equip the regiments are received from the artillery weapons storage base of the Ground Forces near Shepetovka and after undergoing “current repairs with elements of capital” (a somewhat strange, but nevertheless official wording) at the State Enterprise “Shepetovsky Repair Plant” (artillery unit, i.e. the gun itself) and the State Enterprise The Rivne Automobile Repair Plant (chassis; both enterprises are part of the state military-industrial concern Ukroboronprom) is being transferred to the Missile Forces and Artillery of the Ground Forces of Ukraine.
Despite the regiment formation directive being top secret, the "new old" guns were presented to journalists at the Shepetivka repair plant on November 10th of this year. It was also announced that the first batteries of Pion/Malka self-propelled artillery mounts had already been formed within the reconstituted regiments, and upon receipt and operationalization (which is expected to take place within a very short timeframe—no more than a few weeks, although the standard timeframe is two months), the equipment would be transferred to the artillery of the North (188th Artillery Regiment of the 8th Army Corps) and South (184th Artillery Regiment of the 6th Army Corps) operational corps of the ATO forces.
This unusually heightened attention to the new high-power artillery regiments and their materiel is easily explained: the initiative to form them comes directly from the new (appointed just over a month ago) Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Colonel General of the National Guard Stepan Poltorak. Poltorak reported this initiative personally to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, and secured his full support. Explaining the President's support for the idea is not difficult: Petro Poroshenko understands absolutely nothing about weapons, and the presentation "without 'heavyweight' details" of the main characteristics of the "big, powerful, and beautiful gun" (especially since it is indeed big, powerful, and even beautiful) must have made a near-indelible impression on him.
The Defense Minister's position is somewhat more difficult to explain. Coming from the gendarmerie (where he spent his entire, rather unspectacular, career until February 2014), he clearly understands little more about the combat use and tactical and technical characteristics of heavy artillery than Petro Poroshenko. But being a military man, he certainly should have understood that before putting forward any "epic idea," it would be highly desirable (and even necessary!) to consult with experts in the relevant field. Which, despite what the "evil tongues" may say, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (oddly enough) still have.
Pion guns
Perhaps then these specialists could have clearly explained to the Honorable Minister of War that the Pion/Malka—while truly an excellent high-power howitzer (the author was not mistaken; officially referred to as a "cannon," the 2S7/2S7M system is, in its tactical and technical characteristics, a classic howitzer) and perfectly suited for the purposes for which it was designed (tactical nuclear attack, the destruction of strong stationary targets, and harassing fire)—is completely unsuitable for the task they now want to assign to it. Namely, counterbattery warfare (suppression of enemy artillery) using "conventional" (regular) ammunition.
The reason is simple: a battery (four guns) of Pionov missiles can fire only 16 shells at the enemy without additional ammunition (a battery of Malok missiles can fire 32). This is completely insufficient to reliably destroy a target such as an enemy artillery battery. For example, to reliably destroy a six-gun battery, 44 unguided rockets (UNR) are required, fired by a high-powered rocket artillery battery equipped with 300-mm 9K58 Smerch multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). And this is despite the fact that a salvo (12 UNR) from just one 9A52 Smerch launcher covers an area of 672 hectares, and the 258-kilogram warhead of the 9K55F UNR carries 95 kg of explosives. The "Peonies" and "Malki", whose 102-kg 3OF44 projectile of the 3VOF35 active-reactive shot contains only 13,3 kg of explosives (i.e. seven (!) times less), are completely incapable of handling such a task with their available ammunition.
The reintroduction of the 2S7/2S7M systems into service is all the more incomprehensible given Ukraine's existing Smerch multiple launch rocket systems. Furthermore, of the 80 9A52 launchers currently in service, only 40—three battalions and a training battery—are currently in service. The remaining 40 of these combat vehicles in storage are sufficient to double this number, forming fourth battalions (a Smerch battalion includes twelve launchers) of separate rocket artillery regiments of army corps artillery (we have three such regiments in total). Furthermore, the Smerch MLRS has a range of not just 47,5, but a full 70 (!) kilometers. And those tasks in terms of hitting targets at range, which are now supposed to be carried out with great effort by the Pions and Malki, will be carried out, as they say, “playfully”.
Yes, of course, Mr. Poroshenko doesn't know such subtleties. And, strictly speaking, he's not even obligated to. Colonel-General Poltorak, of the Internal Guards, doesn't know such subtleties either, although whether he's obligated to know them is (at the very least) debatable. But the Chief of the General Staff – Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a thoroughly "military" Colonel-General Viktor Muzhenko, is obliged to have, and indeed has, a perfectly clear understanding of the aforementioned empyrean. He was obliged to report directly to the Minister of Defense, and, if necessary, to the President of the country, as is often assumed – according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Commander-in-Chief reports directly to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. To say that Stepan Tymofiyovych Poltorak's "innovative" proposal to stuff the missile forces and artillery of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with "Peonies" and "Malkas" is nonsense. And utter stupidity.
But apparently, the Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces is guided in his official duties by the legendary decree of Emperor Peter the Great to Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky: "A subordinate must appear dashing and slightly foolish in the presence of a superior, so as not to embarrass said superior with inappropriate thoughts." I don't argue, this is very, very convenient. But do the Armed Forces of Ukraine need such a Commander-in-Chief? Especially during a war. A very difficult and, at the moment, to put it mildly, unsuccessful war for us. Even if it has been interrupted for now by a temporary ceasefire...
Sergey MIDDELDORF, especially for SLED.net.ua
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