Msta-B

The 2A65 Msta-B is a Soviet-designed 152 mm towed gun-howitzer — the divisional workhorse of Russian artillery since 1987, now fighting a drone-saturated war in Ukraine that its manual, towed configuration was never built to survive.

Overview

The 2A65 Msta-B (GRAU index 2A65; "B" for Buksiruyemaya, towed) is a 152.4 mm towed gun-howitzer developed in the late Soviet period as the modern towed counterpart to the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled system. It equips Russian motor-rifle and artillery brigades for general-support indirect fire and, alongside large numbers of older pieces drawn from storage, has formed the quantitative backbone of Russian tube artillery throughout the war in Ukraine. The type has no NATO reporting name, though some Western reference tables use the placeholder "M1987." As a towed system reliant on a six-to-ten-person crew and a manual firing cycle, the Msta-B embodies the vulnerability of unarmoured, slow-to-displace artillery in an environment saturated with reconnaissance drones and loitering munitions.

🔒 The full Msta-B file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: development history, design and capabilities, variants, the combat record, advantages and limitations, comparable systems, outlook, the full specifications table, our sourcing, and the analyst assessment — procurement, suppliers and the BattlePolicy verdict. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →