Russian artillery has been reinforced in Abkhazia. It received the latest automatic fire controls. They unite guns, mortars, multiple launch rocket systems, ground radars, aircraft and drones into a single contour. It will take seconds to destroy a target after detection, the Izvestia daily writes.

2S19M2 Msta-SM 152mm self-propelled howitzer (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Defense Ministry sources said the 7th military base is training to operate the new controls. Experts said the upgraded system is an effective response to potential NATO reinforcement in the region: the alliance is building a training facility near Tbilisi; Georgia has numerous times changed the government since the war in South Ossetia, but each of them worked to obtain NATO membership, expert Viktor Murakhovsky said. "Georgia is building its army by NATO standards and regularly participates in joint exercises. Such a policy poses a direct threat to Abkhazia and South Ossetia whose independence is guaranteed by Russia. In such a situation, the automatic controls are a low-cost but effective step," he commented.

Russia has implemented the concept of reconnaissance-fire forces and automatic controls are an important part of it. "The system accumulates all the necessary information in real-time from scouts, drones and aviation. It processes the data, determines the most important targets and distributes them between artillery batteries or individual guns. It recommends shells for the strike. It remains only to fire," Murakhovsky said. The Georgian section of the border is not quiet from the political point of view, expert Vladimir Anokhin said: "The country behaves adventurously. It is capable of major provocations which have to be foreseen. The introduction of the automatic controls is justified by the experience of the 2008 war with Georgia," he said.

The Russian 7th military base was set up in Abkhazia after the five-day war. The 131st motorized rifle brigade reinforced with artillery and air defense is its backbone. The base has to defend Abkhazia in case of another Georgian aggression. Therefore, it is armed with the latest weapons, including T-90A tanks and BTR-82A APCs. It was the first Russian formation armed with new-generation drones.

Strekoza small drones are engaged in reconnaissance and fire adjustment. There are other new drones in the formation. They play a major role in modern armed conflicts. Drones are in charge of reconnaissance and control fire to major distances in real-time. Orlan-30 drones operate together with artillery. They were tested in Syria and at the latest Center-2019 exercise. The drone can fly 300 km from the command post at a cruising speed of 150 km/h. It can stay in the air for over five hours. Orlan-30 can detect targets and provide exact coordinates through GLONASS and GPS. Laser illumination of the targets provides for sniper precision of the artillery. Orlan-30 can provide guidance to 152mm artillery guns which fire precision Krasnopol projectiles. A laser mark adjusts the final flight section to destroy a target by one shot.

Krasnopol is the most widely used Russian guided artillery projectile with a maximum range of 20 km. The precision shells will destroy command posts, communication hubs, missile launchers and airfields. They can also strike at warships, the Izvestia said.

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