Image source: topwar.ru
The United States has delivered towed M777A2 155-mm howitzers to Ukraine, some of the guns are already in the Donbas and are participating in combat operations against the Russian army and units of the NM People's Republics. This was evidenced by multiple photos and videos with howitzers taken by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukrainians do not get tired of praising American guns, saying that they received almost the "best howitzers" in the world. However, not everything is as rosy as they say in Kiev, as it turned out, the Americans delivered to Ukraine a simplified version of a howitzer that does not have an electronic component - a digital fire control system that increases the effectiveness of howitzers by a multiple. The absence of the system is noticeable in the pictures of "Ukrainian" guns.
It is stated that without this system, the M777A2 howitzer from a high-precision gun passes into the category of a conventional gun, without any advantages. At the same time, the disadvantages of the howitzer itself come to the fore - this is the low survivability of the barrel, the overall fragility of the structure and a strong lateral displacement. Experts have repeatedly talked about the fragility of the structure. According to them, the problem is not critical if the howitzer is properly maintained and appropriate prevention is carried out. Otherwise, the gun quickly fails.
But let's return to the digital SLA, which is absent on the howitzers supplied to Ukraine. The opinion is expressed that in this way the United States shows its distrust of the Ukrainian military, someone says that Ukrainian calculations are not trained in the use of high-tech systems. However, everything is much more banal, the Americans, when transferring howitzers, knew that some of them would certainly fall as trophies to the allied forces, i.e. the Russian army or the NM republics of Donbass, so they specially handed over a simplified version. And they were right, the first howitzer has already fallen into the hands of the Russian military. This was reported a couple of days ago by several sources at once, although there has been no official confirmation yet. Even if this information does not correspond to reality, one or two American guns will be captured in the near future, judging by the intensity of the fighting.
To date, the Armed Forces of Ukraine has from 85 to 90 M777A2 howitzers delivered from the USA. Another number of similar guns will be supplied by other countries, but no more than two dozen.
