Russia develops a new 6x6 self-propelled howitzer based on Volk armoured and 2B16 120mm gun.

A picture releases Monday, January 20, 2014, on a Russian military blog shows that Russia develops a new light self-propelled artillery system based on the 6x6 light tactical vehicle Volk (Wolf in English) VPK-39273 with a 120mm gun 2B16 Nona-K mounted at the rear of the chassis.

The Volk is 4x4 high-mobility light tactical vehicle designed, developed and produced by the Russian Defense Company Voenno-Promyshlennaya Kompaniya (VPK), a division of the GAZ group.

The Volk 4x4 was unveiled during a defense exhibition in Moscow in 2010. The Volk family includes also a a 6x6 variant, named VPK-39273. According to the Russian blog, the new light howitzer is based on a new version of the Volk, the VPK-39373 or Volk-3.

The Volk-3 light self-propelled howitzer uses a 6x6 chassis, with armoured cab at the front and a 120mm gun 2B16 Nona-K mounted at the rear of the chassis. When the system is deployed in the firing position a large spade is hydraulically lowered at the rear to provide a more stable firing platform.

The 120 mm 2B16 (NONA-K) towed system was developed in the 1970s at the Perm artillery facility and the Central Scientific Research Institute for Precision Machinery Construction. It entered in service with the Russian army in 1986. The 2B16 can fire at a maximum range of 8.7 km.

The 2B16 (Nona-K) consists of a 120 mm/24.2 calibre ordnance, designated in Russia the 2A51. It can fire a full range of ammunitions as the HE-FRAG (high-explosive fragmentation), HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) and smoke as well as 120 mm mortar bombs.

This type of artillery weapon system could be one of the best solution to provide rapid intervention troops or airborne units with a light self-propelled howitzer with the capacity to be deployed quickly by military transport aircraft and offers high efficient fire power.http://www.armyrecognition.com/