Ukrainian soldiers praise the FH70 self-propelled towed howitzer. They have been destroying the Russian invasion forces with this weapon since the spring of 2022. Through all this time, it has proven itself as a precise artillery piece, superior to Soviet howitzers of the same class.
That is what Ukrainian artillerymen told journalists from ArmyInform in a photo report from the frontlines of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
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Soldiers say, there has been a surge of work for the past three months: prior, they usually had "errands" to attend to only in the morning and evening but ever since the Russians launched an offensive across the entire eastern front, they have to be on high alert round the clock, the battery commander says, call sign Heorhiiovych.
He added that there are times when air reconnaissance units send in coordinates of multiple targets at once, so the artillery squad has no time to spare. In such a situation, the precision of FH70 shines.
"There were cases when we hit a moving tank with one round, then finished it off with another one. That is, it's totally possible to destroy a target in two or three shots, in contrast to a D-20 which would need more than 10 rounds." the commander said. His people have experience working with D-20 and D-30 before, and the difference is tangible.
Heorhiiovych also reminds that the enemy also hunts for Ukrainian artillery systems: now the Russians are actively searching at night, first they detect the position using a drone, and then start shelling it, so the Ukrainian soldiers disguise their howitzer with a camouflage, and hide themselves from shelling in dugouts.
Previously, this artillery battery worked in the Kharkiv operational direction, now they are deployed in the Donetsk direction, eastern Ukraine. One of the most memorable episodes of their work was told by the howitzer team commander Volodymyr – it happened just recently when the gunners hit the position of enemy ATGM and SPG-9 operators. An effective strike prevented the Russians from causing harm to the positions held by Ukrainian infantry.
On a note from Defense Express, the FH70 is a self-propelled towed artillery system, which means it can either get dragged by a truck or move in and out of combat on its own, although at low speed and with limited operational range. The auxiliary power unit can reach a speed of 16 km/h (~10 mph). The artillerymen mentioned this capability as very useful:
"It can move out to a firing spot on itself, for example, to a forest line," Heorhiiovych noted.
Earlier Defense Express reported that today the Donetsk direction, more specifically the area near Avdiivka is a place of fierce battles, where the Russian invasion forces have just suffered record-breaking daily losses – 1,300 personnel. The overall Russian casualties in the past ten days are equivalent to four mechanized regiments and one tank regiment of the regular army in this contested area alone.
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