Canada donates 20,000 155mm artillery projectiles to Ukraine
OTTAWA ($1=1.28 Canadian Dollars) — The Canadian government has decided to increase military aid to Ukraine by about CAD 98 million [$76.3 million] by donating 20,000 NATO-standard artillery projectiles to Ukraine’s armed forces. The information was announced by the Minister of Defense of Canada Anita Anand on May 24.
- Watch: UAV records how M777A2 + Excalibur destroys Russian 152mm SPG
- See pictures of 40km range 155mm M777 howitzers traveling to Ukraine
- Ukraine gets 155mm M982 guided shells: PBX warhead, 23-70 km range
BulgarianMilitary.com reminds us that Canada is one of the countries [Australia and the United States as well] that donated the towed M777 howitzers to Ukraine. These howitzers fire precisely at such projectiles that Canada is about to provide to Ukraine. According to a senior Canadian government official, the North American country is working to deliver the announced donation as soon as possible.
“Putin cannot redraw maps that suit him,” Anita Anand said during an online meeting of the international contact group coordinating aid to Ukraine.
This is not the first donation of artillery projectiles made by the Ottawa government to Kyiv. At the end of April, when Canada delivered 155mm M777 howitzers, thousands of GPS-guided artillery projectiles M982 Excalibur, formerly known as XM982, were loaded with the shipment.
Most recently, BulgarianMilitary.com published a video from the front in Ukraine showing Ukrainians striking a Russian artillery battery with M777 howitzers and M982 Excalibur projectiles.
70 km range
According to comprehensive foreign reports, nearly two years ago (at the end of December 2020) the US Army successfully tested the M982A1 Excalibur artillery shells with a new prototype of the XM1299 self-propelled gun, which is still under development, hitting a 70-kilometer target.
This self-propelled gun XM1299 has been modernized and improved based on the M109A7. The main one is a new gun with a barrel length of 9.1 meters and a caliber of 155 mm, which can fire M982A1 Excalibur shells. Initially, the test did not go well, as a strong headwind made the first projectile miss its target by about 100 to 200 meters, but after later adjustments, it successfully hit the target at 70 kilometers. At the same time, the effect of different propellants was evaluated in this test.
Sources claim that the M982A1 Excalibur projectiles used have also been improved and are part of the “Extended Range Artillery Project (ERCA)”.
About M777 155mm towed howitzers
M777 155mm is an American howitzer, which has been in service since 2005. Australia, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United States are currently the operators of this type of artillery. 155mm M777 is manufactured by BAE Systems. This howitzer has taken an active part in the war in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. Separately involved in hostilities in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.
155mm M777 weighs 4,200 kg and is 10.7 meters long. The crew that serves the howitzer consists of eight soldiers. Its caliber is 155 mm and fires projectiles M107, M795, ERFB, M982. The shells fly at 827 m/s. Depending on the type of projectiles used, the operational range of the howitzer is different: from 24 to 40 km.
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