The planned arrival of the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Ukraine in early September, Russia has responded with various preparations to face war on a large scale. In addition to upgrading the types of weapons on the BMP-3M Manul, there is news that Russia will 'revive' the tracked self propelled howitzer (SPH) project, 2S18 Pat-S which carries a 152 mm caliber howitzer.
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From the defense-blog.com page (9/8/2023), citing sources from Russian state media, it is said that the Kurgan Machine-Building Plan is working on an update to the artillery system built from the BMP-3 combat platform. "The modernization of the self-propelled howitzer based on the upgraded BMP-3 chassis is now underway," the company said.
The 2S18 Pat-S was developed as a successor to famous self-propelled howtizers from the Soviet era, including the 122 mm 2S1 Gvozdika. The prototype 2S18 Pat-S artillery system was developed in the mid-1980s by the Special Design Bureau of the Kurgan Machine-Building Plant (SKBM) based on the BMP-3 chassis for regimental units of the Soviet Army.
Only one 2S18 prototype was built, which after termination of the test program was kept at Rzhevsky for about 30 years until early 2017, after which it was transferred to the Museum of Military History in St. Petersburg. Petersburg.
The 2S18 Pat-S is a light tracked howitzer designed to engage artillery and mortar batteries, tank groups, command and control units, and lookout posts. The type of howitzer used on the 2S18 is 2A63. The howitzer is capable of releasing all rounds in the Soviet 152 mm caliber, which the Russians are passing on. The weight of each ammunition on this howitzer is up to 43.5 kg.
The maximum range of the self-propelled howitzer system is 20 km. The new 2S18 Pat-S is also expected to be able to use modern corrected artillery projectiles with a separate payload of the 3OF39M Krasnopol-M type so that the firing range can be increased to 25 km.
2S18 Pat-S manned by 5 personnel, from the specifications, the weight of this ranpur is in the range of 18.7–18.8 tons. With the BMP-3 chassis, the 2S18 Pat-S is powered by a 500 hp UTD-29 diesel engine, has a maximum speed on the highway of 70 km per hour and a speed in water of up to 10 km per hour. With full fuel, 2S18 Pat-S can travel up to 600 km.
