Russia on backfoot: Old artillery resurfaces in Ukraine conflict
Significant Russian losses related to artillery systems are causing older types of such constructions to be brought to the front. Although some of them provide considerable help to the units fighting in Ukraine, several problems associated with them could adversely affect the Russian army, industry, and relations with Kremlin allies in the long term.
For many months, there has been evidence that the Russians are reaching for increasingly older equipment. Examples include trains heading toward Ukraine with tanks like the T-54 from 1946 and towed guns such as the D-20 calibre 152 mm or the M-46 calibre 130 mm, both of which date back to the 1950s.
Old artillery on the front
As noted in a comprehensive analysis conducted in Forbes, the M-46 example shows that old weapons can still be helpful to the Russians. When it launched into service, it was the most powerful gun in the USSR, eventually replaced by self-propelled 2S5 Giatsint guns.
The M-46 provides primarily high firepower and a long range. The range is about 25 or 37 km, depending on the shells used. The M-46 also has an acceptable rate of fire of five rounds per minute. For these reasons, it works well as a "counter-battery" weapon (e.g., destroying other howitzers). In 2009, the CIA, assessing the artillery reserves of North and South Korea, called the M-46 "the most effective counter-battery weapon in Korea."
However, the drawbacks are easy to see. The M-46 is a heavy and difficult-to-transport towed howitzer, requiring a large labour force to operate (up to eight soldiers). These systems, such as drones, are also relatively easy targets for opponents with aerial surveys. Once detected, it is almost impossible to quickly move to another location, as it is with newer self-propelled constructions that can quickly switch from firing mode to moving mode. Additionally, some of them protect the crews in armoured cabins.
Russia increasingly dependent on allies
Analysts estimate that the Russians have already pulled over half of the M-46s stored in their warehouses for years. Like it or not, the Kremlin is becoming dependent on its allies. It concerns not only the supply of weapons (an unspecified number of D-20 howitzers have reached the front from North Korea) but primarily ammunition. Russian factories no longer produce shells, which can only be obtained from Iran and North Korea.
There have been frequent reports of very poor-quality North Korean ammunition. Even the Russians complain heavily about it, claiming that it has a much shorter range than it should and some shells are defective. They often miss the designated targets (are inaccurate), and sometimes accidents occur, injuring Russian soldiers.
