Venezuela’s artillery, strengthened by Russian rocket launchers

The origin of the Artillery of the Venezuelan Army dates back to the War of Independence, fought between 1810 and 1823.

After the war, the artillery declined until the 1870s, when it was reactivated by incorporating new pieces.

This process continued during the first four decades of the following century and culminated during the Second World War with the reception of American material.

Between the mid-1950s and the end of the 1980s, more American howitzers were received, as well as new ones of French and Italian origin.

Two significant events occurred at that time. In the early 1970s, the Venezuelan Army Artillery incorporated its first self-propelled howitzers acquired in France and, in 1989, the first multiple rocket launcher systems.

Finally, a large amount of Russian material arrived in the last decade. For its part, the Marine Infantry activated its first Field Artillery unit in 1975.

ARMY UNITS

The Field Artillery of the Venezuelan Army comprises a brigade, 16 groups, and four independent companies, the latter of 120 mm mortars.

Regarding the groups, they are:

• Nine groups of Field Artillery (GAC):
  – Seven equipped with 105 mm towed howitzers
  – Two with 155 mm
• Four groups of Self-propelled Field Artillery (GACA/P):
  – Two with 152 mm self-propelled howitzers
  – One with 155 mm self-propelled howitzers
  – One mixed, with 152 mm self-propelled howitzers, 122 mm rocket launchers, and 120 mm self-propelled howitzers/mortars
• Three multiple rocket launcher artillery groups (GALCM):
  – Two with 122 mm rocket launchers
  – One with 300 mm rocket launchers

The 43rd Field Artillery Brigade concentrates the greatest firepower and includes the following tactical units:

• 431 GACA/P ‘General en Jefe. Bartolomé Salom’
• 432 GACA/P ‘General en Jefe Cipriano Castro’
• 433 GALCM ‘General en Jefe. Juan José Flores y Aramburu’
• 434 GALCM ‘General en Jefe Alberto Muller Rojas’
• 435 GALCM ‘Coronel Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte’

The rest of the Field Artillery units are organic of different brigades:

• 11 Armored Brigade:
  – 105 GAC ‘General en Jefe José Gregorio Monagas’
  – 115 GACA/P ‘Brigadier General Pedro María Freites’
• 12 Caribbean Brigade:
  – 125 GAC ‘Brigadier General Luis Celis’
• 13 Motorized Infantry Brigade:
  – 135 GAC ‘Combate de Maracaibo’
• 14 Mechanized Infantry Brigade:
  – 145 GAC ‘General en Jefe José de la Cruz Carrillo’
• 21 Motorized Infantry Brigade:
  – 205 GAC ‘General en Jefe Joaquín Crespo’
  – 215 GAC ‘Coronel Miguel Antonio Vásquez’
• 22 Motorized Infantry Brigade:
  – 2205 Mortar Battery ‘Colonel Andres Linares’
• 25 Mechanized Infantry Brigade:
  – 255 GAC ‘Colonel Jose Francisco Torres’
• 32 Caribbean Brigade:
  – 325 GAC ‘Brigadier General Jose de Jesus Barreto’
• 41 Armored Brigade:
  – 415 GACA/P ‘Major General Juan Jacinto Lara’
• 51 Jungle Infantry Brigade:
  – 5105 Mortar Battery ‘Colonel Juan José Conde’
• 52 Jungle Infantry Brigade:
  – 5205 Mortar Battery
• 91 Armored Cavalry Brigade:
  – 9105 Mortar Battery ‘Lieutenant Juan Naranjo’
• 92 Caribbean Brigade:
  – 925 GAC ‘Ayacucho’.

MARINE CORPS ARTILLERY

The Marine Corps, for its part, has four tactical Field Artillery units, organic of four brigades, which are equipped with 105 mm towed howitzers and 120 mm mortars.

It is also incorporating 107 mm multiple rocket launcher systems.

The four units are as follows:

• 13 Artillery Group ‘General Agustín Codazzi’ / First Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade
• 24 Artillery Group ‘General de División José Antonio Anzoátegui / Second Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade
• 33 Artillery Group ‘Vice Admiral Lino Clemente’ / Third Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade
• 43 Self-propelled Artillery Group ‘Mariscal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón’ / Fourth Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade.

MULTIPLE ROCKET LAUNCHERS

The Venezuelan Army has two multiple rocket launcher systems, both of Russian origin, the 300mm BM-30 Smerch and the 122mm BM-21 Grad.

The BM-30 Smerch system consists of several elements, the main one being the 8×8 MAZ 9A52-2 launch vehicle, weighing 47.5 tons and capable of launching twelve 300 mm rockets of different types to a maximum distance of 90 km.

The launch vehicle is complemented by the 8×8 MAZ 9T234-2 transport/reload vehicle.

The system also includes the MP32M1 command, control, communications, and fire control center, installed on a 6×6 Kamaz tactical truck; the 1B44 Ulybka weather radar, installed on a 6×6 Ural 4320 tactical truck.

