Russia to use state-of-the-art self-propelled Lotus artillery system to break Ukraine's defences

The Russian Armed Forces plan to use statute-of-the-art self-propelled artillery systems in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine, Polish publication Interia said.

It goes about the 2S42 Lotos airborne amphibious self-propelled artillery gun. The self-propelled artillery unit was first presented in 2017. Its state tests were scheduled for the spring of 2024.

The Russian army intends to break through Ukraine's defences, and the Kremlin is to use very powerful weapons for the purpose, the publication said.

• The Lotus weighs 28 tons, its operating range amounts to at least 500 kilometres. The maximum speed of the system is 70 kilometres per hour. The vehicle fires both artillery shells and mines at a distance of up to 13 kilometres. Lotos can also launch new guided missiles with a range of 25 kilometres.
• 2S42 Lotos is suitable for parachute landing missions; it can also overcome water obstacles. The machine was supposed to replace the Nona-S artillery and mortar systems. It was developed by the Central Scientific Research Institute of Precision Engineering (TSNIITOCHMASH).

Polish journalists noted that this weapon was never discussed in mass media outlets. It will thus appear in the zone of the special military operation for the first time in history. The photographs of the artillery system that appeared on the Internet suggest that the complex is protected from kamikaze drones.

"Ukrainian soldiers are going to have hard times,” Interia experts concluded.

On March 26, it became known that Rostec State Corporation supplied modified tank machine gun remote control platforms that make it possible to turn machine guns into a robotic system. This weapon makes it possible to observe targets in real time and conduct targeted shooting, being at a great distance from the weapon.

In March, the Russian military used a new "miracle bomb” in Ukraine — the D-30SN universal interspecific glide munition. The projectile is 30 centimetres in diameter. It features control and satellite homing systems, as well as more than 100 kilograms of explosives.