The “Return Alive” volunteer fund released a video reportedly showing Ukrainian troops destroying a Russian Hyacinth-S 152-mm self-propelled gun 2S5, valued at up to $4 million.
Initially, white smoke is visible in the drone footage. As the drone camera approaches, explosions are seen, followed by a strong fire.
Kyiv Post could not independently verify the video’s date, location, or confirm the equipment as a Hyacinth cannon due to the video’s low quality.
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The fund reports that soldiers of the 44th Separate Artillery Brigade detected and adjusted fire on the Russian equipment using the Shark reconnaissance drone. However, it is not specified what exactly affected the Hyacinth.
The Shark drone is a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone developed after the start of the full-scale Russian attack, and it quickly passed flight tests.
“I would say that the Shark drone is the iPhone of drones of this type. It is very easy to maintain, very easy to control,” said the drone pilot with the call sign “Solyara” to the FREEDOM TV channel.
According to the Ukrainian military, this drone is highly resistant to electronic warfare, and its return technology is very well-thought-out, allowing it to operate without GPS.
“The fact is that the Russians are trying to jam GPS signals, but we don’t care about that. Disassembling and assembling the aircraft takes up to five minutes,” said Solyara.
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The drone’s flight range is up to 80 km at an altitude of up to 3 km. The Shark aircraft complex can spend several hours in the sky.
“We have a 32x mechanical zoom, not digital. That is, you can see what is written on the T-shirts of our enemies,” said a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the call sign “Bury.”
According to Ukrainian servicemen, in general, Shark is a good but expensive drone, estimated to cost several tens of thousands of dollars.
The 152mm self-propelled gun 2S5 “Hyacinth-S” is specifically designed for counter-battery combat, destroying firing points and field structures, and combating heavy self-propelled artillery installations and enemy tanks.
Equipped with a multi-seal muzzle brake, the 2S5’s barrel provides a high initial velocity to projectiles, achieving a maximum firing range of approximately 27,000 meters with conventional ammunition. Some sources cite this figure as 28,400 meters.
Additionally, it can reach up to 40,000 meters when using active-reactive projectiles, according to some accounts.
The 2S5 utilizes a family of 152mm cartridge-charged ammunition tailored for this installation and the 2A36 towed gun, which previously included projectiles with tactical nuclear charges.
The modern version of the 2S51M “Hyacinth-S” self-propelled gun costs up to $4 million.
In late April, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported the destruction of a Russian Hyacinth-S self-propelled gun using an American HIMARS system in the occupied southern region. The 73rd Maritime Center of the SSO detected the Russian gun during reconnaissance along the southern front line, where it had been targeting Ukrainian Defense Forces.
After relaying the coordinates to a Ukrainian Defense Forces artillery unit, the SSO fighters executed a precise strike.
“The enemy’s cannon managed to fire only a few shots before it was completely destroyed by HIMARS fire,” the SSO’s post read.
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