2K22 Tunguska | 2K22M Tunguska |
The 2K22 Tunguska is a Soviet Anti-Air Artillery vehicle that sports autocannons and anti-air missiles, making it one of the most versatile and efficient (though also one of the costliest) AA units in the game.
The 2K22 Tunguska is a Russian tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles in all weather conditions. Its NATO reporting name is SA-19 "Grison".
History[]
Development of the system started on 8 June 1970, at the request of the Soviet Ministry of Defence the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula under the guidance of the appointed Chief Designer AG Shipunov started work on a 30 mm anti-aircraft system as a replacement for the 23 mm ZSU-23-4.
The project which was given the designation "Tunguska" was a response to the observed shortcoming of the ZSU-23-4 (short range and no early warning) and a counter to new ground attack aircraft in development such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II which was designed to be highly resistant to 23 mm cannons. Studies were conducted and demonstrated that a 30 mm cannon would require two-to-three times fewer shells to destroy a given target than the 23 mm cannon of the ZSU-23-4, and that firing at a MiG-17 (or similarly at, in case of war, NATO's Hawker Hunter or Fiat G.91) flying at 300 m/s, with an identical mass of 30 mm projectiles would result in a kill probability of 1.5 times greater than with 23 mm projectiles. An increase in the maximum engagement altitude from 2,000 to 4,000 m and increased effectiveness when engaging lightly armoured ground targets were also cited.
The initial requirements set for the system were to achieve twice the performance in terms of range, altitude and combat effectiveness than the ZSU-23-4, additionally the system should have a reaction time no greater than 10 seconds. Due to the similarities in fire control of artillery and missiles it was decided that Tunguska would be a combined gun and missile system. By combining guns and missiles, the system is more effective than the ZSU-23-4, engaging targets at long-range with missiles, and shorter range targets with guns.
In addition to KBP as the primary contractor other members of the Soviet military industrial complex were involved in the project, the chassis were developed at the Minsk tractor factory, the radio equipment at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory Ulyanovsk, guidance and navigational systems by VNII "Signal" and optics were developed by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association LOMO.
However development was slowed between 1975 and 1977 after the introduction of the 9K33 Osa missile system, which seemed to fill the same requirement but with greater missile performance. After some considerable debate it was felt that a purely missile based system would not be as effective at dealing with very low flying attack helicopters attacking at short range with no warning as had been proven so successful in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Since the reaction time of a gun system is around 8–10 seconds, compared to the reaction time of missile-based system, approximately 30 seconds, development was restarted.
The initial designs were completed in 1973 with pilot production completed in 1976 at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory. System testing and trials were conducted between September 1980 and December 1981 on the Donguzskom range. It was officially accepted into service on 8 September 1982 and the initial version designated 2K22/2S6, with four missiles in the ready to fire position (two on each side). The Tunguska entered into limited service from 1984 when the first batteries were delivered to the army.
In some Motor Rifle and Tank Regiments 2K22 Tunguska either replaced both Missile and gun Air Defense vehicles or just the gun Air Defense system in the antiaircraft battery.
Overview[]
The 2K22 Tunguska is an Anti-Aircraft Artillery Support vehicle available to PACT forces.
It arms 2 Anti-Air defense weapons, the 9M311 SACLOS Anti-Air Missile system and the fast-firing 2A83M Radar Rounds gun. This is accompanied by the higher than average armor, given that it is a support vehicle. It is also fairly mobile, performing at 60 km/h off-road and 110 km/h on, yet maintaing high autonomy. It carries Exceptional optics, though many other Anti-Aircraft vehicles do as well, meaning that your Tunguska can take place a Recon unit in squadrons.
The Tunguska is very flexible on the battlefield. This means that you can deploy it alone, to scout regions and generally provide mobile AA support for friendlies. Its SACLOS missiles carry fair range and its Radar rounds can fire consistently against helicopters and infantry and can stun low speed fixed-wing aircraft.
While being flexible, both mobile and able during immoblisation, it lacks any dedication found in the Anti-Aircraft Artillery or Anti-Aircraft Missiles. Its SACLOS missiles and Radar rounds struggle in performance compared to the higher grade weapons found in the Anti-Aircarft Artillery and Missile vehicles. The Radar Rounds lack higher damage or faster firing than the better Anti-Air Artillery's guns and the 9M331 SAM lacks long range more expensive Anti-Air Missiles feature.
The Tunguska is a unique unit. It does strange compared to other conventional Anti-Air support units, being a fairly armored and mobile AA support vehicle. Use its unusual functions to you advantage, keep it mobile, keep it with mobile and active squads, do that, and you will keep your Tunguska at full potential to strike at Aircraft looking for the upper-hand of what they see as an unsupported armored squad.