Denmark is in possession of 19 Caesar 8×8 155mm heavy artillery systems, 15 in active service, while 4 are in the process of being acquired by 2023.
Heavy weapons are being delivered to Ukraine. The West is doing all it can in an effort to counter the Russian invasion. Denmark is in possession of 19 Caesar 8×8 155mm heavy artillery systems, 15 in active service, while 4 are in the process of being acquired by 2023. On January 19, 2023, it was announced that all 19 of these self-propelled guns would be donated to Ukraine. In another move, Estonia pledged to deliver “dozens” of FH-70 155mm and D30 122mm towed howitzers to Ukraine, including thousands of 155mm and 122mm artillery rounds, as well as hundreds of Carl Gustav M2 anti-tank weapons.
What is surprising is that the Danish Army has been waiting for these guns for many years. It did not even have time to receive the entire shipment but decided to transfer the entire fleet to Ukraine. In May 2017, Denmark signed a contract with the French company Nexter Systems for the acquisition of 15 CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzers in 8×8 configuration, and in October 2019, Denmark approved another contract to purchase four additional CAESAR howitzers.
The Ukrainian Army is operating 18 CAESARs in 6×6 configuration from France. Both the 6×6 and 8×8 configurations use the same artillery weapon system including a 155mm/L52 gun, compatible with a wide range of 155mm ammunition including ordinary and rocket-assisted HE-FRAG shells, cargo shells with anti-tank or fragmentation bomblets, smoke and illumination shells. Maximum range of fire is 42 km with rocket-assisted HE-FRAG shells. CAESAR is also capable of direct firing at ranges of up to 2 km.
One of the key features of the 8×8 version of the CAESAR is the integration of a fully automatic loading system offering a maximum rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute. The CAESAR has an armored cab which protects the crew members during traveling. It accommodates six crew members and provides protection against small arms fire and artillery shell splinters. Self-defense weapon is a 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on the roof.
The CAESAR 8×8 is built on an improved military truck chassis T-815 designed and built by the Czech company TATRA, while the 6×6 version is based on the French-made Sherpa 6×6 truck chassis. CAESAR 8×8 comes more than 20 years after the original generation, first revealed publicly in 2015. Its weapon system has not changed significantly, however the weapon control system has been updated. So the CAESAR 8×8 can shoot faster and more accurately than its predecessor. Moreover, the new chassis allows to carry almost twice as much ammunition.
