France has offered its latest version of its self-propelled howitzer 155x52mm Caesar Mark-II NG 6×6 to Brazil and Colombia after the two countries showed interested in the French flagship artillery.
France’s Caesar Mark-II NG is increasingly gaining popularity following its performance in the war in Ukraine. According to open sources, the performance of the Caesar Mark-II NG is commendable; it strikes with precision on positions of the Russian armed forces.
A process is underway in Brazil to acquire 36 of these self-propelled howitzers. France’s Nexter, the manufacturer of the Caesar Mark-II self-propelled howitzer, is involved in the procedure, with experts saying, the French company has a real chance of winning and concluding a supply contract.
Colombia has also selected the Caesar Mark-II NG for its armed forces. The Colombian army uses artillery to mitigate threats from FARC guerrillas as well as the Colombian drug cartels. While a sale deal is almost done, the only issue is a political change in the country’s cabinet; it could potentially impact Bogota’s decision to acquire the French howitzers.
About Caesar Mark-II NG
The Caesar Mark-II NG offers a offers a whole range of improvements, including increased protection for the crew in the form of an armoured cabin; it also comes with a power plant, to provide more torque, as well as a new automatic transmission and reinforced chassis. All of these enable it to work in difficult terrain and varied topographic conditions.
The Nexter Group has developed the 155mm self-propelled howitzer in two chassis variants: 6×6 and 8×8, making it very mobile. On a single fully loaded tank, it can travel more than 600 km at an average speed of 50 kmph. Its maximum speed 80 kmph.
The cabin for the crew has a protection level of STANAG 4569 Level 2. The entire artillery systems weighs just over 18 tons; it has a length of 10 meters and a height of almost four meters.
In addition to this, it also has an autonomous weapon system, inertial navigation unit, initial speed radar, ballistic calculator, and the ability to interact with any C4I system.
The main 155 mm gun has a firing rate of up to 6 shells a minute, with its range being between 4.5km to 40 km; the range can be further enhanced with the help of shell-jet, which increases it to 50 km.
The loading of shells is fully automatic. The Caesar Mark-II NG works with all types of ammunition including 39/52 mud standard NATO or ERFB, as well as intelligent ammunition. It can unfold in 60 seconds and is manned by 4-5 people.
