Ukraine may receive self-propelled CAESAR howitzers ordered by Denmark

The original was taken from a colleague andrej_kraft in Not every self-propelled gun "Caesar" will get to Denmark through the middle of the DnieperIn continuation of the topic:

In the telegram channel of bmpd colleagues, they write that on October 1, 2022, the French newspaper Le Monde reported on France's plans to transfer to Ukraine from 6 to 12 self-propelled CAESAR howitzers of 155 mm/52 caliber on a Tatra T815 (8×8) wheeled chassis from among those ordered by Denmark.

Under the contracts of 2017 and 2019 . Denmark has ordered the French Nexter group 19 such self-propelled guns in this new version on the Tatra T815 chassis. Denmark is ready to cede to Ukraine the first of these manufactured self-propelled guns, which have not yet been accepted by the Danish side and, allegedly, do not fully meet the specification requirements of the Danish army. [...]

Tests of 155 mm Caesar 8×8 self-propelled guns in Denmark (Oxbel landfill, spring 2020) © FMIIn turn, the Armyrecognition website, although it refers to the same Le Monde, but reports on plans to transfer specifically only six self-propelled guns, maybe they know more?

The discussion of the technical details of this deal between French President Emmanuel Macron, his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been going on for the past few weeks, and now the negotiations are at the final stage. It is noted that, warned by the headquarters of his armed forces, Emmanuel Macron no longer wanted to supply CAESAR howitzers from the presence of his country's army, since France had previously transferred to Ukraine 18 of the 76 CAESAR self-propelled guns available in standard design on the Renault (Arquus) Sherpa 10 (6×6) automobile chassis. Thus, the French army lost a quarter of its artillery potential at once, and plans for its restoration are not yet clear. At the same time, Ukraine showed considerable interest in continuing supplies, and Denmark's involvement in the negotiations made it possible to more or less satisfy all parties.

In this blog, we last remembered about the Danish 155 mm Caesar 8×8 self-propelled guns almost two years ago, so it makes sense to update the information.

So, on March 14, 2017, the purchasing agency of the Danish Ministry of Defense FMI (Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse) announced the winner of the much-delayed competition a French car instead of an Israeli one. The contract for $ 53 million was signed in May 2017 after the final agreement of its terms with the Finance Committee of the Parliament. Thus, Denmark became the first customer of a new version of the ACS on the Tatra T815 8×8 chassis, the prototype of which was first presented only in 2015 in London at the DSEI (Defense Security and Equipment International Exhibition and Conference). Unlike the basic modification, the new one is equipped with an automated gun loading system and an armored cabin. The calculation was reduced from five to 3-4 people, and the ammunition was increased from 18 to 30 shots, but at the same time the gross weight increased from 18 to 30 tons.

The terms of the contract stipulated that in addition to the delivery of 15 Caesar 8x8 main batch, an option for the purchase of an additional six self-propelled guns was possible, in March 2019, Denmark decided to partially implement it in the volume of four more cars, signing a corresponding contract in November of the same year. Thus, the total order volume has grown to 19 units. At the same time, taking into account the price of one ACS about $ 2.9 million, with all associated costs, its value increases to $ 6.5 million, and the total amount of the contract, taking into account the option, may exceed $ 130 million.

The start of deliveries of the main batch of artillery systems was originally planned no later than 24 months after the signing of the contract, that is, in March 2019. However, this deadline was postponed several times, and the first two cars returned to Denmark only in January 2020, and in June 2020, the manufacturer generally notified the Danish military about the forced suspension of deliveries. The deadline for finalizing the first contract for 15 cars of the main batch smoothly flowed first into the spring, then into the summer of 2021 .

The main reasons for the delays were the need to integrate a new gearbox and general design adjustments. In addition, during the factory tests, technical problems with the barrels of the guns were revealed. And all this against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused significant delays in the supply of a number of components, an increase in the production time of the supplier and its subcontractors due to periods of forced downtime.

At the end of June 2022, FMI again announced another postponement of the transfer of ACS due to the occurrence of a number of technical errors identified during the final tests of the artillery systems in March 2022. And finally, during the tests, one of the machines received such significant mechanical damage that it is subject to complete replacement, that is, assembly from scratch.

According to the official statement, the supplier has committed to eliminate the shortcomings by the end of October 2022 and hand over to the customer 14 ACS of the main order at the end of this year. The delivery of the newly assembled 15th machine is expected in the first quarter of 2023. The schedule for the production of four optional self-propelled guns has not yet been agreed, and the total delay of the program will be more than three years.

However, the latter is not critical for Ukraine.