SOKO Praga

_YugoSlav · August 11, 2026, 11:48am

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SOKO Praga

The SOKO Praga is a Serbian lightly armored wheeled self-propelled howitzer created by installing a modified 122 mm D-30J howitzer in a specially constructed armored turret on the chassis of the M53/59 Praga 6x6 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.

History and Description

The SOKO project originated from Yugoimport-SDPR’s efforts to develop relatively inexpensive self-propelled artillery systems by combining proven weapons with existing vehicle platforms. During the 2000s, the company maintained its own military-technology development office, concentrating primarily on the modernization of Soviet and Yugoslav-designed equipment. Encouraged by the export of 224 modernized 105 mm and 155 mm towed howitzers, its designers decided to develop a mobile 122 mm self-propelled howitzer.

The project received the working designation SOKO, the Serbian word for falcon. The name was also explained as an abbreviation of Samohodno Oruđe Kratkog vremena Odziva, meaning approximately “self-propelled weapon of short response time.”This designation reflected the purpose of the system. SOKO was intended to provide mobile fire support to rapid-deployment and combined-arms units requiring an artillery weapon that could occupy a position, calculate firing data, fire a short engagement and relocate before being struck by counter-battery fire. Compared with conventional tracked self-propelled howitzers, it was intended to offer lower acquisition and operating costs while retaining adequate mobility, crew protection and firepower.

For the first technological demonstrator, the designers selected the chassis of the M53/59 Praga twin 30 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. The Praga was a compact armored 6x6 vehicle with sufficient mobility and carrying capacity for an experimental lightweight artillery system. The original anti-aircraft installation was removed and replaced by a specially developed armored gun turret carrying the 122 mm D-30J howitzer. The completed vehicle combined the established D-30J artillery system with a new turret, assisted loading equipment, protected ammunition stowage, powered gun laying and electro-hydraulic stabilizers.

The first reported live-firing trials of the 122 mm SOKO took place in October 2009 at the Technical Test Centre’s Nikinci proving ground. The vehicle subsequently participated in further live-firing activities at the Pešter training area, while testing of the demonstrator continued. SOKO was also publicly demonstrated during the Serbian Armed Forces exercise “Resolute Response 2009,” alongside systems such as the NORA B-52, Lazar, Kurjak and the artillery-reconnaissance BOV.
The Praga-based vehicle remained a technological demonstrator and did not enter serial production. Nevertheless, it served to test the feasibility of combining the D-30J with a compact armored wheeled chassis, a protected crew compartment, assisted loading and a modernized fire-control arrangement.

In December 2009, a second 122 mm functional model was completed on the larger FAP 2228 6x6 truck chassis. This later development is generally associated with the SOKO SP RR designation. It had a different chassis, dimensions, weight, ammunition capacity and crew layout and should therefore not be confused with the Praga technological demonstrator. The SOKO M09 was another separate project, armed with a 105 mm howitzer and based on a different truck platform.

The vehicle had a crew of five. The available descriptions identify the driver, commander, gunner and loader, although the precise duties and position of the fifth crew member are not described in detail by the supplied sources.

The turret was divided around the howitzer and its loading equipment. The gunner was positioned on the left side of the weapon and was provided with an access door in the left turret wall. His station contained the sighting and gun-laying controls. On the front-right side of the turret was a protected ready-ammunition compartment holding 18 rounds. The loader sat beside this compartment and manually transferred the ammunition components into the loading device. The mechanism then inserted or rammed them into the howitzer. The system was therefore an assisted or semi-automatic loader rather than a completely autonomous autoloader. An additional 18 rounds were stored in the modified rear section of the forward driver and commander’s compartment.

The main armament was the Yugoslav-produced 122 mm D-30J howitzer. It could fire standard high-explosive ammunition to approximately 17.3 km and extended-range HE/BB ammunition to approximately 21 km. Contemporary descriptions also emphasized the ability to use the gun for direct fire in emergencies, although SOKO was primarily intended as an indirect-fire artillery system.
The gun could be elevated from approximately -7 degrees to +70 degrees and traversed approximately 45 degrees left or right. Movement in elevation and traverse was power-assisted. The broader SOKO concept incorporated the AFCCS fire-control system, which was intended to improve the speed and accuracy with which the vehicle received firing information, calculated ballistic solutions and laid the gun. The system was also intended to allow SOKO vehicles to exchange data with observation and command elements.

The recoil of a 122 mm howitzer was considerably greater than the Praga chassis had originally been designed to absorb. To stabilize the vehicle, two large electro-hydraulic supports were installed at the rear. These were lowered before firing, transferring part of the recoil load into the ground and increasing the stability of the platform.

A small rotating cupola was installed on the turret roof above the loader’s area. It carried a 7.62 mm M84 machine gun for defense against infantry.

The forward cab and artillery compartment were protected by light armor. Jugoimport-SDPR described the vehicle as having protection corresponding to STANAG 4569 Level I, sufficient mainly against small-arms fire and artillery fragments.

Combat weight is approximately 15 tonnes according to the contemporary ATM description. The Yugoimport-SDPR report gives 12 tonnes, possibly referring to a nominal, incomplete or unloaded configuration. A component-based estimate places the fully equipped and ammunition-loaded Praga demonstrator at approximately 14.5 tonnes. In travelling configuration, it is approximately 6.75 m long, 2.8 m wide and 2.9 m high. With the rear supports lowered, its length increased to approximately 7.6 m and its overall deployed width to approximately 4.1 m.

Specifications

Essentials
- Length; 6.75 m
- Width; 2.8 m
- Height; 2.9 m
- Ground Clearance; 0.4 m
- Mass; 14,500 kg (estimate)
- Crew; 4-5
- Six-wheel drive (6x6)
Protection
- Armor; 10 mm (protects from 7.62mm)
- APS; N/A
- ERA; N/A
- Smoke; N/A
Mobility
- Engine; Famos FF103A or F010A, 107 kW, 145 hp
- Power/weight; 10 hp/t
- Transmission; 4 forward and 2 reverse gears
- Top speed; 60 kph
- Amphibious; No
- Gradient; 60%
- Side slope; 30%
- Vertical obstacle; 0.46 m
- Trench; 0.69 m
- Fording depths; 0.8 m
Firepower
- Main; 122 mm 35 caliber D-30J howitzer
  - Fire rate; 6 rounds/min
  - 36 rounds in total (two-piece ammo)
  - Stabilizer; N/A
  - Vertical; -7° / +70°
  - Horizontal; 45° / 45°
  - Turret rotation speed; unknown
  - Zoom; unknown
  - Types of rounds:
    - HE
    - HE/BB
    - HEAT (pen: 460 mm)
- Secondary; 7.62 mm M86 machine gun
  - Penetration at 10 m; 10 mm
  - Fire rate; 700-800 shots/min
  - Belt capacity; 100 or 250 rounds