A commander of Ukraine’s 147th Artillery Brigade has outlined a series of shortcomings in the French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers currently in use by Ukrainian forces, according to the Telegram channel Voennaya khronika.
The officer noted that the system can deliver strong performance-but only when firing original French ammunition. One of the central issues, he said, is the lack of mechanical backup settings that could compensate for electronic failures. This becomes especially problematic in cold weather, when onboard equipment may freeze, effectively leaving the gun system without proper control.
At the same time, the brigade commander did not describe the Caesar as a flawed platform overall. However, he pointed to a range of operational constraints that, in his view, complicate its deployment in high-intensity combat. Compared to Soviet-era systems or simpler Western models like the M109, the French howitzer is highly sensitive to ammunition characteristics, including both propellant charge parameters and shell geometry.
It is also reported that the use of 155 mm rounds from various manufacturers-whether American, Polish, or German-can accelerate barrel wear. In addition, such variations may disrupt the performance of the FAST-Hit automated fire control system.