The French Ministry of the Armed Forces, through the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), has ordered 18 additional CAESAR MkI artillery systems from Nexter as part of an accelerated procedure in support of a wartime economy.
Nexter, together with the DGA, have demonstrated great responsiveness in setting up the production launch of the systems within a few weeks. The company has said that the systems will be delivered to the French Army by summer 2024 at the latest.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces chose the CAESAR MkI in order to allow a rapid availability while awaiting the entry into service of the CAESAR MkII, which will progressively equip the Army’s artillery regiments from 2026 onwards.
Nexter claims that the CAESAR MkI is the first version of this 155mm artillery system mounted on a truck chassis. Being extremely lightweight at 18t, it has a very low logistical weight and demonstrates unmatched tactical, operational and strategic mobility.
The CAESAR is characterized by a fast battery start up (less than one minute), a rate of fire of 6 rounds/minute and a very fast resupply (18 rounds/minute). Its 155mm/52 caliber gun is long range proven in conditions close to high intensity combat.
According to Nexter, the CAESAR systems have been deployed by several countries across Europe including Denmark, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Lithuania.
