On June 22, 2022, the Ukrainian side confirmed that the German PZH-2000 self-propelled howitzer has been delivered to the Ukrainian army for service, which will become the most powerful howitzer on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. Previously, on June 11, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Melinik said in an interview with the media that the PZH-2000 self-propelled howitzer that Germany plans to send to Ukraine will arrive on June 22, and now it seems that Germany's shipments are on time, and it is worth noting that June 22 is the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. Germany and the Netherlands have said they will deliver a total of 19 PZH-2000s to Ukraine, of which Germany delivers 7 and the Netherlands delivers 12, accounting for half of their total PZH-2000 quantity.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov tweeted confirmation that the PZH-2000 had arrived
The 7 howitzers provided by Germany to Ukraine this time are PZH-2000 self-propelled howitzers, which can be said to be the second most advanced self-propelled howitzer after the German AGM (pictured below) in addition to the overly advanced "Crusaders". The PZH-2000 follows nato's 1987 NATO Memorandum of Understanding on Common Ballistics, which sets standard provisions for NATO's new generation of 155 mm howitzers, including a longer 52-fold tube and a 23-liter chamber volume.
The PZH-2000 self-propelled howitzer embodies the same high technical level as ever in the field of heavy loading of the army, and the comprehensive combat effectiveness of this gun is stronger than that of the British AS-90, the French "Caesar", not to mention the M109A7, which has only 39 times the barrel of the gun. The most prominent feature of the PZH-2000 is its extremely high rate of fire, PZH-2000 in rapid fire mode, can fire 3 shells in 9 seconds, in 1 minute can fire 10 to 13 shells continuously.
The PZH-2000 uses 155 mm shells
The 52-fold tube gives the PZH-2000 a range of 35 km when firing a normal shell (the range of an extended range shell can exceed 50 km), and the digital fire control system makes the gun's firing accuracy at a range of 35 km Circumferential Error Accrual (CEP) of only 246 m, and has the ability to simultaneously fire multiple shells (MRSI). In addition, the PZH-2000 can carry 60 rounds of shells without the ammunition supply vehicle itself, and the firepower is super sustainable. The PZH-2000 does not take 30 seconds from the time it stops while driving to ready to shoot, and it can be controlled within 30 seconds after firing and then away from the firing position, and the same step to the M109A3G takes more than 10 minutes.
Finally, the PZH-2000 can also be attached to the armor module of five tons, which increases the protection. Previously, the armored PZH-2000 had been equipped with German troops in Afghanistan (pictured below, pay attention to the additional armor on the turret).
It is precisely because the PZH-2000 achieves a balance of firepower, fire control and protection, so the self-propelled gun is very popular. In addition to Germany, the gun has also been sold to the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and other countries. Because of the excellent performance of the gun, Germany also considered converting the PZH-2000 into a naval gun and testing it on the F-124 frigate (below), but it was not equipped for reasons of recoil and rate of fire (naval guns have higher requirements for the rate of fire).
Once the PZH-2000 is delivered to Ukraine, it will become the most advanced self-propelled gun on the entire battlefield, the Russian 2S19 "Msta S" technology is located under it, and the total number of Russian 2S19 is only more than two hundred, the remaining self-propelled guns of the Russian army are old 2S1, 2S3 and 2S7 models, as for the 2S35 "Alliance SV" is only seen in the parade. However, it remains to be seen whether a total of 19 PZH-2000s can be turned around by the Russian military in the face of absolute numerical superiority.
On Friday, the leaders of France, Italy and Germany visited Kiev by train. During the trip to Kiev, France said it would supply Ukraine with 6 more "Caesar" truck guns. France previously supplied Ukraine with 12 Cesars. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense released in May training footage of Ukrainian soldiers using legal "Caesar" truck guns in Ukraine showed Ukrainian soldiers driving "Caesar" and using the artillery for firing training, in addition to showing the "Caesar" cab, which showed soldiers in Ukrainian uniforms operating the fire control terminal of "Caesar". At present, the "Caesar" obtained by the Ukrainian army has a perfect digital fire control system, but France prohibits the Use of GPS systems by the Ukrainian Army, eliminating the ukrainian army's ability to use satellite-guided artillery shells.
