CAESAR self-propelled howitzer — BrandWiki

CAESAR self-propelled howitzer

Overview

CAESAR

origin	France
wars	War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Cambodian–Thai border stand-off Operation Serval Operation Chammal Battle of Mosul (2016–2017) Battle of Baghuz Russian invasion of Ukraine
type	Self-propelled cannon
is ranged	Yes
is vehicle	yes
manufacturer	KNDS France
design date	1992–1999
production date	2004–present
service	2008–present
length	Mk1 (Sherpa 5 6×6): 10 m Mk1 (Tatra 817 8×8): 10 m *Mk2 (6×6): 10 m
width	Mk1 (Sherpa 5 6×6): 2.55 m Mk1 (Tatra 817 8×8): 2.8 m *Mk2 (6×6): 2.55 m
height	Mk1 (Sherpa 5 6×6): 3.7 m Mk1 (Tatra 817 8×8): 3.1 m *Mk2 (6×6): 3.6 m
weight	Mk1 (Sherpa 5 6×6): 17.7 t‡R1R‡ Mk1 (Tatra 817 8×8): 28.7 to 30.2 t‡R1R‡ *Mk2 (6×6): < 26.7 t‡R2R‡
speed	On-road: 100 km/h Off-road: 50 km/h
vehicle range	600 km
primary armament	155 mm, L/52 calibre
secondary armament	None
rate	6 rounds per minute
range	ERFB: 4.5 to 40 km‡R2R‡ Rocket assisted shell: 55 km‡R2R‡ *Excalibur shell: 46 km‡R2R‡
engine	Diesel
crew	5–6 (3, emergency)

The Camion Équipé d'un Système d'Artillerie (English: "Truck equipped with an artillery system") or CAESAR[3] is a French 155 mm, 52-caliber self-propelled gun that can fire 39/52 caliber NATO-standard shells. It is installed on a 6×6 or 8×8 truck chassis. Equipped with an autonomous weapon network incorporating an inertial navigation system and ballistic computer, the CAESAR can accurately strike targets more than 40 km away using "Extended Range, Full Bore" (ERFB) ammunition with base bleed,[4] or targets over 55 km away using rocket-assisted or smart ammunition.

The CAESAR was developed by French defence contractor GIAT Industries (now KNDS France) and has been exported to various countries. Units manufactured for the French Army use a 6×6 Renault Sherpa 5 chassis,[5][6] while some export customers have opted for systems integrated on a 6×6 Unimog U2450L

Development

In the early 1990s, the French Army operated two artillery systems designed and manufactured by the state-owned company GIAT: the AuF1 tracked self-propelled howitzer, which had reached the end of its production run, and the TRF1 towed howitzer, which was beginning to be delivered, but in reduced numbers. Absent further orders for its products, GIAT might have had to shut down its artillery program for unprofitability, permanently losing an important industrial capability. Since the French Ministry of Defence had expressed no interest in acquiring or funding new artillery designs at the time, the firm had to use its own funds to develop a 155 mm system that could attract export customers.[8]

Per the then-emerging NATO standard, the new design would need a 52-caliber barrel, which would offer greater accuracy and longer range than the 39-caliber barrels on GIAT's existing models. For strategic mobility, the system would have to be air-transportable on a C-130 along with an entire gun crew and 18 rounds of ammunition. Using the TRF1 and its usual tow vehicle, the Renault TRM 10000, as a baseline, the project team determined that mounting the gun directly on a truck bed would reduce overall material costs. After designing a subframe and a rear anchoring platform to filter and dissipate the gun's recoil, the team chose to adapt the Unimog U2450 truck as the system's base. In cooperation with Unimog importer Lohr Industrie (now Soframe), which supplied the cab and helped design the interface between the truck and the subframe, GIAT produced the first prototype in less than a year and displayed it at the Eurosatory defence industry fair in June 1994.[7][8]

Four years later, a second pre-production model underwent trials with the French Army in 1998 and the Malaysian Army in 1999. Based on this early performance, the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ordered five additional prototypes for further testing in September 2000. After delivery was completed in June 2003, the French Army formed an "experimental" artillery section that used the prototypes to develop military doctrine for future CAESAR-equipped units. The findings convinced the French Army to order more CAESARs instead of continuing to upgrade its AuF1 self-propelled howitzers to the AuF2 standard. Thus, in December 2004, the DGA awarded GIAT a €300 million contract to produce 72 new CAESARs, upgrade the five vehicles already delivered, supply an initial amount of ammunition, and provide maintenance to the fleet for five years. The new systems would have a new purpose-built truck chassis, the Sherpa 5 by Renault Trucks Defence (RTD), instead of the Unimog-Soframe chassis of the prototypes.[7][9][10][11][12]

In 2006, the year that the company was reorganised and renamed to Nexter, GIAT received the first export orders for the CAESAR, from the Royal Thai Army (RTD chassis) and the Saudi Arabian National Guard (Unimog-Soframe chassis).[13][14][15] Well before the French, Thai, or Saudi orders were completely fulfilled, the French Army began to use the CAESAR in combat, deploying eight systems to Afghanistan in 2009.[7]

In peacetime the production rate at Nexter was reportedly 10 CAESARs per year.[16] The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine boosted demand. By early 2023 Nexter's factory in Bourges was producing between two and four units per month in continuous operation. The next milestone expected is to produce eight CAESARs a month by December 2023.[17]

Optimised ammunition

GIAT and its successor companies have developed and produced 155 mm rounds designed to maximise the range of the CAESAR, such as the LU 211,[18] which is manufactured at Les Forges de Tarbes,[19] within the confines of the town arsenal.[20] The forge was privatised in November 2021 by a French firm which had recently been recapitalised by €100 million.[20][21] In 2020, the Minister of the Armed Forces signed a contract worth €25 million for the plant to supply shells to the French Army for the decade. The privatisation furnished €9 million each year for the 2021–2024 period. In autumn 2021, the firm supplied an extra €2 million to modernise the plant, which also produces 120 mm ammunition for the Leclerc tank.[22]