Estonia opts for French Caesar Howitzers to boost mobility
Estonia has decided to acquire 12 Caesar Howitzers to complement the K9 Thunder units already in use. We explain why Estonia bought this less armoured structure from France.
Estonia ordered 12 Caesar Howitzers, half of which are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and the rest by mid-2025. The reason for purchasing the lightly armoured Caesars is not dissatisfaction with the tracked K9 Thunder howitzers currently in use but the need to form a highly mobile artillery unit capable of rapid movement across the country.
Such requirements, which accept a certain reduction in protection and the ability to manoeuvre in difficult terrain, can only be met by wheeled platforms. The Caesar is essentially an artillery gun mounted on a truck.
Caesar - budget artillery on wheels from France
Caesar is an acronym for CAmion Équipé d'un Système d'ARtillerie, which translates from French as an artillery system mounted on a truck. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, many countries, including France, began looking for ways to save on defence budgets.
One of the cost-optimisation ideas came from the French in the 1990s, when they sought a successor to the F3 Howitzer, designed for easy aerial transport for French activities in Africa. This idea involved mounting a 155mm calibre artillery system with a long barrel (52 calibre) on a standard military truck, such as the Renault Sherpa or Mercedes-Benz Unimog.
This vision resulted in a cheap-to-purchase and operate Howitzer weighing 18 tonnes, ideal for use in intervention missions, which secured KNDS a long list of orders from clients worldwide. However, the advantages of this Howitzer mean that it does not perform well in full-scale conflicts like the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The lack of an armoured crew cabin is particularly problematic, which can be remedied with an additional armour package. This issue was only resolved in the Caesar Mk II version ordered by Lithuania. However, the semi-automatic loading system situation is worse, as part of the five-person crew has to be outside during shelling.
A specific safety buffer in the context of the war in Ukraine is the extensive, effective range, significantly exceeding the capabilities of Russian tube artillery. With the use of relatively inexpensive shells with a gas generator, the range is 25 miles. With, for example, sub-calibre Vulcano GLR shells, this increases to a maximum of 50 miles.
Moreover, like any modern system, the Caesar can fire in MRSI mode and occupy or leave a firing position in less than a minute. For Estonia, the unification with neighbouring Lithuania will provide an additional advantage.
