“Shoot and Scoot” – The war in Ukraine overturns another conventional principle of war

For decades, the conventional wisdom among military strategists was that artillery was king of the battlefield. It was only threatened by the counter-battery capacity of the enemy guns. If your weapons were more numerous or further away than the opposition's, if you placed them correctly and if you had a good strategy, then you would win.

Artillery in the 20th century came in two main forms: towed self-propelled howitzers and, primarily, tracked and armored self-propelled howitzers.

The appearance of truck-mounted guns like the French Caesar was seen as an interesting but inferior hybrid of the two. Although they generally allowed the guns to be redeployed more quickly than their towed cousins, experts believed that they lacked the all-terrain capability afforded by tracks and were therefore more vulnerable.

The war in Ukraine saw errant munitions, precision-guided weapons and most notably drones become the catalyst for a shift in the balance of the artillery equation.

Artillery is still and probably always will be an indispensable weapon on the battlefield, but today, more than ever, speed of deployment, speed of fire and speed of movement will be key to survivability – what the military calls: “shoot and shoot”.

An article in the US military magazine Defense One indicates that the Ukrainian experience, where wheeled guns proved so effective, had an impact on the US Army's plans for future modernization of its defense systems. artillery.

He quotes Gen. James Rainey, head of the U.S. Army Futures Command, who said at a Senate hearing in May that “…there are some very good wheeled howitzers that have great effect in a place like Europe”, in reference to what was happening. in Ukraine.

His view contrasts with the United States' previous preference for tracked self-propelled artillery. In 2021, during a competition to select a mobile artillery mount for its Stryker brigades, it rejected foreign wheeled bids in favor of the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

Rainey said that on the future battlefield, artillery systems must be constantly on the move to avoid detection, identification and destruction. He added that in addition, the United States was also studying ways to improve and expand the range of mortar systems to meet this need.

Ukraine's experience has shown the usefulness of wheeled howitzers, including the Swedish FH77BW L52 Archer, the French Caesar and the Ukrainian 2S22 Bohdana, which favorably compete with tracked guns in terms of firepower, cadence shooting, precision and range.

Ukraine recently announced that it has expanded its production of Bohdanas to 10 systems per month.

While wheeled cannons may not be as off-road mobile as tracked artillery, there are enough trails and roads in Ukraine (and Europe) that, combined with four-wheel drive, make this less disadvantageous than previously thought. Wheeled guns are generally much cheaper, easier to maintain, and modern armor technologies provide protection comparable to most tracked vehicles.

In 2023, the unit cost of the French Caesar MkII was 3.2 million euros ($3.5 million), compared to 18.4 million euros ($20 million) each for the German Panzerhaubitze 2000, according to Defense News. It also says studies have shown that operating and maintenance costs of wheeled systems can result in savings of around 30 percent.

Defense News points out that not only the United States, but also others, including the United Kingdom and Germany, made the decision to invest in wheeled howitzers – a direct result of the Ukrainian experience. It quotes a spokesperson for Israeli company Elbit Systems, which makes the truck-mounted Atmos howitzer, as saying there has been “a slight focus on wheeled self-propelled howitzers as the war in Ukraine has highlighted a “critical need” for improved mobility. .”

Systems like the Atmos can move into position, fire multiple rounds, and flee in minutes. Finnish newspaper Aamulehti reported in April that Helsinki's Patria Group was developing a truck-mounted version of its 155mm towed artillery piece 155K98, following its own assessment of lessons learned from Ukraine.

Russian bloggers say Caesar is feared by Russian troops, particularly in his counter-battery role where his superior range, accuracy, mobility and agility do not give Russian forces enough time to locate and target weapons Ukrainians and killed numerous Russian artillery pieces. crews.

Modern European wheeled systems used in Ukraine with their 155 mm 52 caliber guns have a range of approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles), more than the older American towed and tracked Paladin M777 howitzers, as well as most artillery Russian tubulars. . It is the drones that pose the greatest threat to Ukrainian crews, making the combination of hiding from sight before deployment, as well as being mobile, agile and able to quickly move away from step shooting, the key to survival.

Defense News says Eurosatory's defense and security exhibition will feature at least 10 artillery manufacturers this year, with howitzers and rockets being the main draws. This will include the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as well as the latest versions of the six- and eight-wheel Caesar variants. Elbit said it planned to demonstrate its PULS multiple rocket launcher and next-generation Sigma howitzer, both wheeled, before being banned from attending.

Even Russia broke with its usual tradition of relying on tracked self-propelled artillery with Rostec, the state-owned arms conglomerate, by revealing the Malva wheeled howitzer last year.

According to Spencer Jones, a lecturer in war studies at Britain's University of Wolverhampton, the use of wheeled artillery was initially imposed on Ukraine based on weapons availability rather than a tactical choice. or doctrinal.

It may have been a happy accident, but in a battlefield where intense counter-battery fire supported by drones and other smart weapons has become the order of the day, the use of Ukraine to “scooter and sniper artillery fire” may well usher in a new era of highly mobile howitzers for which these wheeled guns are ideally suited.