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Russia’s latest air-droppable artillery gun passes acceptance trials

The trials have helped assess the operability of all of the gun’s assemblies, mechanisms and devices, according to the state tech corporation Rostec

Lotos self-propelled artillery gun Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

Lotos self-propelled artillery gun

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. The Lotos air-droppable self-propelled artillery gun developed by the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash, part of the state tech corporation Rostec) for the Airborne Force and mounted on the chassis of the BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicle has passed acceptance trials, Rostec announced on Wednesday.

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"The Central Research Institute for Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash) of Rostec Corporation has completed the acceptance trials of the advanced 120mm Lotos self-propelled artillery gun (item 2S42). The fighting vehicle for the Airborne Force has confirmed its compliance with the stated operational characteristics," Rostec said.

The trials have helped assess the operability of all of the gun’s assemblies, mechanisms and devices, with their program consisting of over 50 points. In particular, the Lotos system has covered a distance of 400 km and made 14 shots. Representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry at TsNIITochMash have signed the document confirming that the self-propelled artillery gun prototype complies with the working design documentation and the vehicle is ready for preliminary trials, Rostec said in a statement.

"The combat vehicle fully complies with the requirement for weight and dimension characteristics and simultaneously features an impressive speed, rate of fire and firing range. We expect preliminary trials to begin already this year as the next stage," Rostec Industrial Director Bekkhan Ozdoyev was quoted as saying.

The Lotos has been developed on the basis of the chassis standardized with the BMD-4M fighting vehicle by assemblies and mechanisms. The self-propelled artillery vehicle is outfitted with a combat module with a 120mm gun that features highly automated operations of preparing for and delivering fire.

The Lotos artillery system weighs no more than 18 tonnes, develops a maximum speed of 70 km/h, has a 450 hp engine and an operating range of no less than 500 km. The vehicle has a combat team of four and a firing range of up to 13 km.

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