Artillery may again become the King of Battle. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is turning into a brutal slugfest. Using tactics reminiscent of those employed in both World Wars, the Russian Army is relying on massive artillery barrages to drive back Ukrainian defenders along the Luhansk-Donetsk front. They are also using indirect fires to go after Ukrainian long-range fire systems. As a result, truck-mounted and self-propelled artillery systems and multiple rocket launchers have become the proverbial coin-of-the-realm for the Ukrainian Army. This should be a lesson for the U.S. Army, which has to decide soon on a replacement for its towed M777 155mm howitzer that equips both divisional artillery and the Stryker Brigade Combat teams. Other countries, including the UK, France, and Israel, have extremely effective truck-mounted 155mm howitzers. The Army’s next 155mm howitzer must be more mobile and survivable, which means it must be truck-mounted. I have written more on this subject here.
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