Colombia picks Elbit’s Atmos howitzer over Nexter’s Caesar

SANTIAGO, Chile — Colombia has ordered 18 units of the 155mm howitzer Atmos from Israel’s Elbit Systems in a deal worth $101.7 million, military sources in Bogota told Defense News.

The decision came as a surprise for some observers who expected the contract to go to the Colombian Army’s preferred choice, the six-wheel drive Caesar made by French company Nexter .

During final negotiations, Nexter informed Colombia that the value of the potential deal would be $114 million, according to the military sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to talk to the media. That price was deemed too high compared to funding allocated to the acquisition program.

Nexter did not respond to a request for comment.

Colombia ultimately turned its attention to the Atmos, and the parties reached an agreement within budget.

The procurement of long-range howitzers is a key component of the military’s modernization efforts, with Colombian land forces lacking this kind of weapon. The Atmos is a truck-mounted, six-wheel drive, 155mm/52-caliber howitzer featuring a computerized fire control system with automatic modes.

“After decades focused mainly in counterinsurgency and fighting drug traffickers, Colombia is now engaged in upgrading and modernizing the conventional capabilities of its armed forces — in this case field artillery — at a breathtaking pace,” independent analyst Emilio Meneses told Defense News.

“The advances in detection and counter-battery fire nowadays demand that artillery systems must have a high mobility for fast deployment and immediate [movement] to a new position after firing to avoid the reaction of the enemy. Only wheeled howitzers provide such a high level of fast mobility,” Meneses added, noting that other regional nations will likely follow suit.

José Higuera is a Latin America correspondent for Defense News.

智利圣地亚哥——据波哥大军方消息人士向《防务新闻》透露，哥伦比亚已向以色列埃尔比特系统公司订购了 18 门 155 毫米“大气”榴弹炮，交易金额达 1.017 亿美元。

一些观察人士对此决定感到惊讶，他们原本预计合同会授予哥伦比亚陆军的首选——法国奈克斯特公司生产的六轮驱动凯撒装甲车。

据不愿透露姓名的军方消息人士称，在最终谈判期间，奈克斯特公司告知哥伦比亚方面，潜在交易的价值为1.14亿美元。这些消息人士表示，他们未获授权接受媒体采访。与分配给该采购项目的资金相比，这个价格被认为过高。

Nexter公司未回应置评请求。

哥伦比亚最终将注意力转向了 Atmos 项目，双方在预算范围内达成了协议。

采购远程榴弹炮是哥伦比亚军队现代化建设的关键组成部分，而哥伦比亚陆军目前缺乏此类武器。“阿特莫斯”是一款车载式六轮驱动155毫米/52倍径榴弹炮，配备有带自动模式的计算机化火控系统。

独立分析师埃米利奥·梅内塞斯告诉《防务新闻》：“哥伦比亚在过去几十年主要致力于反叛乱和打击毒品走私之后，现在正以惊人的速度提升和现代化其武装部队的常规能力——在本例中指的是野战炮兵。”

“如今探测和反炮兵火力技术的进步要求火炮系统必须具备高机动性，以便快速部署并在射击后立即转移到新的阵地，避免敌方反应。只有轮式榴弹炮才能提供如此高的快速机动性，”梅内塞斯补充道，并指出其他地区国家很可能会效仿。

何塞·伊格拉是《防务新闻》拉丁美洲记者。