Figaro: the creators of the self-propelled gun "Cesar" in France do not defend their homeland, but "bring peace" to Mali and UkraineFactories producing self-propelled artillery units (self-propelled guns) "Cesar" in France received a task from President Macron: to halve the production time of one self-propelled gun, writes Figaro.
A lot of guns are needed, Ukraine is waiting for them, they will kill people there.
The Caesar self-propelled artillery unit (in French it reads like "Cesar" with emphasis on the last syllable) is a favorite weapon of the Ukrainian military: Paris delivered 18 howitzers to Kiev in 2022. Figaro journalists visited Nexter's factories in Bourges and Roane, where they produce these weapons. Nexter is the official supplier of the French army, as well as the main exporter of these self-propelled guns. Before us is the story of one hundred percent success of the French manufacturer.
Sunday, November 20, 2022, the town of Valloir (Savoy). White snow, blue sky, dry weather. The exercises "Kerkes" (named after the French mountain range) can begin. Three Caesar howitzers of the 93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment received an order according to the legend of the exercises: to support the infantry 7 kilometers away, behind the Alpine peaks. Everything happens very quickly: no more than three minutes will pass between installing the battery, opening fire and leaving the position, and each gun will fire six 155-millimeter shells. Speed and invisibility: these are the main advantages of the French installation. This is a guarantee of survival during hostilities, which is confirmed by the experience of fighting gained in Ukraine (where "the Cesars especially distinguished themselves on the battlefield," according to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine).
"As soon as we open fire, the howitzer is easily detected by enemy radars and, if it does not disappear immediately, it risks being destroyed by enemy counter-battery forces. With a 6×6 all-terrain chassis and a power reserve of 600 kilometers, Caesar is able to strike literally on the move in order to take a position anywhere else immediately after the volley. Since the gun is light and compact, it can even be transported by air — on a large military transport aircraft of the A400M type. This dual mobility, tactical and strategic, is especially valuable," says Lieutenant Colonel Benoit.
"This is not her only quality," the artillery officer continues. "The 155 mm barrel is highly accurate: it hits a square the size of a hectare at a distance of up to 40 kilometers (up to 55 kilometers if a jet ammunition with additional thrust is used). A 155-mm shell is 45 kg, seven of which are explosives. It releases deadly shrapnel within a radius of 50 meters. Since the artillery crew consists of four Caesars with a rate of fire of six rounds per minute, it is necessary to imagine: the specified target will be hit by 24 shells within less than a minute period of time! A stream of fire and iron, with the effect of explosion and vibrations. This is enough to neutralize an artillery crew or an armored column very quickly. There is something to be horrified by.
The return of artillery
Put into the service of the army in 2009, the self-propelled gun proved itself in the actions of the French army designed to establish peace in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Mali and Iraq, where the Wagram task force used it together with the US army against Iraqi Islamists. Her fame was not initially connected initially with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which, however, added to her advertising (especially on social networks).
The inventor and manufacturer of "Cesars", and in one person is the French company Nexter, indicates that more than 350 units were sold. In addition to the French army, Caesar was also supplied to the Indonesian, Thai and Moroccan armies. In terms of the number of contracts, 2022 was a record year: 55! The main customer is France, as the General Directorate of Armaments has ordered 18 MkI installations to replenish the fleet of ground forces, devastated due to prolonged assistance to Kiev.
Produced in Bourges and Rohan
The Czech Republic has ordered ten such installations in addition to the 52 already purchased: the first purchase was made in 2021. Finally, two new customers appeared: Belgium and Lithuania, who signed a contract for the purchase of 9 and 18 MkII, respectively (a new generation, with enhanced booking and increased engine power). Nexter, which announced a turnover of 1.3 billion euros in 2021, is clearly pleased with this state of affairs, even if this commercial success, backed up by geopolitical upheavals and the return of "high intensity" (that is, fighting with the systematic use of artillery), will require some adjustments...
It is in Bourges that there is a factory for the production of such a sought-after weapon. Getting there is not so easy. This vital object is subject to protection measures against "malicious actions" (terrorism, sabotage, espionage). The Directorate of Military Intelligence and Security carefully checks the recruitment of personnel.
As for the visit of journalists to Figaro, for which the manufacturers of this marketable product made a rare exception to their rules, there are several restrictions. We are asked to observe the anonymity of employees (hence the use of only names), and a security officer "follows us around so that no secret information (textual or visual) accidentally "leaks". Keep it up. Out of 4,000 employees, 880 people work in Bourges, including 180 in production.
