Recently, unique footage surfaced showing Ukrainian mortar crews operating the Bulgarian 120mm Tundzha self-propelled mortar.
The significance of this footage lies in the fact that this is the first confirmed appearance of the Tundzha in Ukraine, and there had been no previous reports of its delivery.
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Another interesting detail is that several years before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had planned to purchase these mortars from Bulgaria. Funds had already been allocated for the acquisition, but something went wrong, and the reinforcement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine never materialized, with the money ultimately returning to the budget.
It is currently unknown whether the Tundzha was purchased or received as part of a military aid package for Ukraine, as well as how many units were delivered. The exact number of Tundzha self-propelled mortars in Bulgaria is also unclear, but some sources suggest there are around 80 units in total.
The Tundzha is armed with an M-120 120mm mortar, providing a firing range of up to 7 km, and, as a self-defense weapon, a standard 7.62mm PKT machine gun mounted on the MT-LB. The vehicle’s ammunition load consists of 60 mortar rounds and 2,000 rounds for the PKT.
The Tundzha self-propelled mortar was developed in the 1960s–1970s in the Soviet Union, based on the MT-LB platform at the TsNII Burevestnik research institute. It was originally intended for Soviet airborne troops, but during its development, the 2S9 Nona-S self-propelled artillery-mortar system with a 120mm 2A51 gun was introduced, leading to the abandonment of the Tundzha project.
Later, Bulgaria began producing the Tundzha under license and initially supplied it to some Warsaw Pact countries before exporting it to other nations worldwide, including Syria.
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