New Russian airborne 120mm mortar carrier 2S42 Lotos in live demonstration.

Russia’s Central Research Institute of Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash) of the Rostec State Corporation demonstrated for the first time in a live demonstration a prototype of the 120-mm self-propelled Lotos artillery system. A larger presentation of the combat vehicle will be shown to the public at the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2019, held between June 25 - 30 in the Patriot congress and exhibition center, near Moscow, Russia.

Lotos new Russian-made self-propelled 120mm mortar carrier (Picture source TASS)

The modern Lotos SPG, which is capable of airborne and amphibious operations, performed detour and maneuvering tests along a predetermined route at a speed up to 30 km/h. Also, vertical gun movement, turret rotation and varying ground clearance were demonstrated.

“Today we rolled out the prototype of the Lotos self-propelled artillery system for the first time. The gun is currently fully equipped and ready to be operated in manual mode. All components passed the incoming inspection and have been approved by the quality control and military representatives. We will soon start finalizing the software development for the gun’s control system”, said Rostec’s Industrial Director, Sergey Abramov.

The Lotos SPG is created to meet the needs of the Russian Airborne Forces - it weighs only 18 tons and its 450 hp engine can reach the speed of 70 km/h with a range of at least 500 km. The self-propelled gun is operated by a crew of four; it has a rate of fire of six to eight rounds per minute and firing range of up to 13 kilometers.

The gun is mounted on a chassis based on the unified BMD-4M IFV, with a modified compartment for the 120-mm gun with a high degree of automation for preparing and carrying out firing operations.