A platoon of Dutch PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers await fire command in concealment. (KMW)
BELFAST — Germany’s military procurement arm has signed an estimated €184 million ($201 million) framework agreement for the acquisition of 10 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Panzerhaubitzen 2000 (PzH2000) self-propelled howitzers to replace those gifted to Ukraine.
Inked on Wednesday, the agreement with the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) includes an option for 18 additional units and will see a first tranche of four howitzers delivered in 2025 and all others handed over in 2026, according to a press notice.
Germany’s Budget Committee has already approved the acquisition, which will be financed under Section 60 of the federal budget, where “upgrading initiative” funds are held, according to the German Ministry of Defense (BMVg). The BMVg defines the upgrading initiative as a security aid designed to “support selected partner countries with military materials, equipment and training.”
Berlin’s artillery capabilities will still not be up to parity with pre-Ukraine war stocks once the 10 howitzers are delivered, as 14 units have been donated to Kyiv.
The PzH2000 is the German army’s main medium range artillery asset, used for indirect fire support operations with firepower based on integration of a 155mm gun, that, dependent on ammunition used, can fire to ranges beyond 40 kilometers (25 miles), according to the BMVg.
Berlin also announced that it will spend €919 million ($996 million) on an additional 227 BAE Systems Hägglunds BvS10 off-road vehicles under the trilateral Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program.
The new order will see deliveries from November 2025 to 2030. The German MoD noted that the procurement will be covered by the €100 billion ($109 billion) Special Arms fund.
Led by Sweden, CATV includes both Germany and the UK, who each initially agreed to jointly procure 436 vehicles worth $760 million in December 2022. Berlin’s share of vehicles from this earlier procurement amounts to 140 units. They are designed in a range of configurations from troop transport, logistics, medical evacuation, recovery, command and control, and are designed to be capable of operating in extreme weather conditions.
The unarmored version of the BvS10, designated Beowulf, won the US Army’s Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle program in August 2022. A $278 million production contract issued to BAE for the effort will see the manufacturer deliver 110 vehicles to the army over a five year period.
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