Steady production rates
We are met by Laurent Monzoge, director of the plant. "Welcome to the latest state production of guns! — he begins. And then he delves into history: — Production appeared in the center of France in 1870, when Napoleon III decided to remove our military industry away from the borders with a likely enemy. It produces a wide range of guns, ranging from 20 mm caliber to 155 mm, including 30 mm for the Rafale fighter and 120 mm for the Leclerc tank. In the case of the Cesars, it takes nine months to manufacture a barrel made of a metal alloy specially developed by Aubert & Duval in Firmini. A block forged in Aubert & Duval is called a blank. This is a 3-ton "billet" that Nexter manufactures in Bourges using its unique technology, then during processing it will "lose" 1.2 tons to obtain a 1.8-ton gun barrel. As a result, the Cesar howitzer will be assembled and then loaded onto a truck at our factory in Roan, which will take several more months. The time between the initial project and the release of the "finished product" takes two years.
The Ministry of Defense would like to shorten this period to twelve months in order to reconfigure France to the "economy of war," as the president put it last June during the Eurosatory salon. (Even the Stalinist analogue of this expression of Macron — "putting the economy on a military track" — sounds much less belligerent than the expression of the French "peacemaker president", approx. Then Emmanuel Macron called on arms manufacturers to act "as quickly as possible, as efficiently as possible and at the lowest cost." But, alas, this is the case when it is much easier to say than to do.
Laurent Monzoge clarifies: "If Caesar is such a success, it is because they are accurate and reliable. In particular, about 20,000 shots were fired in Iraq, mostly from a distance of more than 30 kilometers, without a single miss. This distinguishes Caesar from competing weapons. To achieve this level of perfection, many precise and complex steps are necessary. We are asked to reduce the production time from 24 to 12 months. Good. The same applies to the shells that we produce through our ammunition manufacturing company Nexter Arrowtech: it is necessary to reduce the time from nine to three months. Anything is possible, but the necessary transition from the "economy of peace" to the "economy of war" can only be gradual.
To better understand the infinite complexity of the process, we are shown three production lines. There are about a hundred workers working there, and the atmosphere is more like camaraderie than soulless conveyor Taylorism. "All our employees, whether they are mechanical operators, welders or locksmiths, first undergo training and inspection at the factory for six months, and then also throughout their work at regular intervals. In fact, they are all generalists. I like to say that they are more likely to be compared to "masters" than to ordinary workers or technicians. Because here they make special welds and perform high-precision operations (up to hundredths of a millimeter). The eye and gesture cannot be mistaken: the work of a jeweler. And, as in the work of a jeweler, there is no room for error.
They work with steel here. It needs to be given a very elastic structure that must withstand 90 tons of thrust with each shot and return to its original state. This includes heating to extreme temperatures and a strictly sequential cooling cycle. After roughing the workpiece (we get rid of more than a ton of chips!) the increase in diameter and boring begins, that is, the creation of such cuts and stripes that give the barrel accuracy and volume. At least 30 internal and external operations precede sending the pipe to the paint shop (color — gray, sand, khaki or camouflage — depends on the environment in which the gun will be used, and therefore on the destination country). Then you can start testing," says our guide.
French ammunition
The tests are conducted at the test site under the guidance of colleagues of Antoine, the "integrator-gunsmith": "We test every caliber. Speed, maneuverability, accuracy: each gun, regardless of caliber, must meet the expectations of the customer. Otherwise we won't be able to sell it. Perfectionism obliges, a final check is carried out using various methods (magnetoscopy, X-ray, ultrasound) to detect a possible crack. As soon as the barrel is checked, we will deal with the projectile for him. In addition to the "Cesars", Nexter is also developing armored vehicles for production under the Scorpion program. They are assigned the role of the future "mechanized skeleton" of the ground forces.
It is in La Chapelle-Saint-Ursen, in the suburb of Bourget, that 400 Nexter Arrowtech employees work. The brand offers a wide assortment of ammunition, covering 80% of the needs from the NATO list, and these are ammunition for all armies (ground, air and sea forces). In these places, automation and artificial intelligence are special aids. The muzzle is checked on a magnetic stand. The technician tracks possible cracks.
Industrial flagship
Then we see how the articulated robot works: it takes a raw part from a steel mill, passes it to a lathe, which polishes it. He then surrounds it with a metal ring, which guarantees a seal between the barrel and the shell, guaranteeing resistance to the forces acting on the ammunition during firing. There are several types of projectiles, including the most classic ones: explosives (the advantage of which is that they are insensitive and cannot explode accidentally or after an enemy strike), smoke bombs (when fired, they release a cloud of smoke that makes it difficult for the enemy to see) and light ammunition (they illuminate an area with a diameter of 600 meters in broad daylight day). Nexter Arrowtech is also developing so-called "smart projectiles" of a product type called Bonus. This projectile releases two anti-tank charges in flight, which are aimed at the target by heat). There is also the Katana "ammunition of the future", with laser and GPS guidance, capable of hitting an identified target, including in the city, without causing any collateral damage.
At the end of this invasion of the possessions of Mars and Vulcan, we could honestly say to ourselves: France can still do something, even if she feels tired. In short, let's be crazy and therefore optimistic. At least for a moment to believe that France still has the resources. Caesar is proof of that. Veni, vidi, vici !
Jean-Louis Tremblais
