Artillery installation "Nona". Self-propelled artillery systems of Russia

Even in the last years of the existence of the USSR, in the conditions of the decay of the army, the airborne troops were a significant force that was used in all local conflicts on the territory of the former Union. And no wonder, because the doctrine adopted then ordered the use of Uncle Vasya's troops as a means of a preemptive strike. The blue berets especially bright during the Prague events in 1968 and in Afghanistan.

Whatever it was, but one machine and BMD can not get much: the commandos urgently needed weapons capable of withstanding jumps from the aircraft, but with combat power comparable to artillery systems. This could only be provided by artillery, which operated together with the paratroopers.

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

Start the development of a new machine

Of course, the current state of affairs could not be satisfied with the High Command. An order was given: to start designing a machine that could fully meet all the above requirements. Thus, the artillery installation Nona appeared. Of course, this happened not at once.

Its development began in the 60s, with BMD-1 being used as the platform. The new self-propelled gun received the preliminary name 2С2 "Violet". Immediately it turned out that a powerful 122-mm gun, which was "borrowed" from the Carnage "carnation", simply destroys the too shaky chassis of the BMD. At the same time, a 120-mm self-propelled mortar "Landysh" was designed on the long-suffering chassis, but for the same reasons it was never adopted.

The sequence of "Objects"

By the mid-1970s, projects of fundamentally new light tanks designed specifically for the needs of the Airborne Forces (Object 934 and Object 685) had been 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 the series. The problem of equipping the winged troops with mobile artillery became more acute.

Birth of "Nona"

However, in those years, the armored personnel carrier BTR-D nevertheless entered the armament of the Airborne Forces. Unlike the same BMD (on the basis of which it was created), the new equipment was much more load-lifting, since the old chassis was extended by one supporting roller.

Finally, experts 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 120mm 2A51 gun. Its uniqueness was that on the basis of this armament it was possible to create a universal artillery system that would include the whole range of positive qualities of the mortar, cannons and howitzers.

A new self-propelled gun, created on the basis of this gun, was called SAU 2C9 "NONA S". It is widely believed that she received her name from some kind of chief designer's passion, but everything is much more prosaic: the name stands for "The New Weapon of Terrestrial Artillery."

Principal differences from other samples

Of course, the expression "Unparalleled in the world" was filled with a lot of nausea. But if we discuss the SAU 2C9 "NONA C", then this stamp is more than just.

Uniqueness (we repeat, this word is appropriate in this case) of the system under consideration is that, having a very modest size, it provides excellent firepower on the battlefield, and moreover can be used as a replacement for several types of weapons at once! To begin with, the artillery system Nona allows not only confidently suppress enemy infantry, but even fight with enemy tanks. In many ways, such impressive characteristics of the automatic control system is due to the widest range of projectiles.

About used guns

What kind of shells can the fire "Nona" install, the characteristics of which will be listed below?

Particularly distinguished is high-explosive fragmentation artillery equipment. The maximum range of fire is almost 9 kilometers, and because of the low initial speed (not more than 360 m / sec) and specific ballistics, you can shoot them with a "hitch-hanger". They showed themselves particularly well in Afghanistan, when the enemy managed to knock out from especially important passes, without even entering into direct fire contact with them. In terms of efficiency, these shells yield little to the howitzer analogues at 152 mm, widely distributed both in the army of our countries and among the states that are members of NATO.

Thus, the installation of "Nona", the photo of which is in the article, is really a unique example of weapons.

Mines

It is especially important (in the conditions of specific airborne operations) that the minimum possible range of use of 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 are available all their wide range. A conventional high-explosive mine, the Nona artillery unit can fire at 7.3 km. The huge advantage of the gun is that it allows any 120mm mines of foreign states to be used without any alterations.

Projectiles

Among other things, the ammunition can include active-rockets. In their design, a jet engine is laid , which allows fire for 13 kilometers. In this role, the installation "Nona", the photo of which is in the article, can be effectively used for arming the units whose main task is to destroy heavy enemy armored vehicles.

Particularly noteworthy are guided missiles, which can be guided independently on the target by using a laser pointer. They hit tanks and other heavy equipment from above, into the most insecure part. The probability of destroying the target is at least 0.8-0.9. This type of ammunition was called "Kitolov-2." It can also be successfully used by SAU "Nona", a photo of which you will see in this article.

