Ukraine boosts artillery precision with advanced French fuzes

Currently, Ukraine faces a critical shortage of artillery shells, making any enhancement in lethality and precision extremely valuable. Upgrading fuzes, which can be easily attached to the tips of shells, is one method of improving artillery effectiveness.

Most commonly, simple impact fuzes, which activate a TNT charge upon hitting the ground, are utilized. However, there are more advanced options available, including modules equipped with GPS and INS navigation systems for flight path correction, like the M1156 PGK (Precision Guidance Kit) mentioned by journalist Łukasz Michalik from Wirtualna Polska, as well as simpler non-contact fuzes such as the RALEC F3.

The RALEC F3 fuzes can be programmed to detonate either upon impact with the target or a few meters above the ground, according to the operator's preference. It's important to note that traditional artillery shells are not most effective against robust field fortifications, as sufficiently thick earth mounds or sandbag layers can absorb the fragments from the shell's steel cast body.

The scenario changes dramatically when the explosion takes place in the air, allowing fragments to bypass obstacles that would otherwise protect soldiers in trenches. It's worth mentioning that artillery fragments can possess enough force to penetrate several dozen millimeters of steel, making them capable of breaching helmets or bulletproof vests.

The only reliable form of protection against weapons like the M30A1 rockets with an Alternative Warhead (AW), which disperses 182,000 tungsten balls upon detonation, is to take shelter in a dugout or an armored vehicle during the attack.