Emmanuel Macron mentioned the delivery of 18 new Caesars (trucks equipped with an artillery system) to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, at a time when “everything that was available has already been given,” said General Olivier Kempf, associate researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research, on Friday October 7th on franceinfo. While noting the great benefits of Nexter’s artillery system, he notes that France “can’t go beyond what it’s already taken from its own army,” and that the process of creating these high-tech weapons is lengthy.
franceinfo: Does Ukraine still need weapons?
General Olivier Kempf: From the very beginning, Ukraine has needed weapons. The point here is that the weapons in question take a long time to manufacture. What was in stock or in excess has already been passed on, and it takes a long time to create new ones, especially since European weapons are at a high technological level. The whole difficulty that Ukraine faces now is that it has already received many American and European weapons, but today it is delivering much less, because everything that was available has already been given.
Can we try harder?
We have already delivered 18 Caesars, almost a quarter of what the French artillery had (76 pieces). We cannot go further because the French army also has an army model to defend that must remain consistent. We’ve come a long way, so we’re looking for more orders, for example from the Danes. But the Danes will suffer from the same problem as we do: they must not become too skinny either.
What is Caesar’s advantage?
Capable of firing tens of kilometers, Caesar cannons are, above all, extremely accurate and mobile. They are on wheels, can fire a salvo of 6 grenades and disappear before the first shot hits its target. they are therefore unlikely to be hit by a “counter battery”, that is, by the enemy artillery locating the origin of a blow to fire on it. You therefore have the additional advantage of discretion. It belongs to the very precise and mobile high technologies, which belong to an advanced generation compared to the Russian artillery and Ukrainian artillery before, which are much more static. The Russian military can try to spot Caesar trucks with drones or satellite imagery before they strike, but it’s difficult.
Emmanuel Macron mentioned setting up a European fund for Ukraine to buy its weapons. Is this a sign that the war will continue?
I think the European Union is aware that the war will last a long time. It’s been going on for seven months now, and we understand that, based on his September 30 statements, Vladimir Putin has no intention of backing down and is determined to continue beyond the winter. It is therefore still several months or even longer.