Twelve of these systems are part of the 435th Multiple Rocket Artillery Group ‘Coronel Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte’.

Meanwhile, the BM-21 Grad system has two main elements: a 6×6 2B17-1 / Ural 4320 launch vehicle equipped with a 9F37M container with 40 122 mm rockets and a 9T254 / Ural 4320 transport/reload vehicle with a 9F37M rocket carrier frame.

It also has an automatic fire control system. The system is capable of firing, in 20 seconds, 40 rockets with different warheads at a maximum distance of 40 km.

The Marine Corps, in turn, is in the process of incorporating the Haseb system, of Iranian origin and derived from the Chinese Type 63.

The launcher consists of 11 107 mm rocket tubes with a range of 9 km and an 8 kg warhead and is being installed on a 4×4 tactical vehicle Emsoven Tiuna, of national production.

HOWITZERS

The Venezuelan Army has five howitzer models in service, two self-propelled and three towed, and the Marine Corps has one towed, as follows.

Self-propelled howitzer Nexter AMX-13 Mle. F.3 of 155/33 mm is part of the family whose head is the AMX-13 light tank.

It has a weight of 18.5 tons and a range of 360 km. It fires, among others, 43.75 kg HE (High Explosive) shells, with a range of more than 20 km.

The pieces are complemented by armored vehicles of the same series: AMX-13 VTT/PC-LT (Command Post / Firing Post) and AMX-13VTT-VCA (Artillery Accompanying Vehicle), which transports the seven service members of the piece, 25 155/33 mm shells and various implements.

This system equips a Self-propelled Artillery group.

2S19M1 Msta-S self-propelled system, consisting of a 152/L47 mm 2A65 howitzer, is installed in an armored tower on the chassis of a T-80 tank.

It has a 12.7 mm NSTV machine gun. The 840 hp V-84A diesel engine can reach 60 km/h and a range of 500 km. It weighs 42 tons.

The Msta-S can fire shells with different warheads; its maximum firing range is 40 km.

The howitzers are complemented by the Mashina-M target location and fire control and artillery command system installed on MT-LBu armored vehicles in 1V15-3 (observation and target location) and 1V16-8 (fire control) versions.

The M114A1 is an American-made 155/33 mm towed howitzer with a maximum range of 14.6 km.

In the 1980s, units equipped with this howitzer were supplemented with the Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group) ATILA/ATIBA target acquisition/fire control system.

At present, they constitute the equipment of two Army Field Artillery groups.

M101A1 105/22 mm towed howitzer of U.S. origin has a range of 11,270 meters. The M101A1 howitzer groups also received the ATILA/ATIBA fire control system.

They have also recently been fitted with a Russian-made panoramic sight. The M101A1s equip three Army Field Artillery groups.

The M-56 105/14 mm towed howitzer is a product of OTO Melara (now Leonardo Defence Systems).

Conceived as a mountain artillery piece, it weighs 1,880 kg and can be disassembled into twelve parts, facilitating its transportation by different means.

It uses different projectiles and has a maximum range of 10.6 km. Its units are also equipped with the ATILA/ATIBA system.

Four Army Artillery groups and four Marine Infantry groups are equipped with these howitzers.

MORTARS

The Army has three types of 120 mm mortars and one for the Marine Corps.

First, the Russian-made 2s23 Nona-SVK 120mm self-propelled mortar/shells, 2s23 Nona-SVK 120mm, stands out. The piece is installed in a turret on an 8×8 BTR-80 amphibious armored vehicle.

The turret has a unique artillery system that combines mortar and howitzer capabilities. It can fire shells specially developed for this system and any 120mm mortar shell.

HE (High Explosive) howitzer shells have a range of 8.8 km, mortar shells 7.1 km, while HE-RAP (High Explosive – Rocket Assisted Projectile) shells reach 12.8 km.

The Nona-SVKs are assigned to a mixed Army Field Artillery Group.

2S12 Sani 120 mm towed mortar system of Russian origin. It comprises the 2B11 120 mm heavy mortar, the 2L81 two-wheeled gun carriage, and the 2F510 transport vehicle (Ural 43206-0651 double cab 4×4 tactical truck).

It has a maximum range of 7.1 km, and the rate of fire is ten rounds per minute. They are incorporated in the Army’s mechanized infantry battalions equipped with Russian 8×8 BTR-80A and BMP-3M armored vehicles.

Thales TDA Armaments (former Thomson Brandt) MO-120-RT-61 120mm towed mortar. It is a heavy rifled bore mortar with two integrated wheels for its displacement.

The rate of fire is 6 to 10 grenades per minute, while the maximum range is 8.14 km with standard ammunition and 12.85 km with HE-RAP ammunition.

In the Army, they equip four organic mortar companies of the same number of brigades, and in the Marines, they complement the equipment of the four artillery groups.

Currently, the Army and the Mariana Infantry have a well-structured Field Artillery equipped with various means.

There are plans to renew equipment, but while these are materialized, the effort is focused on keeping the existing ones operative.

With information from InfoDefensa