Artillery mount "Nona". Russian self-propelled artillery mounts

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Even in the last years of the existence of the USSR, in the conditions of the beginning of the decline of the army, the airborne troops were a significant force that was used in all local conflicts on the territory of the former Soviet Union. And not without reason, because the then adopted doctrine prescribed the use of the troops of "Uncle Vasya" as a means of a preventive strike. Blue berets proved to be especially bright during the Prague events in 1968 and in Afghanistan.

Be that as it may, you can’t win much with machine guns and BMDs: the paratroopers urgently needed weapons that could withstand jumping from an airplane, but at the same time have combat power comparable to artillery systems. Only artillery, acting together with paratroopers, could ensure this.

At that time, the ASU-57 and ASU-85 installations were in service, which were designed to suppress the heavy armored vehicles of a possible enemy. Their characteristics were quite acceptable for that time, but landing as such was not used for their deployment: ACS had to be carefully unloaded from an aircraft that had landed onaerodrome. Naturally, there was no question of any suddenness in this case.

Begin development of a new machine

Of course, the current state of affairs could not suit the High Command. An order was given: to start designing a machine that could fully meet all the above requirements. This is how the Nona artillery mount appeared. Of course, this did not happen immediately.

Its development began in the 60s, and the BMD-1 was used as a platform. The new self-propelled gun received the preliminary name 2S2 "Violet". It immediately became clear that the powerful 122-mm gun, which was “borrowed” from the Gvozdika self-propelled guns, simply destroys the BMD chassis, which is too flimsy for it. At the same time, the 120-mm self-propelled mortar "Lily of the Valley" was developed on the long-suffering chassis, but for approximately the same reasons it was never accepted into service.

Series of "Objects"

Already by the mid-70s, projects of fundamentally new light tanks designed specifically for the needs of the Airborne Forces ("Object 934" and "Object 685") were created in Volgograd. Their main armament was a powerful 100 mm cannon. Alas, due to some design flaws and disagreements with the developers, they also did not go into series. The problem of equipping the winged troops with mobile artillery became more and more acute.

Birth of "Nona"

However, in those years, the BTR-D armored personnel carrier entered service with the Airborne Forces. Unlike the same BMD (on the basis of which it was created), the new technique was much morelifting, as the old chassis was extended by one track roller.

Finally, specialists from the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering, as well as the designers of the legendary Perm Motovilikha, taking into account all the negative experience of their colleagues, created a fundamentally new 120-mm 2A51 gun. Its uniqueness was that on the basis of this weapon it was possible to create a universal artillery system that would include the whole range of positive qualities of a mortar, cannon and howitzer.

The new self-propelled gun, created on the basis of this gun, was named SAU 2S9 "NONA S". It is widely believed that she got her name from some passion of the chief designer, but everything is much more prosaic: the name stands for "New Ground Artillery Gun".

Principal differences from other samples

Of course, the expression "Unparalleled in the world" has set the teeth on edge for many. But if we discuss self-propelled guns 2S9 "NONA S", then this stamp is more than fair.

The uniqueness (again, this word is appropriate in this case) of the system in question is that, having a very modest size, it provides excellent firepower on the battlefield, and it can also be used as a replacement for several types of weapons at once ! To begin with, the Nona artillery mount allows you not only to confidently suppress enemy infantry, but even fight enemy tanks. In many ways, such impressive characteristics of the self-propelled guns are due to the widest range of shells.

About the tools used

What kind of shells can the Nona launcher fire, the characteristics of which will be given below?

High-explosive fragmentation artillery equipment stands out in particular. The maximum firing range is almost 9 kilometers, and due to the low (no more than 360 m / s) initial speed and specific ballistics, they can be fired with a “linkage”. They showed themselves especially well in Afghanistan, when they managed to knock out the enemy from especially important passes, without even coming into direct fire contact with them. In terms of effectiveness, these shells are not much inferior to their 152-mm howitzer counterparts, which are widely used both in the armies of our countries and among NATO member states.

Thus, the Nona installation, the photo of which is in the article, is a truly unique weapon.

Mines

It is especially important (under the conditions of specific operations of the Airborne Forces) that the minimum possible range of using such a projectile is 1.7 km, and mines - about 400 meters. Since the characteristics of the gun allow the use of standard 120-mm shells, paratroopers have access to their entire widest range. With a conventional high-explosive fragmentation mine, the Nona artillery mount can fire at 7.3 km. A huge plus of the gun is that it allows you to use any 120-mm mines of foreign countries without any alterations.

Rockets

Among other things, active rocket projectiles can be included in the ammunition load. Their design is based on a jet engine, which allows you to fire for 13 kilometers. In this role, the installation"Nona", a photo of which is available in the article, can be effectively used to arm formations whose main task is to destroy enemy heavy armored vehicles.

Special mention should be made of guided missiles, which can independently aim at the target through the use of a laser pointer. They hit tanks and other heavy equipment from above, in the most unprotected part. The probability of destroying the target in this case is not less than 0.8-0.9. This type of ammunition was called Kitolov-2. It can also be successfully used by the Nona self-propelled guns, the photo of which you will see in this article.

However, conventional cumulative projectiles can be used to combat armored vehicles. With an initial speed of 560 m/s, acceptable accuracy of firing at enemy vehicles at ranges of up to one kilometer is ensured, and the ability to burn through up to 600 mm of homogeneous armor suggests that with their help it is quite possible to defeat all modern MBTs of a potential enemy.

