M777A2 howitzer proves to be the best in Ukraine's defense from Russia
Photo: The Armed Forces of Ukraine told which Western artillery has shown the best results in the war (Getty Images)
The Armed Forces of Ukraine told us which artillery has shown itself best at the front. We are talking about Western guns, says Serhii Musiienko, Deputy Commander of the Missile Forces and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“We used various trailer-mounted guns, among which the 155mm M777A2 proved to be the most effective and maintainable. Both in terms of its characteristics and the qualities of a gun. And in terms of its use, it proved to be the most suitable for modern warfare,” he says.
At the same time, as the military notes, in no way can we say that we need only trailed guns or only self-propelled guns.
“After all, we have different ways of using guns for different directions,” Musiienko adds.
M777 howitzer
M777 is a towed howitzer of 155 mm caliber. It is used by the ground forces of the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine. The first combat use took place in the war in Afghanistan.
In the spring of 1987, the Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL) weapons division developed a preliminary design for the UFH ultralight field howitzer. In September 1987, the US Army authorized the construction of two prototypes for testing. Since federal law prohibits the US Army from purchasing foreign-made weapons, Vickers teamed up with Textron to build the weapon in the United States. The completed prototypes called the LW155, were delivered to the United States for testing and evaluation in late 1989. In 1997, the US Army officially designated the LW155 as the XM777.
In November 2002, the US Department of Defense awarded BAE a $135 million contract to begin the XM777 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase and officially classified the howitzer as the M777. The LRIP contract was for 94 howitzers, the first of which was ready in February 2003. In the end, despite federal law, 30% of the M777's parts (suspension, chassis, and upper cradle) were manufactured at BAE's plant in the UK.
In July 2007, production of the M777A2 modification began. The M777A2 howitzers were updated with software to enable the use of Excalibur projectiles.
M777 howitzers in Ukraine
In May last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to open a factory for the production of Challenger tanks and M777 howitzers. A week before that, the United States decided to send a new batch of M777 howitzers to Ukraine.
Back in August 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian military was actively using the M777 howitzer in the war against the Russian invaders. It is better than Soviet systems in terms of parameters and is easy to operate.
In February 2024, it became known that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were restoring M777 howitzers in Ukraine.
