With the delivery of the first registered batch of the year 2024, the Russian Land Forces continues to continue with the process of incorporation and adoption of its new 2S43 Malva self-propelled howitzers. This is clear from one of the most recent official statements issued by the state consortium Rostec, released on June 25. The announcement occurs the same month where various accounts have reported the presence of this Artillery Combat Vehicle in Ukraine.
The incorporation of this new self-propelled howitzer with 8×8 wheels is recent. Last year the latest milestones of this new program of the Russian Land Forces were recorded, with the completion of the last acceptance tests and the delivery of the first batch to the artillery units. This event took place, following what was reported by Rostec, during the month of October 2023.
“The wheeled self-propelled howitzer ‘Malva’ is a modern and powerful weapon, capable of destroying practically any target with high-explosive and fragmentation projectiles at distances of more than 24 km. Thanks to its wheeled chassis, it can be quickly deployed into position and removed, avoiding counter-battery fire, which is very important in these conditions. The artillery installation has an automated calculation of firing parameters for all types of ammunition. In addition, the installation has a ‘simultaneous salvo’ mode, in which several projectiles fired with different trajectories and speeds hit the target at the same time.”said Bekhan Ozdoev, industrial director of the conventional weapons, ammunition and special chemicals cluster of the Rostec State Corporation.
Weighing 32 tons, officially called 2S43 Malva, the system is based on a 152 mm artillery cannon mounted on an 8×8 truck from the BAZ company. In this way emulating other designs appreciated in Europe and other regions, such as the CAESAR of French origin, as well as the ATMOS from the Israeli firm Elbit Systems. With this development of the Burevestnik Research Center, a division within the Uralvagonzavod company, the Russian Ground Forces would aim to replace in the medium term their old self-propelled howitzers based on tracked platforms dating back to the times of the Soviet Union, which have been surpassed in terms of design and functionality. More precisely, these are the 2A65 MSTA-B and the 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika models.
Although, like what was reported during the month of October, Rostec’s most recent announcement did not indicate the number of new 2S43 Malva delivered to the Russian Ground Forces. However, in line with this, some news was recorded in June, where several viral images and videos reported the deployment in Ukraine of some units in sectors of the front in Kharkiv.
In more detail, as recorded at the beginning of June, Open Sources of Information (OSINT) reported its use by the 9th Artillery Brigade of the Russian Land Forces currently being deployed in the direction of Kharkiv. However, neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Russian media gave further details to gather more information about what would be the first operational deployment of the 2S43 Malva in Ukraine.
You may be interested in: The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are training in the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons
