The 2S38 is a premium Soviet light vehicle based on the BMP-3 platform and intended as a potential replacement for the 2S6 Tunguska SPAA. With its punchy 57 mm autocannon, great mobility, and excellent multirole capabilities, the 2S38 is a deadly vehicle in ground battles, making it loved and hated by War Thunder players alike. However, the 2S38's various strengths are balanced out by its overall lack of armor and limited survivability, which makes it somewhat of a glass cannon.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 57 mm 2A90 cannon has a very high rate of fire and does not need to be reloaded | Armor is thin and ineffective against most enemy weaponry, also vulnerable to CAS |
| Great mobility and power-to-weight ratio | Poor survivability with a very crowded interior |
| Able to float in water (amphibious) | Limited gun depression (-5°) |
| Able to function as an effective close-range SPAA with IRST tracking and HE-VT shells | Autoloader carousel and fuel tanks can be detonated very easily |
| Turret is fully unmanned, which helps with survivability and hull-down combat | No ATGMs or other guided weaponry for longer ranged combat |
Armor
The 2S38 has negligible armor, which offers inadequate protection against most threats. Although the armor can stop light and heavy machine gun fire, autocannons and nearly all HEAT/APFSDS rounds can penetrate the armor with ease. Instead of relying on the armor to stay alive, players should utilize the 2S38's mobility to reposition and evade enemy threats before they are targeted.
Most of the 2S38's armor and chassis are composed of Alloy ABT-102, which is a high-strength aluminum alloy that is also used on the BMD-4. The optic housings and other minor parts of the vehicle are composed of RHA. The 2S38 is a relatively lightly armored vehicle and thus does not have any composite or ERA protection.
Note: The lower portion of the UFP provides a relatively high amount of HEAT protection in comparison to the rest of the armor. This is due to the dozer blade attachment, which can prematurely detonate HEAT rounds, reducing their overall effectiveness.
Survivability
On paper, the 2S38 has poor survivability due to its cramped interior, which is full of modules and other parts of the vehicle that can be easily disabled. The 3 crew members lined up at the front of the vehicle are vulnerable to enemy fire.
Warning: A shot to the center of the vehicle is usually fatal, so avoid being hit in the UFP/LFP area by large-caliber rounds at all costs.
There is a sizable dead zone behind the autoloader and in front of the engine, which can act as an empty area for rounds to pass through without causing damage.
The 2S38 does have a few systems that help to enhance its survivability, namely its LWS and smoke grenades. Additionally, the turret is unmanned so rounds that penetrate the turret will only disable modules and not injure the crew.
Laser Warning System
The 2S38's Laser Warning System (LWS) will alert the player to any laser emissions directed toward the vehicle, provide the direction from which the emission was detected, and emit a beeping warning tone.
Typical reasons for a LWS warning
- An enemy is rangefinding the vehicle with their laser rangefinder (short warning)
- An enemy is locking onto the vehicle with a laser lock for guided weapons (long/extended warning)
- A friendly accidentally used their rangefinder on the vehicle (short warning)
The LWS is an extremely useful tool in top-tier tank battles, as it allows players to preemptively react to threats. If the LWS continuously emits a tone or warning, deploy smoke grenades or seek cover immediately.
Smoke grenades + ESS
The 2S38 is also equipped with 12 smoke grenades mounted on the turret of the vehicle. Smoke grenades are useful for providing instantaneous cover or when needing to block sightlines.
Additionally, the 2S38 has an Engine Smoke Screen (ESS) module that creates a smoke screen from the engine's exhaust. Note that thermal imaging sights can "see" through ESS clouds.
Mobility
Since the 2S38 weighs in at only 21.5 tons, it has excellent mobility, with its power-to-weight ratio sitting at an impressive 23 hp/ton. On favorable terrain, the 2S38 can travel up to around 60 - 70 km/h. The 2S38 also has a respectable reverse speed of 21 km/h.
In most circumstances, the 2S38 will be one of the first vehicles to reach capture points and other advantageous positions (e.g., flank routes), and it will have little to no difficulty when traversing any type of terrain. Additionally, the 2S38 has amphibious capabilities, which allow it to float and travel in water.
Armaments
The 2S38's armaments are housed in its unmanned turret, which has a 57 mm 2A90 autocannon and a single 7.62 mm PKTM coaxial machine gun. The 2S38 is also equipped with 3rd-generation thermals (1200 x 800 px) for the gunner/commander sights and an IRST autotracker to track airborne targets.
57 mm 2A90
The 57 mm 2A90 autocannon is the primary weapon of the 2S38. With various ammunition options, the 2A90 is a versatile weapon that can effectively combat all ground vehicles and aircraft. It is fed by a 148-round single-stage carousel autoloader located in the vehicle's center that reloads every 0.5 seconds. The gun can depress up to -5° and elevate to a maximum of +75°.
The 2A90 is extremely effective at disabling and eliminating multiple enemies in a short amount of time due to its very high rate of fire (120 rounds per minute) and short reload time of 0.5 seconds. Additionally, the autoloader only has a single stage, meaning that the autoloader ready rack does not need to be reloaded at all.
| Name | Type | Max penetration @ 10 meters | What do I use it against? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR-281U | APCBC | 151 mm | Lightly armored vehicles or the side armor of MBTs |
| OR-281U | HE | 17 mm | Avoid this round due to its lack of a proximity fuse and use 3UO8 instead |
| 3UBM22 | APFSDS | 225 mm | All ground targets |
| 3UO8 | HE-VT | 17 mm | All types of aircraft |
The 3UBM22 APFSDS rounds can penetrate the weak spots of most MBTs frontally (turret rings, LFPs, etc), and have significantly more penetration than other autocannon rounds.
When combating lightly armored vehicles, the BR-281U APCBC round can be used instead of the regular 3UBM22. Although the BR-281U has less penetration, it has a sizable amount of explosive filler, which can quickly incapacitate enemy vehicles due to its effective post-penetration damage.
The 2S38 can also be a deadly SPAA when using the 3UO8 HE-VT shell. The 3UO8 has a proximity fuse that arms after 500 m of travel, meaning that a direct hit is not needed to cripple or destroy enemy aircraft. In combination with the lead indicator provided by the IRST, the 2S38 can effectively combat aircraft at distances up to 3.5 to 4 km.
7.62 mm PKTM
The smaller 7.62 mm PKTM coaxial machine gun is mounted next to the 2A90. While having a meager amount of maximum penetration (13 mm), it can still be useful for destroying obstacles like shrubbery and bushes or for pinging targets.
Recommended loadout
- Ammo: 90 rounds of 3UBM22 APFSDS, 12 rounds of BR-281U APCBC, 46 rounds of 3UO8 HE-VT.
- Camouflage: Standard/Deforming tricolor/Finnish summer camouflage for forest, Late green camouflage for urban areas, Bicolor desert/Late desert camouflage for desert, Deforming winter camouflage for snowy or winter areas.
Usage in battles
The 2S38 should be played like a stereotypical light tank. Players can easily flank enemies to attack them from the sides or reach strategic positions first and wait to ambush enemies that pass by. Knowing the proper map layout will greatly help with this.
The 2S38 performs the best on close-quarter urban maps where it can flank enemies more efficiently. On long-range maps, it is suggested to avoid using the 2S38 and to spawn an MBT first due to the 2S38's lack of weaponry suited for distanced combat (e.g., ATGMs).
Like most other light tanks, the 2S38 is quite fragile, so avoid directly contesting multiple enemies frontally. When combating MBTs from the front, aim for the turret ring or gun barrel/breech to first disable the MBT, and then shoot other weak spots or flank to secure the kill.
