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The god of war, an infantryman’s nightmare, the rumble of death…That’s right, today
we’re talking about howitzers.
As they say: The more the merrier!
This is a weapon that, when used properly, wipes everything off the face of the earth.
It robs soldiers of their sleep and their lives.
Today, this weapon is currently in the very capable hands of the Ukrainian military.
War moves technology forward, and once again we are inviting you to see it for yourselves.
This is when quality really counts.
At the end of the video, we’re going to give you an example of just how important
it is to put the latest technology in the hands of skillful gunners.
Do we have your attention?
Great!
Get comfortable, and bon appetit if you decide to grab a snack.
We are locked and loaded.
Fire!
For starters, here’s an interesting fact about howitzers.
One of them has been a law-breaker.
Let us tell you a little more.
We’re sure you’ll find it interesting.
In the early 80s, the Argentine company CITEFA put the barrel of a 155mm Mk F3 self-propelled
artillery installation on a gun carriage.
The gun was accepted into the Argentine military as the 155-mm L33 X1415 CITEFA model 77 howitzer.
Four of these weapons were deployed in the Falkland Islands, where they were subsequently
captured by the British army during the Falklands conflict.
The captured howitzers were shipped to the UK for testing.
In the first half of the 1990s, L33 howitzers were illegally supplied to Croatia in violation
of the UN Security Council embargo and were even used in military actions.
See?
We told you it would be interesting!
The M777 This is a British howitzer, which, by the
way, is now being used in eastern Ukraine in true warlike conditions, and it is performing
marvelously.
Let’s take a closer look at its specs.
This howitzer’s caliber is 155-mm.
It was designed to replace the M198 howitzer.
The M777 and M198 have the same firing range, but the M777 is 42% lighter.
It weighs just 9300 pounds, making it the lightest howitzer of its type in the world.
For comparison, the M198 weighs nearly 16,000 pounds.
The M777’s relatively small mass allows it to be transported on the external sling
of a CH-47 helicopter or an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor.
It also makes landing, maintenance, and storage a whole lot easier.
The howitzer’s crew is just 5 people.
Compare that to the 10-man crew of the M198.
Its conventional ammunition can reach distances of 15 miles, but special projectiles can achieve
20 miles or more.
Excalibur shells can be fired up to 25 miles.
The howitzer’s rate of fire varies depending on the approach.
Intensive firing can yield 5 rounds per minute, but only for up to 2 minutes.
However, the standard pace can deliver a consistent 2 shots per minute.
Deployment takes less than 3 minutes.
Putting it away is even faster: less than 2 minutes.
The M777 is in service with countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and
now Ukraine.
The weapon first saw combat in the war in Afghanistan.
The FH77 and FH77 BW L52 Archer The FH77 is a Swedish 155 mm howitzer released
by Bofors back in 1978, and put into service that same year.
The FH77’s main requirements were mobility and a high rate of fire.
The FH77 was the first howitzer to be equipped with its own auxiliary power unit for maneuvering
within tactical limits.
Based on this howitzer, the FH77 BW L52 Archer was developed and released in 2014.
This is a fully automated, self-propelled 155mm howitzer.
Loading, stowage, and firing take place within an armored cabin, providing full protection
for the crew.
Upon receiving the signal to fire, it takes the Archer less than 30 seconds to stop, get
into position, and take its first shot.
Once the mission has been completed, it takes less than 30 seconds for the Archer to be
back on its way.
The 33-ton piece of equipment is specially designed to move through even the toughest
terrain at speeds of up to 44 mph.
It has a 6x6 wheel arrangement and a cruising range of up to 310 miles.
It has a strike range of 25 miles when using 155-mm ammunition and 37 miles with precision-guided
munitions such as the Excalibur.
The ammo rack holds 21 rounds, all of which can be fired in just 2.5 minutes from fully
automatic magazines in an unmanned turret.
The Archer's armored cab includes four workstations, but it only takes one person to operate the
system.
The self-propelled gun’s standard crew consists of a commander, a gun operator, and a driver.
