CAESAR. Specifications. Photo.

CAESAR (Caesar, Camion équipé d'un système d'artillerie) is a French self-propelled artillery mount (ACS) developed by Nexter in 155-mm caliber. It is considered a highly mobile self-propelled gun with a long range of target destruction.

The history of the creation of ACS CAESAR

Self-propelled artillery installation "Caesar" began to be developed in the late 80s of the last century. The key reason for the creation of CAESAR self-propelled guns was the need to adopt self-propelled artillery mounts capable of replacing obsolete towed weapons.

When developing the CAESAR self-propelled guns, the experience of creating French towed weapons was used, while the standard NATO artillery caliber of 155 mm was chosen for the self-propelled guns, which ultimately made it possible to obtain a long-range gun capable of hitting targets with almost any type of projectile at long distances.

The first prototype of the Caesar self-propelled guns was introduced in 1994. After several series of tests, the self-propelled artillery gun was approved by the French Ministry of Defense and already in 2000 the first contract for the supply of such weapons was signed.

In 2004, after the successful testing of these artillery installations, the French defense department signed a contract for the supply of 72 artillery installations of this type, after which contracts began to be concluded with other countries.

Description of the design of the self-propelled guns "Caesar"

ACS "CAESAR" is a highly mobile artillery installation. High mobility was achieved through the use of a car platform. Initially, it was assumed that this could affect the stability of the gun, however, during the tests, such shortcomings were not identified.

If necessary, the Caesar self-propelled guns can move at distances up to 600 kilometers, while the speed of self-propelled guns on the highway can reach 80 km / h, which greatly exceeds the capabilities of self-propelled guns on a tracked chassis.

At the moment, the Caesar self-propelled guns are produced on a Renault Sherpa 10 wheeled chassis. Due to the design features, the self-propelled guns can also be transported by air, which was actively used in France when supplying these weapons to Ukraine in the spring of 2022.

artillery mount ACS CAESAR It has an armored cockpit that can withstand a direct hit by 7.62 mm caliber ammunition, as well as fragments from ammunition, which several times saved the lives of crews when using such self-propelled guns in Ukraine.

The CAESAR self-propelled guns are equipped with a fire control system, which provides the ability to control the entire process of striking, while the built-in navigation system allows you to quickly aim the gun at the target, which, with a relatively good rate of fire, gives a lot of advantages when using such self-propelled guns.

If necessary, the Caesar self-propelled guns can fire direct fire at a maximum range of up to 2 kilometers, however, due to vulnerabilities, it was almost never used for such purposes.

The maximum firing range of the Caesar self-propelled guns is 55 kilometers. For firing, high-explosive fragmentation, cluster, smoke, lighting, active-rocket projectiles, as well as BONUS anti-tank guided projectiles can be used. Most of these munitions have been tested on the territory of Ukraine.

The maximum rate of fire of the Caesar self-propelled guns is 9 rounds per minute, however, this raises the problem of a strong heating of the howitzer barrel

Combat use of self-propelled guns CAESAR

Self-propelled guns "Caesar" were widely used in combat. Initially, the CAESAR self-propelled guns were used in 2009 in Afghanistan, where the installation demonstrated high performance in hitting targets with both conventional and adjustable munitions.

In 2013, the CAESAR self-propelled guns were used in the Tuareg uprising in Mali, where the installations were used to defeat large concentrations of enemy forces at long distances.

In the period from 2016 to 2019, CAESAR self-propelled guns were actively used in Syria and Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia - ed.). The self-propelled guns were used to destroy both stationary and moving targets, which proved to be successful.

Since the spring of 2022, CAESAR self-propelled guns have been actively used on the territory of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, the Caesar self-propelled guns were used to hit targets on Zmeiny Island. Due to insufficient range, self-propelled guns were installed on barges and fired directly from them.

According to a number of statements, at least two CAESAR self-propelled guns were allegedly captured by the Russian military as trophies and later sent for study, however, as it turned out, this information is not reliable. As of December 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not lose a single Caesar self-propelled gun, but one of them was damaged by a hit by a Lancet kamikaze drone.

As of 2022, CAESAR self-propelled guns are in service with the following countries:

• Belgium;
• Denmark;
• France;
• Indonesia;
• Czech;
• Colombia;
• Saudi Arabia;
• Thailand;
• Ukraine.

Specifications ACS "Caesar"