Features of the loading mechanism

Since the use of mines at significant elevation angles is a very laborious task for the crew, the loading mechanism was equipped with a special chambering system that runs on compressed air. Among other things, the capabilities of the module that the 2S9 Nona uses are in demand after each shot to purge the barrel, which significantly reduces the gas contamination of the fighting compartment, increasing the comfort of the crew.

Some specifications

Since the self-propelled gun was created taking into account the possibility of its landing, the designers had to lighten the design as much as possible. A special aluminum alloy was used as a material for the armor, which, nevertheless, protects the crew well from machine-gun fire. The lightness and tightness of the hull provide positive buoyancy, due to which the Nona can independently force water barriers.

The power of the diesel engine is 240 l / s, and the high-quality and reliable hydropneumatic suspension allows the self-propelled guns "Nona" to accelerate on the highway up to 60 km/h, and on water - up to 9 km/h. Among other things, the controllability of the suspension allows, in case of such a need, to lower the height of the combat vehicle by 35 cm.

Other varieties

After Afghanistan, it turned out that the Nona artillery mount is a very effective weapon. Representatives of different types of troops liked the development so much that they expressed a desire to get something similar for arming all ground infantry formations of the Armed Forces. That is why the towed gun 2B16 self-propelled guns "NONA-K" was developed and put into service.

Thanks to the unique muzzle brake, which eliminates up to 1/3 of the recoil energy, the gun was made extremely light. Its mass does not exceed 1200 kilograms. Almost all parts of the gun can be folded, which greatly facilitates transportation or deployment in difficult conditions. The GAZ-66 car is intended for movement, but it has been experimentally proven that even the UAZ-469 can handle its transportation on a more or less decent road. Soas there are rollers at the ends of the beds, if necessary, the gun can move across the battlefield by the forces of its calculation.

Another chassis option

In Perm, under the guidance of the most talented Yuri Kalachnikov, 2S23 NONA SVK was created in 1990.

For the chassis in this version, the BTR-80 is used. To fit the new gun there, the turret design had to be completely redesigned, actually creating it anew. A big advantage was the impressive internal volume of the BTR hull, thanks to which it was possible to increase the transportable ammunition load of the 2S9 Nona up to 30 rounds at once. In combat conditions, shells can literally fill the entire troop compartment, which further increases the value of this installation. In addition, specifically for firing from closed positions, the NONA SVK design included a mechanism for feeding shells from the ground.

Additional weapons

To provide additional firepower, the designers additionally installed a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun in the turret, which can be remotely controlled by the gun commander. For additional armament of the crew, four Igla MANPADS, four AK-74s (or equivalent), a dozen and a half grenades (RGD or F-1, depending on the situation) are included in the ammunition load. Among other things, grenade launchers for smoke grenades are fixed on the tower.

Thus, "Nona" is a weapon that provides a solution to the widest range of combat missions that can only be assigned to any infantry or airborne formation.

Positivenew chassis features

Due to the use of the BTR-80 chassis, it was possible to significantly improve the speed and maneuverability of the new vehicle. Firstly, the maximum speed was increased to 60 km / h, and the cruising range is now 600 km. In addition, the wheeled chassis of the BTR-80 is extremely reliable when deploying troops over long distances: the vehicle can easily cover all 600 kilometers on its own, without any breakdowns or forced stops.

Among other things, the standard chassis dramatically reduces the cost of repairs and training of personnel, and the cost of operation is significantly reduced. To date, it has already been proven that vehicles based on the BTR-80 cost 1.5-2 times cheaper to operate than the Nona based on the BRDM-1.

Mortar modification

To date, a light semi-automatic mortar "NONA-M" has been created, which is loaded from the breech. Its weight is such that the crew can dismantle it in a matter of minutes and carry it either on their own, or transport it on pack animals and light vehicles. This makes the Nonu-M an indispensable weapon for wooded and mountainous areas.

Conclusions

Today "Nona" has no analogues in the world in terms of power and flexibility of use in a variety of combat conditions. Since the machine uses almost the entire range of common projectiles used by the ground forces of the RF Armed Forces, its effectiveness is equally great in any theater of operations. The capabilities of the Nona batteries are such that they leave the standard mortar crews of motorized rifle units far behind. Thus, "Nona" is a weapon,really unparalleled in the domestic troops.

In addition, all the developments that were used in the creation and modification of Nona are actively used by our designers when introducing fundamentally new artillery systems.

Other SPGs in Russia

You probably could have a false idea that the Nona self-propelled gun is the only weapon in this class that is in service with our country. It's not.

Vienna

An analogue of the considered installation is "Vienna", in many respects similar to the described system. Unlike Nona, it was created on the basis of the BMP-3. As in the previous case, armed with a 120-mm gun. Alas, with all its advantages (increased security of personnel, for example), "Vienna" is still present in the troops almost in single copies.

What other Russian self-propelled artillery installations are there? In principle, there are not so few of them. Let's list the main ones:

• 2S19 Msta-S.
• 2C1 Carnation.
• 2C3 Acacia.
• 2C5 Hyacinth and 2C25 Sprut-SD.

All the samples described above, with the exception of the Sprut, are heavy howitzers, the main gun of which has a caliber of 152 mm. Their tasks are somewhat different from those performed by the Nona self-propelled gun. So, their main purpose is shooting from closed positions or the destruction of fortified enemy positions. For example, in Grozny in 1995 it was preciselyMsta-S installations were effectively used to suppress enemy defenses in depth.

All Russian self-propelled artillery mounts differ from their Western counterparts by unification both with each other and with the T-72 (and T-90, respectively) MBTs. This circumstance ensures both simple repairs and low cost of operation.