2S19 Msta-S

The Msta-S (also known by the GRAU index 2S19) bears the Msta (, after the river Msta) howitzer, which was designed for deployment either on a self-propelled vehicle or as a towed gun. The 2S19 Msta-S is the armoured self-propelled howitzer, while the 2A65 Msta-B is a towed gun. Development of the 2S19 started in 1980 under the project name Ferma. The prototype was known as Obiekt 316. The 2S19's standard equipment consists of a semi-automatic laying system 1P22, an automatic loader, an NBC protection system, passive night-vision device for the driver, a vehicle snorkel, a dozer blade, a smoke generator and 81 mm smoke launchers, 1V116 intercom system and a 16 kW generator AP-18D. In 2008, the Russian Armed Forces ordered an improved model with an automated fire-control system. Russia offered its Msta-S 152 mm howitzer to foreign countries, particularly in the Middle East. A demonstration was organised in 2020 by Rosoboronexport, the country's nodal agency for arms export, for representatives from various Middle Eastern countries. ==Specifications==

Msta-S specifications provided by manufacturer • Range: • standard round • base-bleed • rocket-assisted • Rate of fire: 6–8 rounds per minute • Weapon elevation: −4° to +68° • Weapon traverse: 360° • Deployment time: 22 minutes • Unit of fire: 50 rounds ==Variants==

• 1K17 Szhatie – a "laser tank" armed with a battery of lasers meant to disable optoelectronic systems; based on the Msta-S. • 2S19M1 (unveiled in 2000, first deliveries in 2007) – Improved fire-control system and added GLONASS antenna. Modernised V-84AMS engine. • 2S19M1-155 (2006) – 155 mm export version of the 2S19M1, fitted with an L/52 gun with a range of more than . Modernised in 2020. • 2S21 Msta-K – Wheeled variant, based on an eight-wheel truck chassis. It used the 2A67 gun, a variant of the 2A65 modified for use from wheeled platforms. There were several different prototypes, including one based on the Ural-5323 and one on the KrAZ-6316. The project was abandoned in 1987. ==Operational use==

About a dozen Msta-S howitzers were purchased by Ethiopia in late 1998, and used during the Eritrean–Ethiopian War. They were successfully used to destroy an Eritrean Air Force radar station outside Adi Quala. Msta-S howitzers were used by the Russian Ground Forces to deliver artillery strikes against Chechen separatists during the Second Chechen War. Msta-S howitzers have been used in the Russo-Ukrainian War by the pro-Russian separatists who captured one machine during the conflict. Both Msta-B and Msta-S were used by the Ukrainian Ground Forces in the Battle of Bakhmut. With their vehicles wearing out from continued combat use since 2014, and the 152 mm caliber gradually becoming obsolete, the Ukrainian Armed Forces has refitted some non-operational units with T-72 turrets or converted them into armoured personnel carriers. , there is visual evidence of Russian forces losing 246 Msta-S (194 destroyed, 14 damaged, 3 abandoned and 35 captured) and 54 Msta-SM2 (33 destroyed, 3 damaged and 18 captured). ==Operators==

Current • – 18 as of 2024 • – 10 as of 2024 • – 1 as of 2024 • – Estimated to have 300 2S19/2S19M1 Msta-S and 300 2S19M2/2S33 Msta-SM in service with the Ground Forces, 36 2S19M1 Msta-S in service with the Naval Infantry, plus 150 2S19 Msta-S in storage as of 2024 • – 35 as of 2024 • – 48 as of 2024 Former • − 12 in 2023, none as of 2024 • ==References==