Assault River Crossing, by Richard J. Terry, 1982 Moscow pursued a comprehensive program of upgrading its artillery fire support and deployed the 2S1, a new 122mm self-propelled howitzer, to Central Europe beginning in the 1980s. The technically advanced 2S1 can keep pace with the tank and motorized rifle units of the Russian Army. Russia continues to export the 2S1 with other military hardware making them a threat to U.S. conventional forces deployed throughout the world.