The on-board ballistic computer and automated ammunition control system make it possible
to choose the turret angle and powder charge so that each shell strikes the target almost
simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the installation itself has already made a clean getaway, thereby avoiding a counterstrike.
There are about 50 units in service in Sweden, some of which were sent to Ukraine.
The FH70 This Howitzer is a joint project between England,
Germany, and Italy.
Let's go through the basic requirements that were laid out for this weapon’s development
plan.
There are quite a few, namely: 1.
A high rate of fire.
2.
Good mobility with minimal deployment time.
3 Increased firing range.
4 Cartridge loading - but we’ll explain that in a little more detail.
A cartridge cloth is a covering made of raw silk, dense cotton, acetate, or other fabric,
usually cylindrical in shape, in which the propellant charge for artillery and mortar
rounds is placed.
In addition to being durable, the cartridge material should completely combust along with
the charge itself when fired.
“Cartridge” referred to both this cover and the gunpowder it contained.
The system includes an artillery unit with a recoil device and a shell loading mechanism.
This semi-automatic loading system works at any barrel angle and consists of a loading
chute that delivers the projectile to the breech, thereby providing a max rate of fire
of 6 rounds per minute.
In the stowed position, the barrel is rotated 180 degrees towards the towing vehicle.
It has a top towing speed of 62 mph.
The howitzer weighs 9.6 tons with the Auxiliary Power Unit.
It has a crew of 8 people.
Its wheels are equipped with hydraulic mechanisms.
In firing mode, the howitzer is lowered to the ground.
The gun-carriage has wheels with an auxiliary power unit, hydraulic drive, and sliding frames.
Its maximum range is between 15 and 19 miles.
This howitzer has been in operation since 1978 and serves in countries like Italy, Malaysia,
Estonia, and others.
According to the latest information, 39 of these howitzers will be included in Italy’s
3rd aid package to Ukraine.
The PzH 2000 (Panzerhaubitze 2000) This is a German self-propelled artillery
unit on a tracked chassis and a rotating turret - developed by the company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
in 1998.
It is equipped with a 155-mm cannon, navigation system, automated fire control system, automatic
loading system with 60 rounds of ammunition and 228 modular propellant charges, and an
automatic fire detection and extinguishing system.
It is also possible to install hinged dynamic protection units on the roof and sides of
the turret.
The PzH 2000 is capable of firing three rounds in nine seconds or ten rounds in 56 seconds
at ranges up to 19 miles.
This howitzer holds a world record.
At a training ground in South Africa, it fired an active-rocket projectile with improved
aerodynamics to a distance of 35 miles.
The PzH 2000 is one of the most advanced self-propelled artillery designs in the world, combining
survivability, mobility, range, and a high rate of fire with a variety of modern munitions.
It is in service with many European countries, including Ukraine now.
Remember that we promised to tell you how technologies should be in the hands of skilled
gunners?
We know you’ve been patiently waiting.
So let's make this our conclusion for today's video.
Nothing we share in our videos is classified information.
Everything comes from open sources.
Ukrainian IT specialists have created an application through which artillery gunners can receive
intelligence data.
Oh yeah, Elon Musk and his Starlink project are involved.
Picture this: a Ukrainian artilleryman gets the coordinates of an enemy's location in
the app.
Not only can he fire a shot immediately, but he can do it together with his friends!
You see, the coordinates come to every crew within striking range of the target.
The info even includes combat positions and the attack time.
Another huge advantage to this app is that vehicles don't have to be together for a coordinated
shot.
The artillery platforms can be located in totally different places.
As a result, the enemy simply doesn’t know where the fire is coming from, and therefore
doesn’t know where to send a “response”.
Thanks to Starlink, all of this happens with extraordinary speed and clarity.
So there is your brief example of how important it is to be one step ahead.
In this particular case, you can easily see the contrast between the army of the future
and an army that’s still stuck in World War II.
Stay with us if you’d like to find out more.
It only gets more interesting from here!
We hope you enjoyed this video.
Which howitzer do you think is the most powerful and dangerous?
Leave your answers in the comments.
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