About 30 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzers have already been assembled for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Economichna Pravda reported on this with reference to its own sources in the Armed Forces.

According to them, Ukraine is also developing a towed version of this 155-mm artillery system.

“The PJSC “KZTS” shared that the Ukrainian military’s Bohdana is one of the most widely used 155-caliber self-propelled artillery systems, and there are dozens of them at the front,” the article says.

As planned, the gun barrel is manufactured by the Kramatorsk Heavy Duty Machine Tool Building Plant (PJSC “KZTS”). According to the developers, a total of 25 companies and 400 people are involved in the production of the Bohdana. Some critical components are produced at their own sites abroad. They plan to return the plants to Ukraine as soon as the opportunity arises. Also, some processes have been decentralized to protect against missile attacks.

It is worth noting that the 2S22 ACS prototype was based on the KrAZ wheeled chassis. However, in 2021, the truck manufacturing plant declared bankruptcy and frozen production. Therefore, for the serial production of self-propelled guns had to look for another option.

Then Ukrainian Armor entered the project and was tasked with developing and manufacturing armored cabins for the new chassis.

When looking for a wheeled chassis, the choice initially fell on Belarusian MAZ trucks. Ukrainian companies have not been buying these vehicles since the beginning of 2022, but several units were in stock. Therefore, the Bohdanas on MAZ trucks were the first to be contracted by the Ministry of Defense. It was a one-time decision to speed up the delivery of new domestic self-propelled artillery systems to the Armed Forces.

Later, Bohdanas based on the Czech Tatra T815-7 chassis were introduced. The Ministry of Defense allocated these trucks from its own depots. They were purchased before the large-scale Russian invasion. The military speaks favorably of this chassis, but it is twice as expensive as the Belarusian one and has a long production cycle of more than a year. Therefore, it is unlikely to become the main chassis for Bohdana.

According to Vladyslav Belbas, CEO of Ukrainian Armor Design and Manufacturing Company, the concept of the Bohdana self-propelled guns provides for the possibility of installing the artillery system on different chassis to keep up the production rate. A solution to continue mass production has already been found.

The PJSC “KZTS” told Economichna Pravda that all Bohdana self-propelled guns are already supplied to the military with a ramming device, which partially simplifies the work of gunners. The developers believe that the absence of complex automated equipment makes the system more suitable for quick repairs.

In early December, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had reached the production rate of six 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzers per month. In November this year, Brigadier General Serhii Baranov shared that the Ukrainian defense industry was developing a towed gun.