When Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February of 2022, Putin’s forces appeared poised to overrun Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk and capture Kramatorsk. (Theoretically, rocket-propelled shells may achieve ranges of 31 miles.) However, the Bohdana prototype still lacked the autoloader and digital fire control system that were hallmarks of other cutting-edge self-propelled howitzers. Sergey Voronkov/Ukrainian military - Wikimedia Commonsįinally, just a few months prior to Russia’s invasion, official firing trials were held, demonstrating a capacity to hit targets up to 26 miles away and exceeding expectations. Note the need to manually load and ram the gun’s, each of which typically weighs around 45 pounds. However, progress on the 2S22 nearly froze in 2020 due to difficulties acquiring the necessary 155-millimeter shells (eventually obtained from Turkey and the Czech Republic), government-commercial disputes which flared into legal challenges and temporary cancelation of all funding, and the need to correct for excessive recoil by devising an improved muzzle break.īohdana being tested in May 2021. These relied on rapid shoot-and-scoot capability to dodge counterbattery fire. These were intended to follow closely behind tanks and needed better armor and all-terrain mobility.īut new Western-style wheeled howitzers were built on the idea that modern, longer-range guns and shells could shoot from far behind the frontline, and thus could get by with using cheaper truck chassis staying closer to road networks. The Bohdana’s paradigm departed from Ukraine’s Soviet legacy of tank-resembling self-propelled howitzers like the 2S1, 2S3 and 2S19, with tracks and turrets. The armored cab for the five crew protected against small arms, lower-energy artillery fragments, and mines smaller than 14 pounds.
The 2S22 could sustain road speeds of 50 miles per hour (or 18 mph off-road). A maximum firing rate of 4-6 rounds per minute was possible, drawing from an onboard supply of 20 shells. Sergey Voronkov/Ukrainian military - Wikimedia CommonsĪs for CAESAR, the gunnery crew had to dismount in order to load and fire the howitzer while standing on a ramp at the back of the vehicle. View of 2S22 Bohdana’s rear firing platform used by the gunnery crew during tests in May 2021.
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