Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
A massive 1970’s-era Russian mega-mortar called the ‘Tulip’ has been seen on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The Russian 2S4 Tyulpan is the largest self-propelled mortar in the world – with footage of the 30-ton beast appearing on social media claiming to show it being used by Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region.
Russian forces also used it during the battle for the Azovstal steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol, with standard rounds of the Tulip capable of hitting targets nearly 10km away.
The Russians used the Tyulpan extensively during the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya – with the weapon also seen in Syria.
The warhead of its high-explosive fragmentation rounds carries the equivalent of 32kg of TNT, and it can also fire armour-piercing and laser-guided rounds, cluster munitions and chemical and tactical nuclear rounds.
Although the “Tulip” is devastating, it has an Achilles heel in the form of a slow rate of fire. It can discharge one round per minute – long enough for opposing forces to find it and launch a counterattack.
