“With this American ball, we will defeat Russia and force it to retreat from our land.” The US-made M777 has become a weapon that Ukraine is betting on.
In fact, the M777 cannon entered the war in Ukraine after Kyiv insisted on its request to its Western allies, so how did it work and could it change the course of the war in Ukraine’s favor or might it be included. It’s in a long erosive battle.
Why is Ukraine betting on the M777 ball?
The weapon, which Ukraine hoped to make a decisive difference in its war with Russia, was hidden in a pile of cut branches from nearby trees that were invisible from a few meters away.
Soon a bullet made a powerful metallic sound as it moved toward Russian positions.
According to the New York Times, the M777 is a US-made M777 howitzer that fires farther, moves faster and can be easily hidden, something the Ukrainian military has been waiting for.
The United States has promised to send 90 Howitzer M777s and has already begun sending them to the Ukrainian military, while Australia is scheduled to send six artillery pieces, while Canada has pledged four units and Washington has said it intends to send four. Is delivering 200,000 rounds of ammunition to Kiev. Weapons, including the M982 Excalibur precision-guided ammunition.
The M777 is a Howitzer currently used by the US Army and Marines and has a maximum range of 15 miles and requires a crew of 8 to 10 people.
The M777 is 41 percent lighter than the M198, which has been replaced in the US Army and Marines, thanks in large part to the large amount of titanium and aluminum alloy it uses. This allows it to be carried by C-130 rotating aircraft, MV-22B Osprey or helicopters, and the weapon offers multiple transport options along with the ease of hiding in fixed positions, in combat environments where troops use It lacks air superiority, it offers.
Three months after the war in Ukraine, the first M777 weapons – the deadliest weapon the West has ever provided – are now deployed in battles in eastern Ukraine. The arrival of the weapon raised the Ukrainians’ hopes for artillery supremacy, at least in some frontline areas, a major step towards military victories in the war, which is now mostly fought on flat and open plains at long distances. .
American howitzers are large mechanisms made of iron and titanium that are wound with hydraulic hoses and mounted on four legs that fold up and down. Ukrainian commanders say they have fired hundreds of bullets since May 8, destroying armored vehicles and killing Russian soldiers.
“This weapon brings us closer to victory,” said Col. Roman Kachur, commander of Ukraine’s 55th Artillery Battalion, whose unit was the first to use the weapon.
Western analysts say it depends on quantity, but Western military analysts say it is unclear how close the Ukrainians are to victory. Given that the Russians continue to wage fierce fighting in the eastern Donbas region, the arrival of modern weapons is no guarantee of success. Much depends on the number.
“Artillery is a very small issue,” Michael Kaufman, director of Russian studies at the Center for Marine Analysis, a think tank in Arlington, said in a telephone interview. “Russia has one of the largest artillery armies in the world.”
The United States announced weeks ago that it was offering Howitzer, but so far there have been hints of their use in more combat in videos posted mostly by anonymous soldiers online.
On Sunday, May 22, the Ukrainian military visited an artillery barracks in eastern Ukraine for the New York Times, in the first independent international media confirmation of the use of the weapon.
Military analysts say the full effect will not be felt for at least another two weeks, as Ukraine has not yet trained enough troops to fire all of the 90 howitzers promised by the United States and other allies. So far, only about 12 weapons have reached the front.
Arming Ukraine with more politically powerful weapons is a sensitive issue. The United States, France, Slovakia and other Western countries quickly provided artillery and other support systems, such as drones, while Russia accused the West of waging a proxy war in Ukraine and threatened to send weapons if it continued to send weapons. It will have uncertain consequences.
There was disagreement in the Western Alliance over the amount of force Russia had to deal with. France, Italy and Germany have suggested that Ukraine use more powerful weapons levers to push for a ceasefire, which could lead to the withdrawal of Russian troops through negotiations.
Ukrainian officials refused. They insist that acceleration is in their favor, and that talks should take place only after victory on the battlefield and the recapture of territory.
The use of the M777 may strengthen these Ukrainian tendencies to intensify.
In an interview with Ukrainian television over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky said that a diplomatic solution would be reached only after Ukraine achieves more military victories and an arms invasion.
“It’s like a car, not gas or electric, but a hybrid,” he said of ending the war with a combination of military achievements and negotiations. And so it is: war is complex.
He added: “Victory will be bloody.”
