Training on one of the most modern artillery weapons usually lasts 40 days. Mathematically, the training of the Ukrainians on the Panzerhaubitze 2000 would be over next week. Then the systems are to be delivered to the war zone.
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht continues to assume that the promised self-propelled howitzers will soon be delivered to Ukraine. The training on the weapon system in Germany will “now be completed soon,” said the SPD politician. This could “then also be used to fight in Ukraine”.
At the beginning of May, the federal government announced that seven Panzerhaubitz 2000 from Bundeswehr stocks would be handed over to the Ukraine. The Netherlands deliver five more. On May 11, training of Ukrainian soldiers on howitzers mounted on a tank chassis began in Germany. It should be completed after around 40 days, which would be the beginning of next week.
However, Lambrecht did not want to set an exact date for a visit by the Bundeswehr’s cyber troops in Rheinbach. “The first howitzers will be delivered when the training is complete and it is responsible,” she said. “I will neither date nor make transport routes public. The point is that both the howitzer and those who will fight with it will arrive safely in Ukraine.”
The Panzerhaubitze 2000, manned by three to five soldiers, is a large firepower mobile artillery piece mounted on a tank chassis. The vehicle, which weighs more than 55 tons, was built to help your own soldiers in battle from a distance by shooting at the enemy. That is called “indirect fire support” in military jargon.
With a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour, the howitzer can be deployed quickly. Depending on the ammunition used, the cannon with a caliber of 15.5 centimeters can shoot 30 to 40 kilometers and, with the help of the built-in fire control computer, cause great damage with pinpoint accuracy. The howitzer, which experts regard as one of the most modern in the world, can fire up to ten shells per minute.
The Bundeswehr has been using the Panzerhaubitze 2000 since 1998. The Dutch army used the gun during the international military operation in Afghanistan.
