The Russian army entered the Ukrainian war in February 2022 with around 2,000 tracked howitzers. In 34 months of brutal fighting, the army lost no less than 800 units of this self-propelled artillery to the Ukrainian action. Hundreds more have been sidelined by a shortage of new gun barrels.
At the same time, the production of new howitzers is far below the assembly demand. And Russia’s once-vast stockpile of vintage Cold War howitzers would likely have dwindled in part as engineers scoured garages for intact weapons, or intact parts of other rusty weapons.
It is evident that the Russians lack cellular artillery. And this partly explains why, for the second time in six weeks, self-propelled shells from North Korea have been seen crossing Russia in wagons. Pyongyang has a major supporter of Moscow’s artillery campaign. .
This is the most generous way to describe the ever-closer relationship between the Russian artillery corps and North Korea’s secret arms industry. In less generous terms, Russian forces rely on North Korean weapons.
North Korean-made M1989 howitzers fire 170-millimeter shells. This is “a caliber for the Russians,” Estonian analyst Artur Rehi noted, while most Russian guns fire 122 or 152-millimeter shells. North Korea has sent potentially millions of such projectiles. to prevent pre-war Russian guns from firing at a combined rate of about 10,000 or more shells per day.
Until this winter, North Korea provided artillery ammunition in calibers that Russia could in principle produce itself. The Russians challenge production capacity, not capacity. If Russia and North Korea faced off diplomatically, Russian weapons could still fire, although not as frequently.
This is becoming more and more North Korean M1989s come to the front. The M1989 is the only 170-millimeter howitzer in the world. It’s conceivable that all the factories that generate the 100-pound cartridges for the giant cannons are in North Korea. – even if it has no value. Iran also acquired M1989. Every M1989 that reaches Russia probably reinforces Russia’s dependence on North Korea.
More than a year ago, the Ukrainian research organization Frontelligence Insight recorded the arrival of the first million North Korean projectiles to Russia. The source of the North Korean projectiles “raises questions about whether Russia provided money to the cash-strapped North Korean regime or shared other military technologies,” Frontelligence Insight explained at the time. What exactly was Pyongyang getting in exchange for all this ammunition?
Now we know. Moscow will “likely transfer” generation of missiles and submarines to Pyongyang, accelerating the North’s long-standing naval efforts, according to US Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command. -Korea will expand and deploy silent submarines armed with nuclear missiles. Tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
This is an unbalanced industry that largely favors North Koreans. The Russians get artillery. It is possible that the North Koreans will simply discharge underwater nuclear weapons. But what options does Russia have as its exhausted artillery corps gradually becomes more North Korean?
If Pyongyang doesn’t get what it wants, it could well disable an increasing proportion of Moscow’s most important weapons.
Sources:
1. The Military Balance 2022
2. Oryx
3. Hautmarsé
4. Kherson special cat
5. Arturo Rehi
6. General overview of frontelligence
7. Break down the defense
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