2S7 Pion

It takes the crew of seven men 5–6 minutes to setup and 3–5 minutes to dismantle. It carries four 203 mm projectiles for immediate use. It is capable of firing nuclear ammunition. The gun has a range of 37,500 metres (23.3 mi), but this can be extended to 55,500 metres (34.5 mi) by using RAPs (Rocket Assisted Projectiles). One interesting feature of the Pion is the firing alarm. Because the blast of the weapon firing is so powerful—it can physically incapacitate an unprepared soldier or crew member near it from concussive force—the Pion is equipped with an audible firing alarm that emits a series of short warning tones for approximately five seconds prior to the charge being fired.

The 2S7 carries a crew of fourteen; seven are carried by the Pion and seven are with an auxiliary vehicle. The system carries four rounds of ammunition; four more rounds are carried by the support vehicle. Due to the long range, the crew can fire one or two rounds and leave position before the first round hits the enemy position over 40 km away. This makes the 2S7 less susceptible to counter-battery fire,[2] from an enemy with a counter-battery radar such as ARTHUR.

• The 2S7 was first used in combat by the Soviet Union in Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989)
• Russian forces used it in the First and Second Chechen Wars (First war: 1994–1996, Second war: 1999–2009)
• The Georgian Army used 2S7s in the Russo-Georgian War in 2008 (7 aug.–16 aug. 2008), six of which were captured by Russian forces
• 2S7s were brought back into service by the Ukrainian army during the war in Donbas in late 2014, and were used in combat just outside the 'buffer' zone stipulated by the Minsk Protocol, as they had long enough range to still provide artillery support.[3]
• The Russian armed forces are reinforcing their artillery forces, reactivating 2S7M Malka 203 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and 2S4 Tyulpan 240 mm self-propelled mortars. The upgraded 2S7M SPH is linked to the modernised 1V12M command vehicle, which uses a GLONASS navigation unit.
• Video released by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence showed 2S7s in use during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.[4]
• The 2S7 has been pictured moving towards the border with Ukraine during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.[5]
• It was used by Ukrainian Forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as seen in this video.
• It was captured by Russian Forces from Ukrainians during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as seen in this video.

• 2S7 Pion
  • 2S7M Malka – An improved variant, which entered service in 1983, that improved the gun's fire control systems, increased the rate of fire from 1.5 to 2.5 rounds per minute, and increased the ammunition load to eight projectiles.[6][7][8]
• BTM-4 Trench Digger[2]

Map with 2S7 Pion operators in blue with former operators in red

Although no figures have been released, it is estimated that well over 1,000 have been built.[9]

•  Angola – 12; (Acquired in 2000 from the Czech Republic)[10]
•  Azerbaijan – 12; (3 acquired in 2008 and 9 acquired in 2009[11])
•  Belarus – 36 in reserve.[12]
•  Georgia[2][13]
•  North Korea – unknown
•  Russia – 60 2S7M in active service. Modernisation with new running gear and electronics completed as of December 2021.[14][15][16][17][18]
•  Slovakia – 3; (1 used for testing, 2 military museum)
•  Ukraine – 99, brought from reserve and restored to active service due to the war in Donbas.[19]
•  Uzbekistan – 48

Former operators

•  Czechoslovakia – 12 vehicles operated by 17th Large Caliber Artillery Division in Žamberk, 1984–1994.[20] One machine is kept in Military museum Lešany.
•  Poland – 8 guns. Military designation "Piwonia". Entered service in 1985 and withdrawn in 2006. Served first in the 5th Artillery Brigade in Głogów then with the 23rd Silesian Artillery Brigade in Bolesławiec.

2S7 Pion at Museum of Technics, Arkhangelskoye, Moscow Region

•  Soviet Union – Passed on to successor states.

• 2S4 Tyulpan
• 2B1 Oka
• 2A3 Kondensator 2P
• 180 mm gun S-23
• 240 mm mortar M240
• M110 howitzer

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2S7 Pion.

• Global Security page