Saturday08 February 2025
ukr-pravda.in.ua

The M109 self-propelled howitzer will celebrate its 87th anniversary in the U.S. Army with the M109A7 version, with an additional 689 units set to be procured.

This planned procurement signifies an increase in self-propelled artillery systems for the U.S. Army, drawing from the experiences of Ukraine in its conflict against Russia.
САУ M109 в армии США отметит своё 87-летие в версии M109A7, планируется закупить ещё 689 единиц.

The Pentagon's slow pace in selecting a new self-propelled artillery system, which at this rate will be fighting in the 22nd century, indicates the need to support the existing M109 howitzers for quite some time. The budget documents of the U.S. Department of Defense for 2025 plan to procure 689 units of M109A7, as well as services for their maintenance until 2050.

The U.S. Army's plans have been reported by ArmyRecognition, and from the perspective of Defense Express, we note that the contractor for the contract after its signing will be BAE Systems, which has been supplying M109A7 to the U.S. Army since 2017 under an initial overall contract worth $2.5 billion, which has been gradually expanded. Only in 2024 did the company receive two orders for $493 million and $418 million for M109A7 howitzers and M992A3 resupply vehicles without disclosing the quantity but with a supply plan until July 2026.

M109A7

At the same time, the total announced quantity of 689 units signifies not only the modernization of all existing M109A6s, of which there are approximately 400 currently in service (with over 270 already upgraded to M109A7 as of 2024), but also an increase in the number of howitzers in the U.S. Army's inventory. It is worth noting that about 850 units of M109A6 have been put into reserve, as it was believed that artillery would no longer have such an impact on the battlefield. However, the U.S. Army's increase in artillery in service is evidently a result of analyzing the experience of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The M109A7 is the latest modernization of the M109, which has been in service with the U.S. Army since 1963. Thus, the support plan for these howitzers until 2050 means they will "celebrate" 87 years of service. Moreover, they objectively have every chance of reaching their 100th anniversary.

Regarding the essence of the M109A7 modernization, its main feature is the use of a new chassis that is largely unified with the Bradley BMP - including the suspension, transmission, and engine. It is equipped with a turret from the A6 Paladin, but the artillery component has received new electric drives instead of hydraulic ones, expanded loading mechanization (which still retains a significant number of manual actions), as well as further digitization of the entire howitzer along with the fire control system.

However, the barrel maintains a caliber of 155 mm with a length of 39 calibers, instead of the now generally accepted standard of 52 calibers for 155 mm artillery. This directly affects the range of fire that the M109A7 can achieve - 21-30 km, depending on the type of projectile (up to 40 km with Excalibur). However, the Pentagon plans to increase the range of its artillery by integrating new hypersonic projectiles.