However, conventional cumulative projectiles can be used to combat armored vehicles. At an initial speed of 560 m / s, acceptable accuracy of firing on the enemy's technique at ranges of up to one kilometer is provided, and the ability to burn up to 600 mm of homogeneous armor allows to assert that with their help it is quite possible to defeat all modern OBRs of the probable 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 dispatch system that operates on compressed air. Among other things, the capabilities of the module, which uses 2S9 Nona, are claimed after each shot for blowing the barrel, which significantly reduces the gassiness of the combat compartment, increasing the comfort of crew work.

Some technical specifications

Since the self-propelled gun was created taking into account the possibility of its landing, the designers had to simplify the design as much as possible. As a material for the armor was used a special aluminum alloy, which, nevertheless, well protects the crew from the weapon-machine gun fire. Lightness and airtightness of the hull provide positive buoyancy, due to what "Nona" can independently force water obstacles.

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

Other varieties

After Afghanistan, it turned out that the artillery unit "Nona" is a very effective weapon. The development was so appealing to representatives of different types of troops that they showed a desire to get something similar for the arming of all infantry infantry formations of the Armed Forces. That is why the towed gun 2B16 SAU "NONA-K" was developed and adopted for service.

Thanks to the unique muzzle brake, which neutralizes up to 1/3 of the kickback energy, the gun turned out to be extremely light. Its mass does not exceed 1200 kilograms. Virtually all parts of the gun can be folded, which greatly facilitates transportation or deployment in difficult conditions. To move the GAZ-66 vehicle is designed, but it has been proved by experience that even a UAZ-469 can handle a more or less decent road with its transportation. Since there are rollers at the ends of the camps, if necessary, the cannon can move along the battlefield by calculating it.

Another Chassis Option

In Perm, under the guidance of the most talented Yuri Kalachnikov, in 1990, 2C23 "NONA SVK" was established.

For the chassis in this version, BTR-80 is used. To fit there a new weapon, we had to completely rework the tower design, in fact creating it anew. A big advantage was the impressive internal volume of the BTR housing, thanks to which it was possible to increase the 2C9 "Non" ammunition ammunition immediately to 30 shots. In combat conditions, shells literally can slaughter the entire airborne compartment, which further increases the value of this installation. In addition, specifically to conduct fire from closed positions in the design of "NONA SVK" was included a mechanism for the supply of shells from the ground.

Additional armament

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

Thus, Nona is a weapon that provides a solution to the broadest range of combat missions that can only be delivered to any infantry or amphibious assault.

Positive features of the new chassis

Due to the use of the chassis BTR-80 it was possible to significantly improve the speed and maneuverability of the new machine. First, the maximum speed of the movement was increased to 60 km / h, and the power reserve is now 600 km. In addition, the wheeled chassis of the BTR-80 is extremely reliable when moving troops over long distances: all 600 kilometers the car can easily pass its course, without any breakdowns and forced stops.

Among other things, the standard chassis dramatically reduces the cost of repair and training of personnel, significantly reduces the cost of operation. By now it has already been proved that machines based on BTR-80 are 1.5-2 times cheaper to operate than Nona based on BRDM-1.

Mortar modification

To date, a light semi-automatic mortar "NONA-M" was created, which is charged from the breech. Its weight is such that the calculation can in a matter of minutes disassemble it and carry it on its own, or transport it on pack animals and light motor vehicles. This makes the Non-M an indispensable weapon for the wooded and mountainous terrain.

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 shells used by the ground forces of the RF Armed Forces, its effectiveness is equally great in any theater of operations. The capabilities of Nona batteries are such that they leave far behind the standard mortar calculations of motorized rifle units. Thus, Nona is a weapon that does not really have analogues in the domestic army.

In addition, all the developments that were used to create and modify the "Nona" are actively used by our designers in the implementation of fundamentally new artillery systems.

Other self-propelled plants in Russia

You probably could have a false idea that the self-propelled unit "Nona" is the only weapon in this class that is in service with our country. This is not true.

"Vein"

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

What else are the self-propelled artillery systems of Russia? In principle, they are not so little. Let's list the main:

• 2S19 Msta-S.

• 2C1 "Carnation".

• 2C3 Acacia.

• 2С5 "Hyacinth" and 2С25 "Sprut-SD".

All the above-described samples, with the exception of the "Octopus", are heavy howitzers, the main gun of which has a caliber of 152 mm. Their tasks are somewhat different from those performed by the self-propelled installation of Non. So, their main purpose is shooting from closed positions or destruction of fortified enemy positions. For example, in Grozny in 1995, the Msta-S installations were effectively used to suppress the enemy's deep-seated defense.

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