OSINT researcher HighMarsed has published his estimates of the number of Russian self-propelled artillery units (SAU) Msta-S, based on satellite imagery and analysis from other sources.
According to Oryx data, the loss of 188 Msta-S and 38 Msta-SM units has been visually confirmed.
As this was the newest and most powerful self-propelled artillery developed during the Soviet era, their quantity was estimated at 850 before full-scale warfare, with only a few stored in bases.
Currently, there are even fewer - less than a hundred, and some of them show removed barrels from satellite imagery. HighMarsed notes that the production of SAUs of this type continues, but in very limited quantities.
Overall, HighMarsed estimate the number of these self-propelled guns still in service to be several hundred units; however, the researcher believe that their quantity will continue to decrease, and the Russian Armed Forces will increasingly rely on older and less long-range howitzers.
