Ukraine has revealed new details about the Marta, a new version of the 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer mounted on a Mercedes-Benz Zetros military truck.
According to a report by the specialized website Defence Blog, the information was confirmed during the Eurosatory 2026 defense exhibition, held in Paris.
According to representatives of Ukraine’s defense industry, the system will use a 155 mm gun with an L39 barrel and will be part of a batch of 200 units financed by Germany. The project is part of military cooperation agreements signed between Kyiv and Berlin at the end of 2025, which allocated around €750 million, approximately US$870 million, for the production of the vehicles.
The Bohdana was the first NATO-standard self-propelled howitzer developed by Ukraine and has already been used in combat during the war against Russia. In recent years, the system has appeared on different platforms, including KrAZ, MAZ, and Tatra chassis. The new Marta version will use the German Zetros truck, widely employed by European armed forces.
According to analysts, the adoption of the German chassis could facilitate maintenance and the supply of spare parts, as well as increase logistical compatibility with NATO countries. The use of the Zetros is also aligned with the fact that Germany is the main financier of the program.
Although the L39 gun may have a potentially shorter range than Western systems equipped with L52 barrels, such as the German PzH 2000 howitzer, the configuration prioritizes mobility and rapid redeployment, features considered essential for surviving counter-battery operations on the Ukrainian battlefield. Performance details of the new system have not yet been disclosed.
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Photo: Reproduction / Defence Blog. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
