As western arms supplies to Ukraine get bigger and include heavier weapons, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced Friday that Germany is sending seven of its biggest, most modern artillery pieces to Ukraine. The self-propelled, 155mm Panzerhaubitzen (PzH) 2000 rapid-fire howitzer systems, with a range of 25 miles.
They can fire up to 10 rounds per minute.
And that’s “on top of five such artillery systems the Netherlands had already pledged,” according to Reuters, giving Ukraine 15 of these very big guns.
Howitzer training for Ukraine’s troops is expected to begin next week.
Billed by the manufacturer, KMW, as “the world’s most modern howitzer,” adding that:
A large ammunition supply and rapid replenishment, the stable gun platform, maximum aiming precision, automated autoloader with the resulting high rate of fire, combined with exceptional mobility and autonomy in navigation and fire control: the PzH 2000 sets the standard for modern barrelled artillery.
Last week, in a dramatic shift from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s reluctance to supply further weaponry to Ukraine, a stance that received heavy international and domestic criticism, the government also authorized the transfer of 50 refurbished Gepard (cheetah) anti-aircraft tanks, armed with two 35mm auto-cannons, and signaled more German weapons would flow to Kyiv.
The Gepard, which was retired from German military service in 2010 is still highly capable. It can be deployed against both ground and air targets. It also has a search radar with a range of up to 15 kilometers (9 miles) and can hit targets at a distance of 6,000 meters (6,560 yards) or 3.7 miles.
Business Insider reports on statements from the Gepard manufacturer, also KMW, about the tanks’ capabilities:
It can be used to defend against fighter planes, helicopters, remotely guided missiles, rockets, and also modern drones, KMW said.
According to KMW, “the ballistic projectiles cannot be interfered with by electronic defenses, and their fragmentation clouds reliably destroy the target.”
The tank has a short reaction time against air attacks, KMW added, citing its high mobility, reliable target detection and tracking, and quickly rotating turret.
These will be Germany’s first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Liberty Defense News. As a Marine Corps officer, he led Marines, served aboard ships in the Pacific and jumped from helicopters and airplanes. He was also a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at U.S. embassies worldwide. He later ran for state and federal office, taught political science, wrote for the editorial board of a major newspaper and had his own radio show. A graduate of Georgetown, London and Cambridge universities, he brings decades of experience and insight to the issues that most threaten our American liberty – at home and from abroad. To read more go to: paulcrespo.com.
That’s! BaaadAssss!
Dear Thoroughly Marxist Milley and Lord Austin III,
Mount lasers in modified KC-47’s and B-52’s. Restart SAC patrols 24/7 in a layered defense. Russia and Communist China have deployed their Hypersonic and Hyperglide nukes………………..LAST YEAR!
BTW, stop testing Lasers in the damned desert in perfect weather!
US better get lasers in space …pretty …damned …quick looking down.
Looking up, Lasers don’t work in rain, snow, temperature inversions or heavy smoke.
But FIRST …..seal the dammned border and smoke out the smuggled nukes you lame AsssOles let in the past 13 years. Try near Yellowstone, if ya know what I mean!
SECONDLY………..Raid and seal the two GULFTAINER ports. Ya, I know what’s coming through there.
Good for Germany! Maybe with those additional big guns the Ukraine military can knock some more of those Russian tanks out of the war. Now if only they could get some fighter planes they might be able to stop a lot more of the destruction to their country. They really need some some weapons that will reach Russian cities and do to them as Russia has been doing to the Ukraine cities.
Good lord, this may be a partial game changer against the Russian heavy artillary.
Slowly, but surely we are inching our way toward World War III. When enough countries enter the fray, Russia will be backed into a corner and when that happens all hell is likely to break loose. I wouldn’t worry about this if America had a leader with an active brain, but what we have is a corrupt criminal named Biden.