US, France to lead artillery coalition for Ukraine

PARIS — France and the United States will lead a coalition of 23 countries to provide artillery and ammunition to Ukraine, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Jan. 18.

The coalition aims to boost Ukraine’s artillery capacity in the short term, and France is looking for its partners to help finance the purchase of 72 Caesar howitzers for Ukraine in 2024, according to Lecornu.

Artillery battles have been a major feature of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with both sides firing thousands of shells daily. NATO countries in the past two years have provided an array of artillery pieces to bolster Ukraine’s firepower, including BAE Systems’ towed M-777 howitzer, the wheeled Caesar developed by Nexter, and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann’s tracked Panzerhaubitze 2000.

“As the situation on the battlefield shows, there is no substitute for modern artillery,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said via video in a press conference with Lecornu. “A stronger artillery capability is one of our key needs to win this war.”

Ukraine ordered six Caesar howitzers from Nexter in December that will be delivered in coming weeks, according to Lecornu. The company is capable of manufacturing an additional 72 of the truck-mounted guns for Ukraine this year, for total potential production of 78, he said. Nexter, part of KNDS, has increased output of the howitzer from two a month at the start of 2022 to six per month by last fall.

France has freed up €50 million ($54 million) that Lecornu says will buy 12 Caesar guns for Ukraine. The country is appealing to its coalition allies to chip in about €280 million for another 60 howitzers, including the costs of personnel training, operation and ammunition.

Other members joining the artillery-for-Ukraine coalition include Germany, the U.K., Canada and Poland, according to the French government. In December, the U.K. announced a coalition co-led by Norway to rebuild Ukraine’s navy, while Germany and Poland head a coalition to provide the embattled country with Leopard 2 tanks.

The countries providing military aid to Ukraine are reaching the limits of what they can deliver from stocks, and need to switch to a “production logic” that will allow the U.S. and European defense industries to directly connect with Ukraine, according to Lecornu.

French production of the 155-millimeter shells shells fired by the Caesar and other NATO-standard artillery will accelerate to 3,000 a month from January, after having already doubled last year from 1,000 a month before February 2022.

Within the framework of the coalition, Ukraine will determine its artillery priorities for the short, medium and long term, French officials said. The coalition has the double goal of helping Ukraine fight off Russia while providing an artillery force compatible with NATO.

Nexter will modernize the Caesar guns based on feedback from Ukraine, including associated drones and artificial intelligence-based recognition of Russian tanks, according to Lecornu.

France will additionally deliver 50 AASM air-launched munitions per month to Ukraine throughout 2024, Lecornu said in an interview with France Inter radio ahead of the press conference. He said the weapon, which is carried by French Mirage and Rafale fighters, has already been adapted for Soviet-era aircraft.

The AASM Hammer, made by Safran, is an air-to-surface weapon system with a range of more than 70 kilometers that is compatible with bomb bodies up to 1,000 kg, and Lecornu said the munition will allow Ukraine to strike deep behind Russian lines.

Lecornu said he has asked MBDA to speed up production of Aster air-defense missiles, similar to how the company boosted production of the Mistral short-range, surface-to-air missile. The minister said production of the Aster missiles, which are used by France’s multi-role frigates and in the SAMP/T air-defense system, is taking “much too long.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国武装部队部长塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努1月18日表示，法国和美国将领导一个由23个国家组成的联盟，向乌克兰提供火炮和弹药。

据勒科尔努称，该联盟的目标是在短期内提升乌克兰的炮兵能力，而法国正在寻求合作伙伴，以帮助乌克兰在 2024 年购买 72 门凯撒榴弹炮。

炮战一直是俄罗斯在乌克兰战争中的主要特征，双方每天都发射数千枚炮弹。过去两年，北约国家向乌克兰提供了一系列火炮以增强其火力，其中包括英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）的M-777牵引式榴弹炮、奈克斯特公司（Nexter）开发的凯撒轮式榴弹炮以及克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼公司（Krauss-Maffei Wegmann）的2000型履带式榴弹炮。

乌克兰国防部长鲁斯捷姆·乌梅罗夫在与莱科尔努举行的视频新闻发布会上表示：“战场形势表明，现代火炮无可替代。增强火炮能力是我们赢得这场战争的关键需求之一。”

据莱科尔努称，乌克兰去年12月向奈克斯特公司订购了6门凯撒榴弹炮，将在未来几周内交付。他还表示，该公司今年有能力为乌克兰再生产72门这种车载火炮，使其总产量达到78门。奈克斯特公司是KNDS集团的子公司，该公司已将该型榴弹炮的产量从2022年初的每月两门提高到去年秋季的每月六门。

法国已拨出5000万欧元（约合5400万美元），勒科尔努称这笔钱将用于为乌克兰购买12门凯撒榴弹炮。法国正呼吁其盟国共同出资约2.8亿欧元，用于购买另外60门榴弹炮，费用包括人员培训、运行和弹药等。

据法国政府称，加入向乌克兰提供炮兵援助联盟的其他成员包括德国、英国、加拿大和波兰。去年12月，英国宣布与挪威共同领导一个联盟，旨在重建乌克兰海军；而德国和波兰则牵头一个联盟，向这个饱受战火蹂躏的国家提供豹2坦克。

莱科尔努表示，向乌克兰提供军事援助的国家已经接近其库存所能提供的极限，需要转向一种“生产逻辑”，使美国和欧洲的国防工业能够直接与乌克兰对接。

法国155毫米炮弹（凯撒炮和其他北约标准火炮发射的炮弹）的产量将从1月份开始加快至每月3000发，此前在2022年2月之前，该炮弹的产量已经从每月1000发翻了一番。

法国官员表示，在联盟框架内，乌克兰将确定其短期、中期和长期的炮兵发展优先事项。该联盟的双重目标是帮助乌克兰抵御俄罗斯，同时为其提供一支与北约相兼容的炮兵力量。

据莱科尔努称，Nexter公司将根据乌克兰的反馈对凯撒火炮进行现代化改造，包括配套无人机和基于人工智能的俄罗斯坦克识别技术。

法国国防部长勒科尔努在新闻发布会前接受法国国际广播电台采访时表示，法国将在2024年全年每月向乌克兰交付50枚AASM空射导弹。他还表示，这种武器目前由法国幻影和阵风战斗机携带，并且已经针对苏联时代的飞机进行了改装。

赛峰集团制造的AASM“铁锤”是一种空对地武器系统，射程超过70公里，可搭载重达1000公斤的炸弹。莱科尔努表示，这种弹药将使乌克兰能够深入俄罗斯防线后方进行打击。

勒科尔努表示，他已要求MBDA公司加快“紫菀”（Aster）防空导弹的生产，就像​​该公司加快“西北风”（Mistral）短程地对空导弹的生产一样。这位部长指出，“紫菀”导弹的生产进度“太慢”，该导弹装备于法国的多用途护卫舰和SAMP/T防空系统。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。