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Caesar (Camion Equipe dún Syste'me dÁrtillerie) gun
uses the Giat 155mm/52Cal. gun mounted on a 6x6 all terrain a
vehicle, equipped with integral navigation, fire control and gun
laying systems and networked over tactical information systems to
facilitate accurate and timely engagement of time critical targets.
Five pre-production models were already produced and used for
evaluations by the French Army, mounted on Mercedes-Benz Unimog
chassis.
The French Army plans to procure 72 Caesar guns,
utilizing 6x6 Renault Trucks Defense chassis. The Thai Army also
ordered six Caesar vehicles in May 2006. An order of 76 units was
reported on July 2006, presumably destined for Saudi-Arabia.
The vehicle with its
integral gun weighs 18 tons and is designed for air transportation
as a single load in a C-130 aircraft. Caesar is capable of rapid
mobility – up to 100 km/h on road, at ranges up to 600km, twice as
fast as tracked SP artillery. The gun is qualified to fire modular
charges (zones 1 to 6 MTLS) enabling maximum firing ranges of up to
41km. The vehicle is equipped with an integral fire control
computer, navigation and positioning and gun laying system enabling
independent employment and automatic aiming possible.
A protected compartment accommodates the six men crew
and the fire control computer. An additional data display console is
located at the rear of the gun. Ammunition stowage is also located
on the truck, ready for firing. The gun can be deployed in position
and fire six rounds in two minutes, and escape to another position
evading counterfire. Caesar is currently in evaluation for British
Army Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System (LIMAWS) program
calling for an air transportable artillery. It is also offered to
potential clients in Australia, the Middle East and Malaysia. In the US, Caesar
is promoted by United Defense which also works on the US Army Non
Line of Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) element of the Future Combat Systems.
As part of the advanced CAESAR system, GIAT also
demonstrated the TOP – (acronym for Gun Operational Terminal), an
interface linking a modern artillery tube to the artillery C3
system. TOP consists of a computer system, providing ballistic
computation, handling of all navigation and positioning functions,
handling of advanced trajectory correction fuses such as the
SPADICO, muzzle velocity computation
(based on muzzle velocity radar data) call for fire management and
management of firing sequences and ammunition supplies.
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