Purchase of CAESAR will not increase combat readiness of Armenian armed forces, expert says

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian military observer Viktor Litovkin commented on Armenia’s purchase of French CAESAR self-propelled howitzers.

“The political and military leadership of Russia, I believe, is calm about the purchase because, firstly, Armenia cannot purchase such a large batch of CAESARs. This will not affect the situation in Transcaucasia in any way. This is the first thing.

The second thing is that Armenia is a sovereign state and has the right to buy weapons wherever it wants and whatever it has enough money for,” the expert said.

Alpha News‘ interlocutor skeptically described the tactical and technical characteristics of the CAESAR, especially emphasizing the vulnerability of the installation’s personnel.

“As for the CAESAR, in my opinion, this is not a very good system. Well, firstly, because it is on wheels. And in order for it to shoot, it must be placed on jacks all the time. Secondly, since it is on a vehicle, it is a rather unstable platform for shooting. When the barrel must be turned at an angle of more than 30 degrees relative to the direction of the vehicle itself, due to recoil, the vehicle may roll over. Moreover, the CAESAR, which France supplied to the Ukrainian army to fight against Russian artillerymen, did not prove to be a good technique.

In general, wheeled artillery is quite vulnerable because there is no protective casing for the artillery crew. The crew is not protected from enemy fragments. This creates great risks,” Litovkin explained.

“The purchase of the CAESAR does not promise any military conflicts, but it only promises that there will be no increase in the combat readiness of the Armenian armed forces. CAESAR is not the best self-propelled artillery gun that can be,” the expert concluded.