#Ukraine: A 2S7 Pion of the Ukrainian 43rd Artillery Brigade firing very unusual ammunition - 53-G-620Sh 203mm concrete-penetrating HE projectiles for ancient B-4 howitzers.
Using this ammunition may indicate supply constraints, as Pion ammo is no longer manufactured anywhere.
2S7 Pion guns have seen wide use in this war. For both sides the supply of ammunition is not endless. There is limited ability to resupply, as very few countries operate(d) them.
Hence, such solutions may be in order to extend the life of these systems.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
#Ukraine: ❗ A very notable development - new Ukrainian-made artillery ammunition started to reach the frontlines.
Here we can see OF-25T 152mm HE projectiles, made in 2022 - they can be fired from D-20/Msta-B towed howitzers and 2S3/Msta-S SPHs.
The index of the projectile (OF-25T) slightly differs from the classic Soviet OF-25 projectile, presumably due to the different manufacturing process. The projectiles are assembled from several milled parts - which in this case allow their identification.
The explosives used also differ to Soviet OF-25- less powerful TNT is used instead of A-IX-2.
Many may remember footage of a Russian Lancet drone striking a 5N63S engagement radar of the S-300PS - as it turned out, it hit a radar that was put there by Russian forces.
For the sake of transparency we reconstructed the story behind these S-300 batteries in Kherson Oblast🔽
In total Ukrainian troops found at least two destroyed 5N63S radars and 6 launchers of the S-300PS system in Kherson Oblast.
But were they really Russian? Not quite.
We managed to identify which unit these batteries initially belonged to - the Ukrainian 50th anti-aircraft missile regiment, stationed in Crimea prior the Russian annexation in 2014.
Has a previously-unseen munition been revealed in #Ukraine?
Recently video appeared showing shelling of a Russian position in the vicinity of Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast. The unusual explosions have led to to many theories- but we have a strong idea about what was really used.
Not so long ago we documented a new type of mortar ammunition with the Ukrainian army - a M971 120mm cargo bomb, which houses 24 M87 dual-purpose AT/AP submunitions in the standard version.
The M971 was originally developed and manufactured in Israel 🇮🇱.
Going by the explosion pattern, bomblet dispersion pattern and quantity, we believe that we are seeing these effective (but controversial) munitions in use.
Given submunition failures and absence of self-destructing feature for the M87 they may have unwelcome long term effects.
#Ukraine: If you thought that the most unexpected source of ammunition to Ukraine was Iran, you were wrong- we can now reveal that the Ukrainian army also received Sudanese 🇸🇩 ammunition.
In this case, 120mm HE-843B mortar bombs.
This image was taken near a Ukrainian mortar position, showing multiple distinctive grey ammunition crates. The markings clearly indicate the origin: "116" refers to Warehouse №116 of the A10 factory.
Here's a photo of similar crates documented by @conflictarm in Sudan, 2016.
Just who transferred this is unknown, however given the export record of Sudanese ammunition (mostly limited to African states) and the likely role of Sudan as a conduit for weapons transfers, it is likely it was purchased by a third party specially for the Ukrainian army.
So what crashed in the village of Przewodów, Poland today?
With the cooperation of @blueboy1969 we analyzed the available photos of fragments and came to a clear conclusion that they belong to the 48D6 motor of the 5V55-series missile of the S-300 AD system- a Ukrainian one.
Although other missile types (48N6-series and possibly others) also use a very similar design, these aren't available to Ukrainian forces.
It's important to note here that this ID is only of this fragment; we can't be sure if nothing else landed or precisely how this happened.
For comparison - the end seal of the 48N6DM SAM's rocket motor. As you can see, it is nearly identical to the fragment found in Poland.
Of course, the whole incident appears to be a tragic accident.
#Ukraine: A bunch of 155mm M107 projectiles inside a Ukrainian AHS Krab SPH - quite normal by now, but not this time!
Actually, these projectiles now being used by Ukrainian forces were made as a part of the US Mutual Defense Assistance Program especially for the Italian Army 🇮🇹.
These M107 you see were originally intended to be used with Italian M114 howitzers. In the early 1990s Italian M114 were withdrawn from service - apparently along with the ammunition.
However projectiles were not disposed of - and now they have been transferred to the Ukrainian army as a part of military aid from Italy 🇮🇹.