Symbiosis of Slovak Eva and Ukrainian Bohdana: what will be the next self-propelled gun for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Konstrukta Defence’s Eva is characterized by a digital fire system, automatic loading and a special system for direct fire, but some solutions from the Ukrainian company Bogdana may well be more in line with the requirements of the real battlefield
Slovak defense company Konstrukta Defence and Ukraine’s Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant have agreed to cooperate in creating a new self-propelled artillery system.
This was announced by the head of the Slovak company Alexander Gursky [Alexander Gurský], quoted by Denník E. So far, only a memorandum of cooperation has been signed, but the intentions of both companies are quite clear: to adapt Konstrukta Defence’s development of the Eva self-propelled gun to the requirements of the Armed Forces and to integrate into it the solutions of the Ukrainian company that developed the first domestic self-propelled gun in the 155-mm caliber “Bogdan”.
At the same time, it is worth recalling that the first proposal to cooperate in this area was made by the Slovak side back in 2020. In particular, in an exclusive interview with Defense Express, representatives of the Slovak defense industry announced their interest in joining the development of Bohdana.
In other words, in any case, we will be talking about a certain symbiosis of existing solutions, which should obviously speed up development. But the starting point, as it seems now, will be Eva, which Malaysia wanted to buy in 2022.
In fact, it is an open artillery system with a modified swinging part from the Zuzana 2 self-propelled gun in 155-mm caliber and with a barrel length of the current standard 52 caliber. The range of the projectiles with improved aerodynamics and a bottom generator ERFB-BB is 41 km.
The APC has a 12-round automatic loader, with the same amount of ammunition in the ammunition magazine. The Eva, which has a crew of only three people, has a rate of fire of five rounds per minute and 12 rounds in three minutes. The self-propelled gun has a modern digital fire control system, an inertial navigation system (not just satellite), and a radar to measure the speed of the projectile to increase the accuracy of fire. In addition, the vehicle received a modern direct fire system with a thermal imager and laser rangefinder.
It is difficult to predict how the symbiosis of Eva and Bogdana solutions, which can also be mounted on a Tatra chassis, will look like. Perhaps we will be talking about simplifying the artillery system itself, because of course a thermal imager and a laser rangefinder for direct fire are good, but they will increase the cost of the system.
The issue of having a 12-shot automatic rifle may also be reconsidered, as real combat experience shows that a much more powerful and stable firepower is needed. This may even come at the cost of using only standard mechanization equipment during charging.
But in any case, this kind of cooperation between defense companies to create new models for the Armed Forces, and after the Victory for export, is what should form a new trend in the development of the Ukrainian defense industry, which has no right to continue to live in self-isolation.
At the same time, there is already a certain threat to the existence of this project. According to the publication, the political landscape of Slovakia may well change after the elections in September, where parties that do not want to support Ukraine’s struggle, including Smer, may come to power. Although, as Konstrukta Defence emphasized, in reality, real defense projects of private companies have little to do with the government’s position.
