Denmark's hasty arms deal exposed: Civilian GPS blunder
Denmark acquired rocket and artillery systems from Israel to replace the CAESAR howitzers given to Ukraine. However, due to excessive haste, the ordered equipment is ineffective. Here's what went wrong.
According to the Danish DR portal, the ATMOS 2000 howitzers and PULS system launchers purchased in haste were mistakenly equipped with civilian GPS navigation instead of military-grade, which is more resistant to interference.
The war in Ukraine illustrated that civilian solutions and even some military ones can be ineffective. Now, DR sources indicate that the introduction of the system into service will be delayed by 3-4 years compared to the original combat readiness date by the end of 2025. Additionally, costs will be higher than anticipated. Furthermore, some sources question whether it is possible to replace GPS modules in all parts of the delivered system.
The source of the problem was an expedited purchase process, as representatives of the Danish Ministry of Defence thought they had only five days to finalise the purchase. Meanwhile, it was actually five months, as later revealed by an independent investigation.
ATMOS 2000 and PULS — an intriguing tandem from Israel
Denmark acquired 19 ATMOS 2000 howitzers (Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System) from the Israeli company Elbit as a replacement for the CAESARs that were recently produced and sent to Ukraine. They were joined by eight PULS launchers (Precise & Universal Launching System).
This is a powerful combination capable of combating targets several hundred kilometres away, even using ballistic missiles. The ATMOS 2000 howitzer was primarily designed for export as a competitor to the French CAESAR. The weapon was developed with the intention of fitting into the cargo hold of a C-130 Hercules aircraft.
The weapon is equipped with a 155 mm howitzer with a barrel length of 52 calibres. It is mounted on a wheeled chassis in a 6×6 or 8×8 arrangement (in this case from the Tatra T815 VVN). The howitzer is equipped with a semi-automatic loading system, providing a firing rate of up to 8 rounds per minute. The system's crew consists of two to six soldiers.
The howitzer can engage targets at a range of about 30 kilometres using the cheapest ammunition to about 40 kilometres with rocket-assisted projectiles. Additionally, as a modern system, the ATMOS 2000 can fire in a destructive MRSI mode.
