Slovakia plans to get 25 Zuzana 2 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers.

The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic are planning to get 25 Zuzana 2 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPH) based on the Cold War-era Dana SPH, according to the country's Ministry of Defense (MoD). The Dana is a 152mm 8x8 self-propelled howitzer that was developed in the late 1970s to respond to a request for the Czech army for a new mobile artillery system.

Slovak-made Zuzana 2 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer at IDEB defense exhibition in Bratislava, May 2014. (Picture source Army Recognition)

Slovakia's Konstrukta-Defence company will implement the contract worth EUR175 million (USD213.5 million) for the above mentioned Zuzana 2 SPHs in 2018-2021.

According to the Military Balance 2018 analytical book published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Slovak Army currently operates three vz.1977 Dana and 16 M-2000 (Zuzana-1) SPHs. Once the Zuzana-2 self-propelled howitzers have been delivered, the legacy artillery systems will be scrapped.

The Slovak Defense Company Konstrukta Defence has presented the latest modernized version of the Dana 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer, called the Zuzana 2 during IDEB, a Slovak defense exhibition in May 2014. The 155 mm ZUZANA 2 is a wheeled self-propelled autonomous howitzer artillery system equipped with automatic loading of ammunition which is able to provide effective fire by both direct and indirect aiming.

The official portfolio of Konstrukta-Defence says the Zuzana 2 SPH has a combat weight of 32,000 kg. The system is based on a Tatra 8x8 cross-country truck. The SPH has a maximum speed of 80 km/h and a cruising range of 600 km. Zuzana-2 is armed with a 155 mm STANAG-compatible howitzer that has a range of fire of 5-41 km. The howitzer fires six rounds per minute or 16 rounds per three minutes. The weapon's rate of fire in manual reloading mode reaches two rounds per minute.