TSAMTO, May 19. According to the Latvian media, the Latvian Defense Ministry has signed a contract for the supply of 18 additional 155-mm self-propelled howitzers M-109A5OE from the Austrian Armed Forces. The purchase price exceeds 2 million euros.
Due to restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery dates for the equipment have not yet been agreed.
This is the second purchase of the Latvian Armed Forces of M-109A5OE howitzers from the Austrian Armed Forces. As reported by TSAMTO, the Ministry of Defense of Latvia and the Ministry of Defense and Sports of Austria in April 2017 signed a bilateral agreement on the sale of 47 M-109A5OE self-propelled howitzers, driver training vehicles and fire control vehicles, as well as the provision of related services.
The total cost of the purchase was not called, but it was reported that the price of a unit of equipment, depending on the modification, is from 60 to 140 thousand euros. The howitzers were upgraded by the Austrian Armed Forces in the period 2003-2007, and then put into storage.
The first self-propelled howitzers were delivered to the port of Liepaja on 1 October 2017. In October 2018, the Latvian Ministry of Defense announced that all M-109A5OE self-propelled howitzers purchased from Austria had been received.
