New in Ukraine: Vienna, Vienna only you alone ...

Vienna in Ukraine? Yes, now seen for the first time... On film footage, the self-propelled howitzer 2S31 "Vena" - also "Vienna" - was seen as part of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Whether it is an old individual vehicle that is being used up, or new and more are coming, is not quite clear. The self-propelled howitzer 2S31 Vienna was first presented in the 1990s at the arms fair IDEX97, but there was no customer for this very advanced development for the time. The special thing about it is its 120 mm mortar as armament. It is fascinating how early the Russians toyed with a turret solution in 120mm, considering how much the 120mm Nemo turret from Patria is in demand in the West at the moment.

In 1996, the Russian Motovilikhinskiy Plant introduced the youngest member of their Nona family, the "Vena," as a mortar on a self-propelled howitzer with a longer barrel (Russian 120 mm 2A80), which can also fire laser-guided shell against point targets with a range of 13 km.

The known version was mounted on a BMP-3 chassis and has 70 rounds on board (about twice as much as the first version). A similar version was developed by the Chinese army under the designation WZ 551 6×6, mounted on an armored personnel carrier. And finally, the Russians, who apparently have a preference for super large guns, developed the gigantic 420 mm SP-Oka mortar system, originally intended for firing tactical nuclear shells. Fortunately, it was never ordered.

Currently, the Russians seem to be looking for ways to quickly compensate for artillery losses in Ukraine, the mobile 12mm launcher could be a solution, as well as its big brother the 2S18 Pat-S, a 152 mm howitzer in the same turret as "Vena" also on BMP-3. And it is announced for introduction. Whether "Vena" will continue is also a question: in a video from a Russian test site from 2021, one can see swimming tests with the self-propelled howitzer.