The French General Delegation for Armaments (DGA) delivered on July 16 the first series production artillery cannon CAESAR (truck equipped with an artillery system) to the French Army.

Seven additional guns will be delivered before the end of 2008. The contract CAESAR notified in December 2004 to Nexter Systems, foresees the development, acquisition and support of 77 guns with deliveries spread until 2011.

The CAESAR is a new concept cannon mounted on a truck which positions itself between the towed guns and self-propelled tracked howitzers. It combines this way reach and mobility. This 155-mm gun has a range of fire of more than 40 km through a tube with a length of 52-caliber and enjoys the mobility of a 6x6 truck with the cab armored reaching speeds on the road more than 80 kph over distances greater than 600 km. Weighing less than 18 tonnes, it can be airlifted in C-130 Hercules military aircraft and A400M. CAESAR can be ready-to-fire in less than a minute by a five men crew and ready to go just as quickly, enabling him to avoid counter-battery fire. CAESAR is connected to the ATLAS system, the system of information and communication of artillery regiments.

CAESAR is already a success in the export market. Two contracts were signed, one with Thailand (6 systems), the other with an undisclosed Middle East country (80 systems).

DGA
23.07.2008