Ukraine's artillery transformation: Shift to NATO calibres accelerates
Ukrainian barrel artillery is rapidly shifting from Soviet-era calibres to NATO. By 2023, half of the shells fired were 155 mm, and in 2024, the number of Soviet 152 mm calibres might drop to 10%. Here’s what Ukrainians are firing now.
In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Colonel Serhij Musijenko, Deputy Commander of the Rocket Forces and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that in 2023, Ukrainian forces used three million shells, half of which were in the NATO 155 mm calibre. This proportion will increase in 2024.
The remaining calibres are Soviet 122 mm, NATO 105 mm, and Soviet 152 mm. According to the Ukrainian officer, the latter's use compared to NATO's 155 mm might reach a 1:10 ratio by the end of 2024. It's worth noting that the harder-to-find NATO calibre 152 mm is now only used in newer systems like the DANA-M2 or the Msta-B.
The usage of shells or rockets in artillery systems was 1.5 million units in the early stages of the war in 2022, which then increased to three million in 2023. Data for 2024 is not yet available, but it might be similar despite ammunition shortages earlier this year.
Here is what the Ukrainian artillery mainly fires
Regarding 155 mm ammunition, Ukraine uses two categories of shells. The first are classic unguided shells in budget versions or with extended range, and the second is specialised guided ammunition.
The first category includes shells with a base bleed design, their variants with a bottom gas generator, and models with an additional rocket booster. Base bleed shells are the cheapest, with the German DM121 example costing 3,400 euros per piece before the war.
They consist primarily of a cast steel casing with a thread on top where a simple impact fuse or possibly a more advanced one is screwed in. This casing is usually filled with 9-10 kg of TNT or another explosive material. Ukraine received this type of shell from all over the world, even from as distant a place as India.
They enable firing up to 30-32 kilometres in the case of artillery systems with a barrel length of 52 calibres, such as Germany’s PzH-2000 or Poland’s Krab. The advancement of these shells includes those equipped with gas generators that produce exhaust gases. These reduce the shell's base resistance, resulting in a 30% longer range.
The last subgroup includes shells equipped with a rocket booster like the M549A1, allowing targets to be hit at a range of 50-60 kilometres. This is achieved by adding a rocket engine with fuel to the shell, which works several seconds after being fired, further accelerating the shell. However, the trade-off is reduced explosive power, as space is taken up by the rocket motor at the expense of the TNT charge. In the M549A1 shell, it is 7 kg, but similar values are found in competing shells.
Specialised long-range shells
The most famous example is the guided M982 Excalibur shell, which, despite a smaller TNT charge, is theoretically very effective due to accuracy within a few metres. This is achieved through a GPS navigation module and deployable control surfaces; however, after initial success, these $100,000 shells became useless when Russians mastered jamming GPS signals.
The Italian-German sub-calibre shell concept, the Vulcano 155 GLR, looks promising, which aside from satellite navigation, can be guided using a reflected laser beam. This allows for accuracy under three metres, even against moving targets in any conditions. A requirement is the presence of, for example, a drone near the target illuminating it with a laser beam.
Furthermore, Vulcano GLR shells are a unique sub-calibre construction whereby the shell diameter is smaller than the barrel from which it is fired. It is housed in a sabot that is discarded after firing. Such a design allowed engineers to develop a shell with much better aerodynamics, resulting in a range of around 69-80 kilometres.
Intelligent anti-tank artillery ammunition
Additionally, Ukraine received smart shells that autonomously seek tanks and other armoured vehicles. This includes German SMArt 155 and French Bonus shells. Each contains two submunitions released over the expected enemy equipment location.
They include sensors such as a thermal camera for thermal imaging of the target and a lidar for distance measurement. Once onboard computer algorithms correctly identify a target as military, the submunition descends over and detonates an EFP warhead that penetrates over 10 cm of armoured steel. Crews of just a few PzH-2000 howitzers destroyed dozens of Russian armoured equipment using them. In the case of the German SMArt 155, the range of these shells is 27 kilometres, and for the French Bonus, it is 35 kilometres.
