Ukrainian forces successfully target the new Russian 2S43 Malva howitzer

The 2S43 Malva is a self-propelled howitzer whose prototypes were shown in 2020. Two years later, the Russians started production, and in June this year, they decided to send the first units to the front. It took only a few weeks for the Ukrainians to record successful operations related to attacks on the 2S43 Malva.

Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles battalion from the 92nd Independent Air Assault Brigade, published a post on social media stating that his unit managed to hit a 2S43 Małwa using an FPV drone (first person view). The event took place in the Kharkiv region.

Notably, this was not the first strike on such a Russian artillery system but the first to use an FPV drone. Already in June, another Ukrainian unit successfully struck a 2S43 Malva howitzer using an M30A1 projectile with a tungsten head.

As noted by the Defence Express portal specializing in military topics, the 2S43 Malva is positioned (in terms of mobility and capability) as a close relative of the French CAESAR artillery. The Russian equipment has a declared strike range of approximately 24 kilometres and an ammunition magazine for 30 shells. It is known, however, that in 2023, the Russians began working on an improved version of this system to feature a more excellent strike range comparable to the best NATO artillery in this regard.

While NATO forces rely on 155 mm calibre shells, the Russians consistently use 152 mm ammunition. For the 2S43 Malva, they opted for the 2A64 rifled barrel with a length of 47 calibres. This artillery system's fire rate is approximately 7-8 rounds per minute.

A significant change compared to older Russian artillery systems is wheeled rather than tracked traction. The 2S43 Malva is based on the BAZ-6010-027 truck chassis with 8x8 drive and an engine with 470 hp. As a result, this approximately 13-metre-long and 32-tonne artillery system can move up to 80 kilometres per hour.