France AMX 30 AU F1 MBT And Nexter Caesar Artillery Truck

The most successful truck mounted design thus far has been the Nexter CAESAR (CAmion Equipe d'un Systems d'ARtillerie). Based around an 155/52 upgrade of the Nexter TRF1 gun, rounds fired from CAESAR can reach as far as 42km and is based around a 6x6 tactical vehicle.

France received its first systems in June 2008, opting to mount their systems on a Renault Trucks Defense Sherpa 5 chassis as an alternative to a further upgrade of its heavy tracked self propelled system. The first four guns to be fielded equip the 68e Régiment d’Artillerie d’Afrique deployed to Lebanon with Unifil, replacing the units tracked AMX 30 AU F1 Main Beatle Tank self propelled howitzer (SPH) predecessor. Delivery of all 80 systems is due to be competed in 2011. Thailand is the first export customer for CAESAR with a contract for 18 Sherpa mounted systems issued in 2006.

AMX 30 AU F1

The Saudi Arabian National Guard is acquiring 80 Unimog based CAESARs together with Thales’ ATLAS artillery C4I system to equip three regiments replacing 155 mm M198 and 105 mm M102 towed artillery systems. A private venture, Soltam’s C-130 capable ATMOS 2000 marries a Tatra T815 truck with a crew of four and carries 32 155mm rounds for either L39, L45 or L52 barrels, the latter offering ranges of over 40km with an Extended Range Full-Bore - Base Bleed (ERFB-BB) round.

Nexter Caesar 155mm 52-calibre