Russia's frontline reinforced with North Korean 170mm Koksan artillery systems

Defense Express reports.

Although the first reports of Russia receiving the 170-mm M-1989 Koksan SPA from North Korea appeared in October, and a photo of their movement in Russia was shared in November, a video allegedly filmed at the front surfaced on January 7th. This suggests that about two months passed between their arrival and possible first use in combat. However, the authenticity of the video, its time, and location remain uncertain. The lack of snow likely indicates it was filmed in the southern occupied regions of Ukraine, assuming the video is recent.

The 170-mm Koksan self-propelled artillery system (SPA) from North Korea, which Russia is reported to have received, is equipped with a 50-caliber barrel and an advertised firing range of up to 60 km when using active-reactive shells. However, this range is achievable only with these specialized munitions, which are limited in quantity and often of questionable accuracy. For conventional high-explosive fragmentation shells, the firing range is about 40 km. The system's rate of fire is estimated at 1-2 shots every five minutes.

The Koksan 170-mm self-propelled artillery system (SPA) from North Korea faces several limitations in comparison to modern 155-mm Western artillery systems. Notably, any 155-mm system with a 52-caliber barrel outperforms the Koksan in both firing range and rate of fire. This means that in terms of overall effectiveness on the battlefield, the Koksan is at a disadvantage against contemporary artillery technology, which is more efficient in terms of both distance and rapid deployment.

For example, the German PzH 2000 can fire a projectile with improved ballistics at a range of 40-47 km, and using an active-reactive projectile, it set an absolute record of 67 km. It has a rate of fire of up to 10-12 rounds per minute.

Moreover, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are quite actively using HIMARS for counter-battery combat. At the same time, the Koesan is completely open, with no armor. Therefore, this self-propelled artillery system is an excellent combination with the high-precision GMLRS with tungsten warheads and air burst.

At the same time, for the Russian Federation, the acquisition of Koksans is obviously intended to cover the shortage of large-caliber artillery. And for this purpose, Moscow is ready to use really very specific artillery systems with a unique caliber, which means dependence on the supply of ammunition of dubious quality from the DPRK to these self-propelled artillery systems. Or the need to set up our own production of this ammunition.

In general, it should be understood that the Koksan self-propelled artillery system in a unique 170-mm caliber is again about racism and the Third Reich, because this artillery system is very closely related to the German long-range artillery of World War II.