Russia has introduced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted targeting into its Eastern Military District (EMD) units equipped with the Soviet-era 2S5 Giatsint (Hyacinth) 152 mm self-propelled howitzer to increase their long-range accuracy, the EMD press service announced on the Russian Ministry of Defence website on 21 March.
During an exercise in the Amur region, the Orlan-10 UAV was used to reconnoitre potential targets for units equipped with the 2S5 self-propelled howitzer like the one pictured. (Russian MoD)
During an exercise in the Amur region involving 2,000 troops and 400 pieces of equipment, the Orlan-10 UAV was used to reconnoitre potential targets and provide real-time co-ordinates of high-priority targets for 2S5-equipped units.
These targets, which represented command posts and other important targets, were then engaged and destroyed in a single salvo by the 152 mm howitzers, the EMD claimed. It added that the integration of Orlan-10 into the reconnaissance-strike system enables the old howitzers to engage point targets with precision.
The EMD press service reported on 22 March that the RPMK-1 Ulybka (Smile) weather radar was used to assist the artillery fire missions, assessing the weather conditions, including temperature, humidity, and windspeed at various points within the Earth’s atmosphere.
The system works by tracking weather balloons fitted with independent radiosondes by using its own radar, according to the radartutorial.eu website. This data is then used for the fire mission calculations.
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