The Ukrainian army has driven Russian forces out of Kyiv and from positions near the country’s second largest city, Kharkov, but is now under intense pressure in a more limited battle to control the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
In any case, the two sides said diplomatic talks failed about a week ago and brought the issue back to the battlefield. And not everything goes to the taste of Ukraine. Russian forces are now approaching the siege of the town of Sorodontsk in the Donbas region and will threaten to besiege Ukrainian forces.
“I’m surprised that people believe that Ukrainian forces can absorb this amount of casualties and be ready to attack immediately afterwards,” said Kaufman, a political analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis.
It performs better than the joint artillery of the Russian army
However, the new Western long-range artillery is the most powerful and destructive weapon among the many types of weapons currently offered by NATO countries. It launches its missiles 3 miles (approximately 4.8 km) away from the most commonly used artillery system used by the Russian military in Ukraine, the Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, and 10 miles (approximately 4.8 km) if accurate. GPS positioning guided projectile.
The M777 uses 155mm bullets – the standard size for NATO countries, according to Popular Mechanics.
Most Ukrainian artillery was produced before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Howitzer M777 generally fires precision-guided Excalibur projectiles that use GPS to hit their targets, providing accurate guidance during missile flight and dramatically reducing accuracy regardless of range. Increases from two meters.
The US Army Procurement Support Center (ASC) says Excalibur “increases killing rate and reduces casualties.”
According to Newsweek, the accuracy and range of the Howitzer M777 with improved 155 mm bullets could be useful for the Ukrainian forces.
Although the M777 initially used a simple optical sight system, the M777A1 has a digital system that delivers incredible accuracy of up to 19 miles for its projectiles and up to 25 miles for special ammunition developed for the latest model of the rifle ( M777A2) guarantees. ).
A senior US Department of Defense official said the 155mm M777 howitzers provided by the United States and other variants offered by allies and partners in Ukraine have a significant impact on the battlefield.
“You can already see that the Ukrainians are ready to launch a counterattack in the Donbas region, they are taking back some of the cities that were previously occupied by the Russians,” the official said.
Can be hidden after use in bombing
Confidentiality is crucial in the artillery swap game that has marked the war in recent weeks. Very quickly, soldiers gather freshly cut tree branches on the cannon as camouflage against enemy drones.
During the exchange of cannons, soldiers pay attention not only to the issue of victory, but also to the ability to hide and move the cannon and support vehicles quickly.
As of last Sunday, about 12 Howitzers, stationed two weeks ago, had fired 1,876 rounds of artillery batteries, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian artillery fired at least three Russian armored vehicles, using a combination of air explosions, anti-personnel missiles and other types of projectiles, and Colonel Kachur estimates that they killed at least several dozen Russian soldiers.
The missiles were aimed at destroying Russian military positions and infrastructure, such as ammunition depots and command posts, an officer said. Ukrainian soldiers say howitzers will also save lives by hitting Russian artillery shelling their cities.
Ukrainian artillery officers said that the types of Western artillery currently pouring into Ukraine had several advantages over systems inherited from the Soviet Union. One of the most important advantages is its compatibility with NATO-caliber missiles, which allay concerns that Ukraine will soon run out of Soviet-caliber ammunition, which is now mostly produced in Russia.
In addition to the weapons sent by the United States, the French have promised to send Caesar howitzers mounted on trucks, which can be quickly evacuated after firing bullets in a maneuver known as “hit and run.” The Slovaks also pledged to supply Howitzer.
But military analysts say the US M777, known as the “Three Sevens”, is likely to be most effective because of the number of weapons provided, which, when trained enough to use precision-guided missiles. .
Throat is education. The United States has so far trained 200 Ukrainian soldiers in six-day training sessions at German bases. The Ukrainian army split the group in half, sending some to the front and others to train more Ukrainians.
Mikhail Zhirokhov, author of a book on artillery in Ukraine’s war with Russian-backed separatists called the “Gods of the Combined War,” said it might take a few more weeks to train enough troops for all 90 cannons – the amount to be included. – be. It may take a few more weeks
Jirokhov said fewer computer-controlled French Caesar self-propelled guns would also help, but it would take months to learn how to use them. “Even the French find it very complicated,” he added.
After the M777 was fired by the soldiers, the cannon was repositioned vertically and its snout was covered with camouflage branches. One of the officers shouted: Move faster! The crew then ran to find the Russians.
Source: Lebanon Debate
