United to win: Ukraine to receive nearly 80 Caesar artillery installations from France

On March 26th, the French Defense Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, announced that his country would be sending 78 Caesar self-propelled artillery units to Ukraine in the near future. This announcement was first made in January of this year.

Lecornu mentioned aid to Ukraine at the presentation of France's weapons strategy, AP reported.

According to a government official, France, Ukraine, and Denmark have agreed to finance self-propelled 155-mm Caesar howitzers, which will allow France to "quickly deliver" them to meet Kyiv's urgent needs in the war with Russia.

In addition, Lecornu said that in 2024, France will be able to produce 100,000 155-mm shells, of which 80,000 will go to Ukraine and 20,000 to the needs of the French army.

In January of this year, the French Ministry of Defense promised to produce 78 Caesar artillery units for Ukraine.

The Caesar self-propelled gun is considered the top-of-the-line in French artillery. It boasts a 155 mm caliber and a maximum range of 42 km. It is capable of firing up to 6 shots per minute, making it a versatile weapon for targeting personnel, artillery units, pillboxes, and even clearing minefields and other obstacles.

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On January 1, the French capital of Paris saw the start of work of the Artillery Coalition to strengthen the Ukrainian army. Its goal is to secure more Caesar self-propelled artillery systems and ammunition for Ukraine and implement artificial intelligence in their management.

On January 18, the "artillery coalition" launched in Paris, which aims to strengthen Ukraine's capabilities against Russia. France and the USA lead this coalition; it operates within the Ukraine Defense Contact Group framework in the Rammstein format.

23 countries will join the "artillery coalition." It aims to "join forces to help Ukraine have artillery — in the short and long term," explained the French Ministry of Defense.

It was planned for Rustem Umerov and his French colleague Sebastien Lecornu to visit the Nexter industrial facilities in Bourges on the afternoon of January 18. There, they would tour the production of the Caesar self-propelled artillery installations and visit the MBDA missile ship in Sel-Saint-Denis.

Since Umerov will not arrive, the meeting will be held online.

It is worth mentioning that the Danish Caesar self-propelled guns took over combat duty in Ukraine in April 2023.