The French Ministry of Defense ordered the purchase of 18 CAESAR guns to replace a quarter of the artillery arsenal supplied to Ukraine. French manufacturing group Nexter announced in a statement that it will “deliver the systems to the military no later than the summer of 2024.”

“The sale was made at short notice in response to the pace of the war economy,” Nexter said.

The manufacturer stated: “The Ministry of the Armed Forces notified him on July 13,” and indicated that “in order to ensure rapid availability before the entry into service of the CAESAR MkII, which will be gradually equipped with army artillery regiments from 2026, he selected the Ministry of the Armed Forces “CAESAR MkI”.

The company did not disclose the value of the contract, but a few days ago, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Locorno, told the Senate that “85 million euros will be allocated to replace the 18 Caesar guns.”

The French army had 76 155-mm Caesar guns with a range of 40 km mounted on trucks.