The 2S4 “Tulip” is actually a 240mm diameter steel tube fixed on a wide metal plate and the entire structure is carried on a modified SPTP SU-100P tracked chassis. For a shot, a heavy plate rests on the ground, a mine is placed in the barrel, and then a powder charge is activated, which sends the projectile to the target along a ballistic trajectory.
The firing range, depending on the ammunition, is from 0.8 to 20 km. For Tulip, there are active-reactive mines as well as unguided high-explosive mines. Minimum weight – from 130 to 228 kg. In theory, the 2S4 Tyulpan mortar could also use tactical nuclear mines that could cause an explosion of two kilotons of TNT, but in practice the mortar was never used in the nuclear version, such mines are not in service today.
Tulips were first used in Afghanistan in the 1980s to destroy militant firing points in caves and stone rubble. Tyulpan self-propelled mortars were repeatedly used by the Russian army during the second Chechen campaign, including the storming of Grozny in 1999-2000, as well as to destroy bunkers with militants.
Despite the simplicity of the design, this weapon is considered one of the most powerful in the Russian army. “These mortars belong to the so-called High Command reserve. “Tulips” is a unique weapon that has no analogues. These are the largest and heaviest mortars in the world. They are used in special cases,
– told the military expert of “socialbites.ca”, retired colonel Ivan Nikolaev.
According to Alexei Leonkov, editor of the Motherland magazine Arsenal, Tulips are needed to destroy point objects that are closed from direct hits by other structures, terrain or special fortifications. At the same time, according to the expert, they can be compared in accuracy with aerial bombs and missiles, but they are much cheaper.
“Such weapons are used when it is necessary to fortify in order to inflict maximum damage to fortifications. They are attracted to Leonkov socialbites.ca because the cost of their ammunition is incomparably lower than the cost of the same “Dagger” or “Alexander”.
Retired colonel Viktor Baranets, former press secretary of the Russian Defense Minister, also noted that Tulip has “high accuracy and incredible destructiveness”. “As a military joke, this mortar can fall into the barrel of his own gun if desired. [Если он выстрелит вертикально вверх, то мина точно вернется на место.] It has also recently been modernized, adding a special charger – no need to manually move 140-kilogram mines,” he said.
The use of the 2S4 Tyulpan is fully justified to storm the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Azov *, which are making fortifications on the territory of the Azovstal plant. “Now this is the main target. For eight years, this Ukrainian group has reached a depth and thickness that is unattainable with conventional ammunition,” he said.
Alexey Leonkov agrees with this opinion. “When the army is faced with complex fortifications that cannot be fired by conventional methods, it is necessary to act on a point along a certain perimeter and preferably with a penetrating effect, that is, by breaking the concrete floors to reach the target, “said the expert.
Leonkov added that Tulips are now combined with reconnaissance drones. “They give the exact coordinates of a target or a point where a mine should be applied, and then all the coordinates are set via the calculator,” Leonkov said.
Ivan Nikolaev also noted that the 2S4 Tyulpan works in close cooperation with unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 are mainly used. They reduce the fire to one meter. This weapon really looks like an air bomb – only cheaper and more accurate. The only limitation is that you need to be as close to the target as possible.
But if the mortar crew manages to approach while maintaining safety, the gun receives the highest efficiency, even super efficiency. The super heavy 2S4 Tyulpan is the best weapon to destroy Azov fortifications,” Nikolaev concluded.
*) – Azov Battalion – a banned neo-Nazi extremist organization in Russia