In 2012, Belgium decided to withdraw from service as many as 108 M109A4BE self-propelled howitzers and did not even find a replacement for them. The sale was made to the arms dealers FTS and Sabiex International, who modernized them and sold them to Indonesia and Brazil (36 and 40 respectively) and now there are chances that the government will buy them back and hand them over. for Ukraina.
Chances are that Belgium will provide artillery to Ukraine in the form of the M109A4BE cannon. We are currently waiting for the case to develop
It is certain that these companies still have access to at least ~ 30 M109A4BE cannon howitzers, which have become a topic in the Belgian government. The latter is currently probing the possibility of buying back these remaining copies, to hand them over to Ukraine and strengthen the brave defenders in the face of the Russian invasion. When it comes to Belgium’s capabilities in this segment, the local army currently operates towed guns and mortars, and in the future it intends to buy about 9 wheeled 155 mm CAESAR NG cannons from France.
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In themselves, the M109A4BE self-propelled gun howitzers may not be the latest equipment, but as war shows, it’s not age, efficiency and availability matter. These American-made equipment use a 155-mm gun with a length of 39 calibers, which allows them to hit enemies at ranges from 18.5 to 23.5 km, depending on the ammunition. This level is already available to Ukrainians, but access to the M109A4BE would also allow them to use other types of ammunition.