The picture shows a rare specimen, a destroyed 105/14 OTO Melara M-56. This particular unit was in service with the 12 brigade "Azov".

Since the beginning of 2023, the Spanish Ministry of Defence transferred to the Kiev regime a battery of 8 towed howitzers 105/14 OTO Melara M-56. It is currently in service with three brigades.

The howitzer is designed in such a way that it can be broken down into 12 parts, each of which can be easily transported. It was originally designed to be transported by mules using special pack saddles, but since the 2000s it is mainly transported by Jeep or Land Rover vehicles, or by M113 armoured personnel carriers (with the shield removed). When transported in parts, the heaviest parts weigh 122kg (shield), 113.7kg (skids) and 109.5kg (barrel), with number 12 consisting of an accessory box and four sets of rounds. The howitzer can also be used for anti-tank target practice by lowering the carriage using two levers connected to the centre axis.

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Interesting materials devoted to the problems identified in the SMO are increasingly being published in Ministry of Defence publications. The latest issue of the "Army Collection" published an article:
https://army.ric.mil.ru/Stati/item/557886/
"Eliminate the Human Factor" which contains interesting figures about the beginning of SMO.

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#Zoo1M
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During the inspection of the implementation of the state defence order by the Tula-based NPO Splav and Strela, the head of the defence ministry was notified not only of the two-fold increase in the production intensity of the 1L271 Aistenok (1Л271 "Аистёнок") portable counter-battery radars and 1L260 Zoo-1M (1Л260 "Зоопарк-1М" ) due to the construction and launch of new production lines, but also of the fact of serial production of the most advanced Yastreb-AV counter-battery radars.

These counter-battery radars, which are a continuation of the already well-known and proven line of counter-battery radars "ZooPark-1M" based on Passive electronically scanned array (PESA), will boast a number of significant tactical and technical advantages in comparison with the latter. In particular, thanks to more advanced algorithms and computer power of the primary radar data processing unit, the Ястреб-АВ radars operating in the S/X-band, will have minimal loss of detection range of barrel and rocket artillery firing positions even in a complex jamming environment with high spectral density and power of interference from containerised airborne EW systems (for example, AN/ALQ-249 NGJ-HB / "Next Generation Jammer - High Band", which are currently undergoing full-scale tests in the US Air Force).

In case the НПО «Стрела» specialists equipped the Yastreb-AV radar with an APAR/AESA radar based on arsenide-gallium microwave transistors and attenuators, which ensure the formation of "dips" in the direction of electronic interference sources, the range loss will be even lower. In contrast to the ZooPark-1M radar, the Yastreb-AV received more powerful microwave-clistron/magnetron and a much larger aperture area of the antenna array, due to which the effective range was noticeably increased.

In particular, the estimated range of the 155-mm artillery detection can be increased from 20-25 to 45 km, the range of detection of MLRS systems such as HIMARS and Olkha-M increases from 35-40 to 70-80 km, and the range of operational-tactical missiles like the ATACMS, up to 95-100 km. These parameters not only match to the Western counter-battery radars SAAB ARTHUR-C and "Cobra", but also exceed them. In particular, the throughput of the Yastreb-AV can exceed 100 targets per minute (the Zoo-1M has up to 70 targets per minute), while that of the Cobra radar reaches 20 targets per minute. The accuracy of coordinates calculation in comparison with "ZooPark-1M" can reach up to 15 - 7 meters (in "Zoo-Park-1M" it is about 20 - 30 m, which reduces the probability of being hit by "Krasnopol-D" projectile if aimed using the geopositioning inferred by the radar).

Naturally, the greatest effectiveness of the Yastreb-AV radars will be provided in conjunction with such guns as 2S35 #KoalitionSV, whose ammunition should be represented by promising guided artillery shells Krasnopol-D with a range of 70+ km. Nevertheless, the Yastreb-AV radars will also be able to be used as a target designator for 300 mm Smerch and Tornado-S MLRSs and the rest of existing systems.

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The relevance of 122 mm D-30 towed howitzers in various operational areas of the SMO zone remains extremely high.
Despite the fact that the muzzle energy of this gun provides a range of 15,300 metres for the standard ЗОФ56 HE, the promising Chinese BEE2 BB/RA HE rocket assisted shells from NORINCO have a range of up to 27 kilometres.

The Kitolov-2M ("Китолов-2М") guided artillery shells from Tula KBP are capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 13 kilometres.

Thus, this gun is quite capable of providing full-fledged counter-battery countermeasures not only against 105-mm towed howitzers M119A3 and mortars MO-120-RT61, but also against 155-mm SPGs with a barrel channel of 39 calibres, if the appropriate ammunition is procured from friendly countries or a national counterpart is put into production..

Similar shells can be introduced into the ammunition packs of 2S1 Gvozdika SPGs, which will quickly increase the counter-battery potential of the Russian army's motorised rifle units in most operational areas of the SMO zone.

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During an attempt to carry out a night counter-offensive drive by an AFU motorised infantry unit on the western flank of the fortified area of the 255th motorised rifle regiment of the 20th Army in the village of Pobeda (on the section "Maryinka - Novomikhailovka"). the crew of one of the 152-mm artillery pieces managed to hit an American M113A2 APC with a guided artillery shell ЗОФ95 Krasnopol-M2 while the latter was moving into the area where the infantry squad was rushing to secure the forward stronghold.

