Just Watch the Performance of the Wonder Howitzer “Koalitsiya”. It’s a Test, not Combat Action

The new self-propelled howitzer Koalitsiya is being tested in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. The 50-ton novelty has unique characteristics. Its NATO analogs are far behind in range and speed of shooting.Kirill Solodkov saw the tests.[embedded content]Kilometer after kilometer through forests, fields, and roadless terrain. On a test range near Ekaterinburg, the military is mastering their skills in using the newest Russian howitzer. The self-propelled howitzer Koalitsiya surpasses its world’s analogs in many parameters. However, designers themselves don’t tell much about the machine’s capabilities. Exact characteristics are still classified.Grigory Turetskikh, test department head: “This machine’s task is to deploy quickly at the spot, turn around, impact the target. In striking the target effectively, each machine can replace a whole unit”.The test batch of the howitzers will soon be supplied to the army. The Taman division fighters were the first to use the unique machines. The unit’s mechanics are undergoing retraining at the manufacturing plant.- Your task is to launch the engine in regular mode. What do you do?- First, I apply the load. Then, I turn on the energy source of 25 amperes.- Right, go on.The Koalitsiya is built on the basis of the legendary T-90 tank. But in the future, it’ll be produced on the Armata platform. Electronics satisfy today’s demands. All the necessary information is shown on multimedia displays. As military say, controlling the 50-ton howitzer isn’t more difficult than using a modern smartphone. And it’s even more convenient than using the previous generation machinery.Daniil Shirokov, mechanic and driver: “In order to switch on the heat source, you had to perform several actions, such as to switch on the toggle switchers, to open the covers, there were some problems with them. Now, everything is more convenient, and the heater is launched by pressing one button”.А unique shooting speed — over 10 shells per minute. And а record range — up to 70 kilometers. In these indicators, the NATO self-propelled howitzers are far behind the Koalitsiya. The public saw the machine for the first time at the anniversary Victory Parade in 2015.Journalists see the newest Koalitsiya howitzer right at the plant. A unique video of one of the test stages, the so-called irrigation when specialists check the sealing capacity of all the parts.The military plan to finish state tests of the Koalitsiya by 2020. Serial suppliers of the howitzer to the Russian Army will start the same year.Kirill Solodkov, Nikolai Starostin, Yelena Galeyeva, and Dmitry Komov, Vesti, the Ural Bureau..