The BTR-80 chassis served as the basis for 2S23 Nona-SVK vehicle. Image courtesy of Vitaly V. Kuzmin.
The self-propelled artillery system is in service with the armed forces of Venezuela and Russia. Image courtesy of Vitaly V. Kuzmin.
The 2S23 Nona-SVK has a maximum road speed of 80km/h. Image courtesy of Vitaly V. Kuzmin.
The vehicle can carry up to four crew members. Image courtesy of Vitaly V. Kuzmin.

2S23 Nona-SVK is a self-propelled gun system designed by Russian firm Perm Machine-Building Plant to protect infantry units against enemy forces in the battlefield.

The system is currently operational with armed forces of the Russian Federation and Venezuela.

The motorised infantry units of the Russian Central Military District based in Tuva Republic, Siberia, received an undisclosed number of Nona-SVK self-propelled artillery systems in January 2018.

2S23 Nona-SVK design and features

The Nona-SVK self-propelled gun system combines the capabilities of both mortar artillery system and self-propelled howitzer.

The weapon system is mounted on a modified, eight-wheeled, BTR-80 armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis, which has an all-welded steel armour hull.

Weighing 14,500kg, the Nona-SVK is manned by a crew of four. Extensive modifications were made to accommodate the self-propelled gun system requirements. The modifications included removal of infra-red devices, roof hatches, firing ports and associated equipment.

Hatches are provided in the roof-mounted turret for crew entry / exit. The side doors towards the rear were replaced with an emergency hatch.

The modified vehicle is equipped with night vision and thermal imaging devices to give crew the ability to engage missions under low visibility conditions.

The vehicle also features amphibious capabilities, which enable it to travel in water.

Protection features of 2S23 Nona-SVK

The reinforced armoured hull of the vehicle offers a high level of ballistic protection against enemy firing.

“The system is currently operational with armed forces of the Russian Federation and Venezuela.”

The armour protection in the front part of the vehicle is designed to withstand 12.7mm armour piercing rounds, while the rear part has the capability to withstand fire from a 7.62mm machine gun.

Armament

The Nona-SVK 120mm self-propelled mortar system is equipped with a roof-mounted turret, which is armed with a 120mm calibre 2A60 type breech-loading rifled gun, a variant of 2A50 mortar system used on the 2S9 Nona-S vehicle.

The ordnance can be loaded into the gun either manually or semi-automatically.

The onboard mortar system can be operated in both direct and indirect fire modes. Ammunition rack on the vehicle can be operated manually.

The maximum firing range of the gun system with ordinary projectiles is 8.85km, whereas the rocket-assisted projectiles can be fired up to a range of 12.8km. The range of firing mines is 7.15km, while the main gun can continuously fire up to 30 rounds.

The self-propelled gun system is compatible with laser-guided Kitolov-2 artillery projectiles, which can destroy targets within the range of 9km with high precision. The projectiles improve the fire power of the system.

The other set of armament on the vehicle includes AKS-74 assault rifles and a turret-mounted 7.62mm calibre machine gun. The vehicle is also outfitted with smoke dischargers, hand grenades and anti-aircraft missiles.

Engine and performance

The Nona-SVK armoured vehicle is powered by a water-cooled V-8 Kam AZ-7403 diesel engine with a rated capacity of 260hp.

The tyre inflation system in the vehicle helps it to run on flat tyres during emergency situations.

The maximum road speed of the vehicle is 80km/h, while the maximum operational range is around 500km.

Two waterjets are installed to drive the vehicle in water at a maximum speed of 10km/h.