The 2S5 Giatsint-S is a Soviet 152 mm tracked self-propelled gun built for long-range corps- and army-level fire support. Its open rear-mounted 2A37 gun gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, while its tracked chassis and stabilizing rear spade support shoot-and-move artillery work. Sources document 2S5 use or fielding context from Afghanistan and Chechnya through the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, with additional wartime transfer evidence for Ethiopia during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War.
A Russian General Staff study translated and edited by Lester W. Grau states that the 152 mm 2S5 Giatsint self-propelled cannon was used in Afghanistan for especially difficult fire missions, while also noting reduced effectiveness in mountainous terrain against small mobile groups.
Canadian Army Line of Sight reporting on the 1995 battle for Grozny cites Russian maintenance records identifying the 2S5 SP 152 mm gun among complex systems that required factory-representative repair support during the fighting.
Secondary armor references state that Russian forces used the 2S5 Giatsint-S during the Second Chechen War; the available open sourcing supports conflict inclusion but does not identify a specific unit or fire mission.
OSCE SMM reporting documented 2S5 Giatsint-S systems in government- and non-government-controlled areas during the Donbas phase; later open-source loss reporting and battlefield accounts document Russian 2S5 losses and Ukrainian use of captured examples, including near Chasiv Yar.
Role detailsSIPRI's arms-transfer register records Ethiopia ordering about ten 2S5 self-propelled guns in 1998 and receiving them in 1999, during the Eritrean-Ethiopian War; the source supports wartime transfer context rather than confirmed battlefield firing.
Unlike turreted self-propelled howitzers, the 2S5 carries its long 152 mm 2A37 gun at the rear of the chassis. In firing position the rear spade and platform are lowered, giving the gun a stable base while much of the gun crew works outside the armored hull.
Weaponsystems.net describes the 2S5 as a tracked chassis carrying the 152 mm 2A37 gun at the rear.
Source: 2S5 Giatsint-S.
The firing layout uses a lowered rear platform and spade rather than a closed rotating turret.
Sources: 2S5 Giatsint-S; Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S.
Steel armor protects the crew during movement, but gun serving exposes crew members around the rear weapon station.
Source: 2S5 Giatsint-S.
Open references distinguish the adopted 2S5 Giatsint-S from proposed or adjacent Giatsint-family systems. Weaponsystems.net lists no adopted production variants of the 2S5; service designations such as NATO M1981 and Finland's 152 TELAK 91 are retained as aliases rather than separate variants.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2S11 Giatsint-SK | Proposed cap-loading modification | Tank-AFV lists the 2S11 Giatsint-SK as a modification with a 152 mm 2A52 gun using a cap-loading method; it is kept here as a proposed or experimental branch rather than a fielded production variant. Sources: Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S |
Tank-AFV identifies 3OF29 as the standard HE-FRAG shell for the 2S5 Giatsint-S, while Transmobile lists its Giatsint round for the 2A36 Giatsint-B and 2A37 Giatsint-S guns.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 152 mm HE-FRAG projectile | Transmobile lists the round for the 2A37 Giatsint-S gun, and Tank-AFV identifies 3OF29 as the standard HE-FRAG shell fired by the 2S5. Sources: Transmobile 152 mm round for Giatsint howitzer, Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S |
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 152 mm towed gun | Sources state that the 2S5 uses a slightly modified 2A37 gun derived from the 2A36, and that the 2S5 uses the same 152 mm ordnance as the 2A36 Giatsint-B. Sources: 2S5 Giatsint-S, 2S5 152-mm Self-Propelled Gun, 152mm 2A36 Giatsint-B |
Tank-AFV traces the Giatsint to a Soviet Central Committee and Council of Ministers decree ordering new 152 mm towed and self-propelled artillery development.
Sources: Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S
Tank-AFV reports that the 2S5 Giatsint-S was adopted by the Soviet Army after completion of prototype and field-test work.
Sources: Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S
Weaponsystems.net and Tank-AFV both place 2S5 production from 1976, with Uraltransmash associated with the vehicle and Perm Machine-Building Plant with the 2A37 gun.
Sources: 2S5 Giatsint-S, Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S
The translated Russian General Staff study on the Soviet-Afghan War says the 2S5 was used for especially difficult fire missions in Afghanistan.
Sources: The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost
Canadian Army Line of Sight cites Russian maintenance reporting that named the 2S5 among systems needing factory-representative support during the Grozny fighting.
Sources: Russian Urban Combat Tactics in Grozny
SIPRI's Eritrea-Ethiopia case study records Ethiopia receiving about ten 2S5 self-propelled guns in 1999 after a 1998 order.
Sources: United Nations Arms Embargoes: Eritrea and Ethiopia Case Study
Secondary armor references identify the 2S5 Giatsint-S among systems used during the Second Chechen War.
Sources: Tank-AFV 2S5 Giatsint-S, Potentsial i vozmozhnosti orudiy Giatsint-S i Giatsint-B
The OSCE SMM reported that a UAV spotted three 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzers in a non-government-controlled area near Shymshynivka.
Sources: OSCE SMM Daily Report 19 September 2017
The OSCE SMM reported seeing nine 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzers at the train station in government-controlled Rubizhne.
Sources: OSCE SMM Daily Report 2 September 2018
Gwara Media reported that Ukrainian special forces found a Russian 2S5 Giatsint-S position in the Kupiansk sector and that HIMARS fire destroyed the system.
Sources: Ukrainian Special Forces Destroy Russian Giatsint-S in Kupyansk Direction Using HIMARS
Defense Express reported that Ukrainian 24th Brigade troops restored a captured Russian 2S5 and fired it against Russian positions near Chasiv Yar.
Sources: Captured Russian Giatsint-S System Turns Against Moscow Near Chasiv Yar
