Considered one of the strongest artillery pieces in the world: Germany supplies Ukraine with self-propelled howitzers
Created: 05/08/2022, 22:26
By: Christoph Gschossmann
A Panzerhaubitze 2000 of the Bundeswehr - seven of them will be available in the Ukraine in the future.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Germany delivers self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
What kind of weapon is this anyway and how can it make such a difference despite its small number?
Munich - Germany wants to deliver "only" seven Panzerhaubitzen 2000 to the Ukraine in the fight against Vladimir Putin's Russia, together with five others from the Netherlands.
But these twelve vehicles could have a huge impact on the Ukraine war.
The self-propelled howitzer is a heavy artillery piece that has a huge advantage over conventional cannons: it is mobile.
A 1000 hp armored tracked vehicle that can transport the gun from A to B at will and fire immediately.
It doesn't have to be laborious to pull.
"Shoot and Scoot" - the huge advantage of self-propelled howitzers in the Ukraine war
The disadvantage of artillery is that the enemy can usually determine the location immediately using radar and can start a counterattack.
The howitzer avoids these: it fires, and by the time the enemy knows where it fired from, it's already somewhere else.
In technical jargon this is called "shoot and scoot" - shoot, and then let's go.
The self-propelled howitzer can travel up to 60 kilometers per hour and fires 155 millimeter ammunition at a range of 30 kilometers, even 40 or more with special ammunition.
The equipment that the Bundeswehr supplies to the Ukraine does not come from the active troops, but from the material pool for army repairs.
The Ukrainian armed forces are to be trained at the artillery school in Idar-Oberstein - the soldiers can learn how to use it in 43 days.
The tank howitzer is produced by the companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall.
This is how the Bundeswehr describes the Panzerhaubitze 2000
According to the army, the self-propelled howitzer is “one of the most modern artillery pieces in the world.
Their strength lies in their precision and in their great combat distance.” The gun crew can fire up to six shells in such a way that they hit the target at the same time.
According to the Bundeswehr, a special feature is the automatically temperature-controlled detonator.
This means that the explosion of the grenades can be adjusted.
Projectiles can thus “only have an effect on impact or already over a certain target.”
The vehicle is normally operated by a crew of five, with an automated flow of ammunition operation is even possible with just three soldiers.
Will Germany become a war party as a result of the delivery?
So Germany supplies heavy, war-decisive weapons - and even the scientific service of the Bundestag is not sure whether the country will become a party to the war.
You are moving in a gray area, according to a report.
Weapons deliveries alone, however, are not enough.
This was also confirmed by Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) in an interview with the
Munich newspaper
.
The self-propelled howitzers seem to fit perfectly into President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's country's military strategy in the Ukraine conflict.
Already, his army uses a combination of live drone reconnaissance and accurate indirect fire to successfully attack Russian positions, and has published successes of this tactic time and time again.
Such Ukrainian artillery strikes hit the Russian command posts - and the list of fallen Russian generals keeps growing.
Most recently, according to Ukrainian information, the Russian Major General Andrei Simonov, head of radio intelligence for the Russian army, died near Izium.
Many more sensitive artillery strikes against Russia could soon follow with German tank howitzers.
(cg)
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