Kenyan military demonstrates Serbian Nora B52 self-propelled guns on Russian chassis

The Kenyan military demonstrated using the Serbian Nora B52K1 155mm self-propelled artillery system, mounted on a Russian KamAZ-63501 chassis.

The Kenyan Ministry of Defense published photos taken during the exercises.

The exact number of self-propelled artillery units of this type received is unknown, but there is information that the country ordered about 30 combat vehicles (6 batteries) in 2014–2015.

Kenya may have already received all the Nora B52K1 units it ordered.

In general, this Serbian self-propelled artillery system is in steady demand on the international market. The armed forces of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Algeria, and Azerbaijan had purchased it.

In particular, Azerbaijan signed a contract to supply 48 units, which was announced at the end of February 2024. The value of the deal is estimated at US$ $339 million.

Nora B52

The Nora B-52 is a modern Serbian 155mm wheeled self-propelled artillery system developed by Yugoimport SDPR engineers in 2006.

The self-propelled gun is based on the D-20, but with an increased barrel length of 52 calibers, significantly improving its ballistic characteristics.

Some components and mechanisms were also borrowed from the M-46 gun, but the design has been significantly modified to meet new technical requirements. The gun barrel provides a firing range of up to 41 kilometers when using ERFB-BB shells, which is comparable to the best Western counterparts.

The combat module is mounted on a rotating platform at the rear of the armored chassis with an 8×8 wheel configuration.

In the marching position, the gun is fixed in the direction of travel, and for firing, it swivels back and is stabilized by four electro-hydraulically driven telescopic outriggers, which ensure firing accuracy even on uneven terrain.

The loading system is partially automated. The equipment is operated by a crew of three to five people. There are 36 shells on board: 12 of them are loaded into the automatic loading drum and ready for immediate use, while another 24 are stored in an additional compartment behind the cabin.