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Canadian-donated howitzers prove deadly to Russian forces

Canada can claim partial credit for a state-of-the-art weapon that is proving to be extraordinarily effective at destroying Russian formations in eastern Ukraine.

Last week, Russian forces lost an entire battalion after it attempted to cross Ukraine’s Siverskyi Donets River on a pontoon bridge. More than 100 vehicles and tanks are estimated to have been destroyed and up to 1,000 troops are believed to have been killed or wounded.

Over the weekend, a Russian ammunition depot near the city of Izyum was virtually evaporated , destroying a tank and up to seven armoured personnel carriers.

In both cases, one of the weapons reported to be responsible was an M777 howitzer; a towed artillery piece capable of firing a roughly 100-pound shell. In late April, Canada donated at least four of its M777s to Ukraine in order to answer a call by the country’s armed forces for heavier weapons to help overrun Russian-held positions in the country’s east.

The United States sent 90 of the guns, and even coordinated the air shipment of Canada’s four howitzers. Australia has sent six.

Although the gun looks about the same as towed artillery pieces from the time of the Second World War, the M777 is so new that it only entered U.S. service starting in 2005. Compared to the Russians — who primarily use inaccurate Soviet-era artillery — the M777 is renowned for firing farther and with pinpoint accuracy.

Firing a standard M795 projectile, an M777 can shoot up to 30 kilometres away, farther than most of the Russian artillery stationed in Ukraine’s east.

Canada also reportedly sent Ukraine an undisclosed number of “Excalibur” rounds — computer-controlled artillery shells that can guide themselves to a pre-determined target. After being fired, tiny wings spring out of the Excalibur, which then steer it to its destination using GPS data.

At just 9,500 pounds, the gun is also way lighter than conventional heavy artillery (the Canadian Department of Defence notes that its other howitzer, the M109, weighs 50,000 pounds). If an army needed to, it could technically tow one of them with nothing more than factory spec Ford F-150.

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2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281625308908187

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