Syria: With Russian precision

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released an approximately five and a half minute video clip of their laser-guided artillery in action, smashing rebel positions in Syria. Those in active service who have never seen a system like Krasnopol in action can take a close look here.

This is also exciting because such videos were previously only associated with the Americans: In the video, the viewer sees the Russian artillery targeting and smashing rebel and Islamic State targets with the highest precision. The laser-guided artillery project "Krasnopol" was developed in the 1970s. It was tested and improved over a total of 16 years until 1986 when it was finally adopted by the Soviet military under the designation 30F39. In addition to the standard 152mm shell, there is also a "miniaturized" version for the 122mm gun.

The Krasnopol system consists of the 1D22, 1D20, or 1D15 laser designator and the 1A35 synchronization system. The laser designator itself has a range of about five kilometers, while the projectile itself reaches 50 kilometers with a target-seeking radius of about a kilometer. The projectile consists of two parts, the target seeker in the front and the warhead in the rear.

In order to fire the shot with maximum effectiveness, an observer is always required in the field. The observer's task is to determine the target location using map coordinates or a bearing from their own position, and to ensure that the laser designator remains on target throughout the entire operation. Next, a self-propelled howitzer is aimed at the target and one of the Krasnopol shells is fired in its direction. In flight, the shell acquires the illuminated target and guides itself towards it. The video from Syria shows how precise such artillery strikes are.