The French military received the first Caesar self-propelled howitzers to replace the ones transferred to Ukraine

29 November, 2023 Caesar self-propelled howitzers of the French military. Photo credits: French Armed Forces The French military received the first Caesar self-propelled howitzers to replace the howitzers that had been transferred to Ukraine as defense aid.

Sebastien Lecornu, Minister of the French Armed Forces, announced this. The official noted that the artillery regiments had already received the first units of this weapon. "A strong and tangible result of the 'war economy' desired by President Emmanuel Macron, allowing Nexter to produce Caesar howitzers in 15 months compared to 30 months before the conflict [the Russian-Ukrainian war -Ed.]," Lecornu shared on the social network X.

It is worth noting that the French weapons manufacturer Nexter has increased the production rate of Caesar self-propelled howitzers to six units per month and proposes to improve this figure.

Production of the Caesar self-propelled howitzers at Nexter Systems. October 2023, France. Photo credits: French Ministry of Defense

According to Minister Sebastien Lecornu, the transition of the KNDS Nexter plant in Rohan to a 'war economy' has cut the production cycle of the self-propelled howitzer in half from 30 to 15 months.

At the same time, the annual capacity, which historically amounted to two units per month, increased to four UAVs per month during 2022 and now reaches six units per month. Previously, due to the company's so-called "transition to a military economy," the French company purchased EUR300 million worth of raw materials in advance to avoid possible supply disruptions and launched production of more than ten howitzers at its own expense without waiting for orders. In early October, France announced its intention to transfer six more Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.

This was stated during the visit of Minister Sebastien Lecornu to Kyiv.

Caesar self-propelled howitzers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Photo from open sources

In addition, an agreement was signed to service the CAESAR self-propelled howitzers and manufacture some parts at a Ukrainian enterprise. During the visit, about twenty contracts, letters of intent, or memorandums of understanding were signed with Ukrainian defense companies.

155mm shells at a factory in Tarbes, France.

Photo credits: Getty Images

Besides, France is increasing the production of 155mm ammunition to increase supplies to Ukraine.