Outwardly, this armored vehicle relies on a conventional arrangement. The turret superstructure is set over the middle-rear of the vehicle hull and fits a powerful 152mm (152.4mm) 2A88 series main gun. The gun tube is slotted at the muzzle (for some recoil reduction) and features a fume extractor along its length and an integrated recoil mechanism (the latter useful in "firing on-the-move" when the situation requires it). The turret is completely enclosed and sports a machine gun emplacement (remote-controlled) along the roof to help defend against low-flying aircraft and infantry assaults. Hatches at the roof line (and along the turret sides) allow for crew access. The hull has two hatches over the front crew positions while the glacis plate is well-sloped, nearly horizontal for basic ballistics protection. Over the glacis plate is an A-type locking assembly for securing the long barrel during travel. The running gear includes six rubber-tired road wheels to a hull side (similar to that as seen on the T-90 Main Battle Tank) with the drive sprocket at rear with the track idler at front. The track and road wheel upper sections are minimally protected by thin armor panels (side skirts) with a saw-tooth design to them. Smoke grenade dischargers are present at the sides and roof edges of the turret to allow the vehicle to self-screen to an extent. Drive power is delivered through a liquid-cooled, diesel-fueled engine developing 1,000 horsepower. An auxiliary system provides power when the vehicle is stationary and the engine shut down.
Sources state that the crew complement may number just three personnel due to the heavy level of automation supposedly built into the vehicle's functionality (SPGs typically fit a crew of four or five, such is their complexity).
The main gun system provides engagement ranges of target areas out to seventy kilometers. The system also supports the latest in Russian precision-guided projectiles (for increased accuracy at range) as well as older in-service projectile types (like smoke, chemical and nuclear). With an autoloader, it is estimated that the gun can yield a rate-of-fire near fifteen to twenty rounds-per-minute. A digital suite aids the operators in selecting proper charge levels, ammunition types and in engagement of the firing action.
The 2S35 is one of several Russian Army vehicles being debuted in the next few years, answering the call of Russian leaders to modernized the service with more advanced post-Soviet-era equipment. The T-14 Main Battle Tank leads the way and is followed by several armored vehicle types - both wheeled and tracked - as well as the 2S35 SPG series.
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