MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The advanced Lotos artillery system and the Zavet-D fire control vehicle will undergo trials in 2019, after which they will be accepted for service in Russia’s Airborne Force, the Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"In 2019, the 2S42 Lotos 120mm self-propelled artillery gun and the Zavet-D artillery fire control vehicle will enter final state trials before they are accepted as the armament of the Airborne Force," the ministry said in a statement.

As the Defense Ministry noted, the promising Lotos gun will replace the Nona 120mm system in the artillery units of the Airborne Force when it is accepted for service.

Both systems will feature the capability of their transportation by military transport aircraft and their air-dropping by parachutes.

The Lotos is the follow-up and the replacement of the Zauralets project that was designed to create a new self-propelled artillery gun for the Airborne Force.

The Lotos will feature the 120mm gun while its artillery round will be heavily modernized and will be slightly less powerful than the shell from the 152mm gun.