The war in Ukraine is changing the artillery market around the world, countries have made a choice - Defense News
Date: 2024-06-14 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
Wheeled guns proved so effective on the Ukrainian battlefield that Western armies took a fresh look at the concept. Defense News writes about this. Unmanned aerial vehicles and rapid counter-battery fire have meant artillery must be more mobile to survive.
On June 17, an arms exhibition starts in Paris. And since the war in Ukraine has put long-range guns in the spotlight, the “star” of the event could be the Caesar howitzer mounted on a KNDS France truck, predicts retired French general Charles Baudouin.
"The audacity of the wheeled gun is maximum efficiency. You don't sacrifice anything in terms of firepower, rate of fire, accuracy or range, and yet you have a truck that's armored but agile and very stealthy," he explained.
And it’s not only France that has “caught” this trend. Over the past year, at least nine other countries, including the UK and Germany, have decided to invest in self-propelled wheeled howitzers. Analysts say the Ukrainian experience is stimulating the interest of military planners.
“Ukraine is definitely shaping the debate on towed versus wheeled howitzers,” said defense industry consultant and retired U.S. Army officer Paul Daniels.
The Israeli company Elbit Systems, which produces Atmos howitzers, noted that the war in Ukraine revealed a “critical need” for mobility. Systems like Caesar and Atmos can roll into position, fire a few shots, and be gone in a matter of minutes—a tactic known in military parlance as “shoot and run.”
According to Elbit representatives, the urgent need for artillery systems in light of the war in Ukraine forced customers to choose Atmos over other weapons systems. At the same time, KNDS stated that more and more wheel systems are now being offered and there are more and more potential buyers for them.
Interest in wheeled self-propelled artillery mounts is driven by the desire to obtain “a much higher degree of mobility and survivability” than that of towed guns.
“Before the conflict in Ukraine, many artillerymen around the world believed that for high-intensity warfare, the only serious weapon would be tracked armored vehicles. The war in Ukraine showed that, on the contrary, the Caesar is not only excellent for high-intensity warfare, but is also superior to other types of weapons ", said a KNDS representative.
According to the manufacturer, by March, about 10% of Caesar had been destroyed in Ukraine, while losses of 52-caliber tracked armor-piercing guns accounted for almost a third of the total.