The Ukrainian army uses the "Caesar" training screen
The "Caesar" truck gun, which france aided the Ukrainian army, belongs to the first generation of the "Caesar" series, and the 52-fold tube 155 mm howitzer uses the Sherpa 10 type 6x6 truck chassis developed by Renault. The "Caesar" truck gun cleverly combines the truck with the towed howitzer. Compared with the tracked self-propelled howitzer, the truck gun is inexpensive, has fast long-range delivery capabilities and good battlefield mobility; Compared with the towed howitzer, the truck gun makes the traditional towed howitzer eliminate the step of the preset position, has the ability to quickly transfer the position, and the truck gun can easily install a digital fire control system and an automatic loading system for the howitzer, which greatly reduces the workload of the gun group, and finally the truck gun can also provide a certain protection for the gun crew.
The original "Caesar" began to enter service with the French Army in June 2003, the truck gun is equipped with a 52 times howitzer modified from the TRF-1 155 mm howitzer, the total combat weight of the truck gun is less than 18 tons, which gives the gun extremely strong engine power, can be quickly delivered by the C-130 tactical transport aircraft, with a strong rapid reaction capability. The first-generation "Caesar" with the Sherpa 10 6x6 truck as the chassis has a maximum road speed of more than 100 km/h and a maximum off-road speed of 50 km/h.
The "Kaiser" truck gun adopts a digital fire control system centered on the CS2002-G fire control computer, and is equipped with a PR4G data radio for receiving target coordinate information and meteorological information; A Sigma 30 inertial navigation unit crosslinked with GPS satellite positioning system for maneuvering navigation and self-positioning orientation; There is also a ROB4 primary speed measurement radar. There is a gun squad leader terminal in the cab and a gunner terminal on the left side of the rear.
The "Caesar" is also highly automated, its gun tail station hoe retraction, semi-automatic loading system, gun body pitch can be controlled by the panel behind the hull, from entering the firing preparation to achieve firing only one minute, while "Caesar" only takes 3 minutes to complete the firing of 6 shells and withdraw from the position. Because of the degree of automation (of course, compared with the new truck guns in the world, the level of automation of "Kaiser" is not advanced), Caesars only needs 6 gun crew members to operate.
The Ukrainian army operates the "Caesar" digital fire control terminal
The "Caesar" howitzer has a wide choice of ammunition types, can fire NATO standard high-explosive grenades, personnel anti-personnel bombs, submunitions and other ammunition, the maximum range of NATO standard grenades is 35 kilometers, the maximum range of the bottom-row extended range bomb is 40 kilometers, and the maximum range of the new V-LAP long-range grenade is 58 kilometers.
The latest combat footage of the Ukrainian army using "Caesar"
Finally, in addition to Ukraine, Lithuania's defense minister also announced on June 12 that he would purchase a batch of "new generation" "Caesar" truck guns during his visit to Paris. The specific quantity and model of the "Caesar" purchased by Lithuania has not yet been disclosed, but the "new generation" means that it is very willing to get the old "Caesar" 1 as Ukraine did, most likely the "Caesar" 2 with an 8×8 truck chassis.
In 2017, France launched an upgraded version of the "Caesar" on the basis of the "Caesar" 1 type, which replaced the earlier 6X6 chassis with the Tatra Т815 8×8 truck chassis, with a total combat weight of 30 tons, and the number of shells that the car could carry increased from the previous 18 rounds to 30 rounds. Although the new version of the "Caesar" with the chassis of the 8×8 truck had a greater weight and lost the ability to be quickly airlifted by the C-130 class transport aircraft, the artillery fire was more sustained and the level of automation was higher than that of the original "Kaiser".
The second generation of "Caesar" uses too much drag 815 chassis, the shape is very sci-fi
Lithuania's acquisition of the "Caesar" will significantly improve its ability to deal with Russian challenges and increase the level of firepower strikes of the Army. The new batch of "Caesar" purchased by Lithuania will be a strong complement to the Lithuanian Army's existing 21 PZH-2000 self-propelled guns.