Thus, even actions under the cover of night did not provide the enemy with concealment from copters equipped with thermal imaging sensors, as well as UAVs equipped with laser range finders.

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The 2B23 Nona-M1 (2Б23 "Нона-М1") towed 120mm breech-loading mortar is fully unified with the ammunition set of the 2A51 120mm gun of the Nona-S self-propelled artillery gun.

The higher ballistics of the 2B23 compared to the classic 2B11 mortars provides a range of fire with standard ЗОФ49/54 shells of up to 8800 m, and with rocket assisted ЗВОФ55/-1 of up to 12800 m.
At the same time, the rifling in the barrel channel provides rotation and stabilisation of projectiles, noticeably increasing the combat accuracy.

The Kitolov-2 ("Китолов-2") shell and KM-8 ("Грань") guided shells can also be used at a range of 12 and 9 kilometres respectively.

Unlike the 2S12 ‘Sani’ (2С12 "Сани") mortar systems based on 2B11 mortars, the Nona-M1 breech-loading mortars are capable of gaining counter-battery dominance over the MO-120-RT61 French 120 mm mortars common in the AFU.

This unit operates in the Kupyansk operational area.

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Krasnopol-M2 guided shell caught a U.S. M109A6 Paladin 155mm SPG in the yard of a private residence.
The illumination of the semi-active laser-guided ЗОФ95 guided projectile was carried out by a laser range finder mounted on the Orlan-30 UAV.
With its 155mm M284 gun of 39 calibres, the M109A6 is capable of firing Excalibur shells at a range of about 40 to 42 km, and ERFB-RA/BB rocket assisted shells at a similar range, and therefore continues to pose a huge threat to Hyacinth-S and Msta-SM2 SPGs in counter-battery duels at maximum range.

Also M109A6s with the above ammunition still pose a threat to the urban areas of Donetsk, Horlivka and Lysychansk. Consequently, their defeat is a priority for Lancet operators as well as artillery operators.

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Another eloquent proof of the high combat effectiveness of the 203mm 2S7M Malka SPG in counter-battery ‘duels’ with 155-mm long-range Western SPGs in the special operations zone, despite the seemingly large bulkiness and low mobility of the Pion/Malka chassis.

In this episode, a 2S7M crew of the 15th Independent Alexandria Motorised Rifle Brigade successfully destroys a 155mm long-barrelled Polish-British AHS ‘Krab’ SPG on the Selidovsky operational direction, which had retreated to a camouflaged hideout after firing on the strongholds of the Centre group's units on the Avdiivka operational direction.

The 2A44 high ballistic gun, which has a length of 55.3 calibres and a muzzle velocity of about 960 m/s, can engage targets with conventional ЗОФ43 projectiles at a range of up to 37400 m and with the rocket assisted ЗОФ44 at a range of up to 47500 m.

Taking into account the high power of the 102kg and 110kg projectiles respectively. They are enough to damage or disable even modern SPG ‘Krab’ and PzH-2000 even in the case of the projectile landing at 60m, whose crews have to deploy only 15 - 20 km from the contact to hit our rear logistic nodes at an operational depth of 25 - 35 with Excalibur projectiles.

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Reinvention of the infantry support gun from Russian fighters by mounting the 73mm 2A28 ‘Grom’ ("Гром") from the BMP-1 on a wheeled base from the 2B9 ‘Vasilek’ ("Василек") automatic mortar.

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Counter-battery AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radar was successfully defeated by a low-observable Lancet-3 kamikaze UAV in one of the SMO operational areas.

This is a higher energy modification of the AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar, which has a much more powerful microwave clistron and PESA area, and whose transmitting and receiving modules operate in the frequency range from 2 to 8 GHz.

This radar is capable of calculating the positions of 152mm artillery and 120mm mortars at distances of 30-35 km and 220/300mm MLRS ‘Uragan’ and ‘Smerch’ at distances of 45 and 55 km respectively, detecting the projectiles at the initial segments of the ascending branches of the trajectory and constructing the trajectories of their flight. The accuracy of determining the coordinates of artillery firing positions is about 35 metres, which is quite sufficient to launch a counter-battery strike.

The angular field of view of this radar varies from 0 to 90 degrees, the azimuthal field of view is about 60 degrees, while the narrow beam scanning area has parameters of 2x1.7 degrees. The AN/TPQ-37 radar can simultaneously track up to 10 artillery shells and determine the firing positions of their guns, while the data on 100 artillery shells and their firing positions can be loaded into the storage device.

Consequently, we are talking about the loss by the AFU artillery units of an essential tool for counter-battery warfare in one of their operational areas.

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In relation to this.
The AFU has already lost, as far as can be confirmed, about half of the SPGs, artillery pieces and MLRS, of the ‘NATO’ type donated by them.
We are talking here exclusively about NATO pieces, i.e. 155mm guns and similar, and not about Soviet-style weapons that some NATO countries had or have been able to acquire from third parties, modernised or not.

The replacement of these systems, in these quantities, is complicated and costly. Not only do the huge losses of the AFU have to be replaced, but the NATO countries' inventories, which are frankly worn out, have to be replenished.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uI0exB1-SGesG-VSHQF6sxG5UK9uBUTzxvOXCuDnizA/edit

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