Artillery is often reclaimed as the King of Battle. The main reason for this is because
the development of artillery is focused on its ability as a powerful destructive weapon system.
Specially designed for battlefield use, the artillery has now been updated with
improved technology, including lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons,
making it highly desired in by many armies. For these reasons, Caesar self-propelled howitzer,
a truck fitted with an artillery system that has an ability to do the propelling by itself,
has its missile demand dramatically increased in the past few years.
Hello everyone. Welcome back to our channel, Military TV. In today’s episode, we’re going to
discuss about one of the most wanted artillery systems, Caesar self-propelled howitzer.
The Caesar truck-mounted artillery system is a self-propelled gun designed and developed by
Versailles-based Nexter Systems (formerly GIAT) in joint effort with Lohr Industrie
of Hangenbieten, France. Caesar evolves into an effective self-propelled artillery system
capable of delivering direct fire, counter-battery fire
as well as coastal defense in support of motorized, mechanized and armored units.
So, what makes this Caesar self-propelled howitzer become one of artillery systems mostly favored?
Well, there are some aspects of the system that can answer this question,
and we’ll look at them one by one. So, stay tuned and keep watching.
Design and features The Caesar 6×6 artillery system
evolved from the earlier 155 AM F3 automotive gun, which used the chassis of the AMX-13 light tank.
For current version as a self-propelled howitzer, the Caesar is typically installed
on two configurations of truck chassis, the 6x6 and the 8x8, which uses the entire drivetrain
manufactured by Tatra Trucks. The ones produced for France and Thailand are mounted on the
Renault Trucks Defense Sherpa 5 6×6, which has a payload capacity of 5 tons, while Caesar ordered
by Saudi Arabia used the Chassis Daimler-Benz Unimog 6×6. On the other hand, the Danish armed
forces are supported with Caesar 8×8 howitzers mounted on four-axle Tatra Force truck chassis.
This particular all-wheel drive chassis is featured with air suspension on all their axles.
Designed with an overall length of 10 m, a width of 2.55 m, and a height of 3.7 m, Caesar 6×6 has
a combat weight of around 17.7 tonnes and can be operated by four to five men. Meanwhile,
the combat weight of the 8×8 system is up to 30.2 tonnes, with a length of 12.3 m, a width of 2.8 m,
and a height of 3.1 m. This howitzer system requires a crew of five to six men. Excluding
its crew and ready armament supply, Caesar can be airlifted by a C-130 Hercules in a single load as
well as A-400, IL76, and C-17 aircraft. It is also sea transportable without any preparation.
Furthermore, this French Army’s Caesar is powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine that
produces 240 horsepower and has a power-to-weight ratio of 13.6 horsepower per ton. Therefore,
unrefuelled, the Caesar can operate at a range of 600 km with a maximum speed of 100 km/h.
In addition, a centralized ground pressure distribution system
enables Caesar to run off-road with a top speed of 50 km/h.
Fire control and navigation The Caesar weapon system is
aided by the Thales Land and Joint Systems Atlas artillery C4I (command, control, communications,
and intelligence) system. This provides onboard terminals for communications and real-time firing
sequence management, such as forwarding of fire-support requests and transmission of
firing orders based on target type, munition type, and weapon availability. Moreover,
SAGEM Sigma 30 navigation system and global positioning system are installed to eliminate
the topography and goniometer requirements, making the system enable to work autonomously.
Munitions The Caesar self-propelled howitzer
is mainly armed with a 155 mm/ 52-calibre barrel, capable of firing three rounds in 15 seconds in
rapid fire and six to eight rounds per minute in sustained fire. With an automatic hydraulic laying
system and semi-automatic loading system, the gun can be put into and taken out of action in about
30 seconds. Also, in less than a minute, a unit of eight Caesar self-propelled artillery vehicles
can dispense the extended range full bore (ERFB) ammunition, including more than 1
ton of projectiles, 1,500 bomblets, or 48 smart anti-tank munitions at targets up to 40 km away.
Since this self-propelled artillery system has conventional high-explosive
or new-generation cargo rounds, it can be deployed with high accuracy and terminal
effectiveness against protected and unprotected targets, providing counter-mobility obstacles
to block enemy armored forces’ maneuvers and obscuring the combat area. Further to this,
the artillery system’s base bleed shells provide significantly improved range by filling the
vacuum and reducing turbulence behind the projectile without sacrificing accuracy.
More interestingly, with smart submunitions from fire support requirements of rapid firings,
this Caesar howitzer can strike against tanks and other types of medium
and heavy armored vehicles to a range of up to 34 km. The explosively formed penetrator (EFP)
warhead can also be delivered to the tank's roof as a top-attack mode to destruct the enemy heavily
armored vehicle more easily compared to from its sides and front. This rapid deployment forces are
assisted by an Intertechnique ROB4 muzzle velocity radar system and a FAST-Hit computerized fire
management system produced collaboratively by Nexter and EADS Defense Electronics.
Survivability Besides having capability to fire six rounds
and glide within two minutes, the artillery system is also covered with an add-on optional armor
kit up to level 2 STANAG 4569 protection for enhanced survivability. This cabin can protect
the crew against shell fragments and small arms fire. An armored cab with levels 2a and 2b mine
and improvised explosive device protection is also available.
Overall, the Caesar is outfitted with all the systems required for independent operation,
including radio communications, inertial/GPS navigation,
ballistic computer, Muzzle velocity radar, and hydraulic laying equipment. Therefore,
it is no surprise that this self-propelled howitzer as a favourable artillery system.
Currently, instead of France, the Caesar artillery system is also in service with other countries,
such as Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Indonesia. It also has successfully seen action in numerous
military operations. For example, in October 2016 to July 2017, four Caesar were utilized
in the Battle of Mosul, in which the French Army assisted the mission or Iraqi Army
to reclaim Mosul from ISIL. Also, from November 2018 to April 2019, it was used to support the
Syrian Democratic Forces in the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani. Moreover, during Operation Serval in
Mali this artillery system was also deployed in Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL peacekeeping
force, and it has been a combat-proven in Afghanistan and Lebanon war from 2001 to 2021.
That’s all for today. Don’t forget to like, comment,
and subscribe for more interesting topics. Thank you for watching and see you in the next episode.