What is the Caesar cannon that France supplies to Ukraine

To complete its offensive in the Donbass, the Russian army intensely pounded the Ukrainian forces with its artillery. So that the Ukrainian army can counter-attack, NATO allies provide 155 mm artillery pieces. Among them, the French Caesar guns. Futura tells you all about this gun made in France.

At the end of last week, during an interview with West France, President Emmanuel Macron slipped in a short sentence that did not go unnoticed by Ukrainians. He explained that among the heavy armaments, France was going to deliver 12 Caesar guns, thousands of shells, as well as missile Milano. In parallel since this weekend, about forty Ukrainian gunners are in training in France at the Canjuers camp, in the south of France, so that the crews and the artillery systems are operational at the beginning of May. With this supply of heavy weapons, the France thus joins several NATO countries, such as the United States, Canada, Poland, the United Kingdom… All keep in mind to make sure not to cross the red line which could make them co-belligerents.

Conceived by Nexter, the Caesar artillery system is not just a cannon. It is integrated into a 6×6 or 8×8 off-road truck with a range of 600 kilometers. Its 460 hp engine allows it to travel on the road at 80 km/h. The advantage of this set is that it allows the artillery piece to move quickly and change position frequently after its salvos. Like the 72 howitzers supplied by the United States, this long gun has a caliber of 155 mm. It is able to hit a target 40 kilometers away with excellent accuracy. Its firing capacity is six rounds per minute. The assembly can be transported by a Hercules C130 or a A400M Atlas.

A mobile and precise artillery system

Currently, the French army has 76 caesar cannons and plans to acquire 33 equipped with the new NG standard. This allows you to improve your resistance, especially that of his cabin. The precision of the shots is further optimized by an upgrade of the instruments. The Caesar NG will also be able to use future precision munitions. Unless it is compensated, this donation of 12 guns to the Ukrainian forces should reduce the future fleet of 109 guns that the French army was to have by 2025.

The Caesar was notably used in the Levant for the fight against the Islamic State group from 2016 to 2019. In all, more than 100,000 shells and smoke bombs were fired with these systems during external operations. If it is known for its effectiveness, use it to face the roller russian compressor is another matter. Because in the theater of Donbass, the Russian army employs its usual doctrine of massive bombardments with many pieces artillery. A classic and violent technique allowing to reduce the enemy forces and their equipment before considering an assault with troops. These are essentially 152mm guns with a long range, but less mobile and less accurate. In fact, faced with this Russian artillery, with the American 155 mm guns, these 12 Caesars could give the advantage of mobility and precision to the Ukrainian forces and change the course of the Battle of Donbass.