Artiglieria: Estonia prevede di ordinare più Cesare 6x6s dalla Francia

>In January, the Estonian army received the first six 6×6 artillery system trucks [CAESAr] out of the twelve it had ordered through the Directorate General for Armaments [DGA] from KNDS France, as part of a “cooperation arrangement” made possible by the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act [EDIRPA] initiative.

>For Tallinn, it was a matter of obtaining these CAESArs as quickly as possible, the “development of a wheeled self-propelled artillery battalion” being one of its “most urgent” priorities.

>Six months later, the first CAESAr battery was declared “combat-ready” following a firing campaign conducted by reservists from the Estonian Army’s artillery battalion. The Estonian Army is clearly very satisfied with its new wheeled howitzers.

>The CAESAr “is extremely accurate. […] Compared to the D-30 towed howitzer, it is incomparable. It is so much faster to deploy and so much more mobile that we can execute random firing orders much more quickly. At first, it was difficult to get used to it, as tactics have evolved. But today, we have acquired all the necessary skills,” commented Second Lieutenant Ranno Rajaste, quoted by the Estonian General Staff.

>”The reservists quickly acquired the necessary skills, their motivation is high, and they showed good will,” confirmed Major Kaspar Põder, the director of this firing campaign. “The mastery and fluency are still perfectible, but I am generally satisfied with the result. The initial combat readiness has been achieved, and if necessary, Estonia has another highly capable, trained, and cohesive artillery battery ready to act,” he said.

>Since the CAESAr is proving satisfactory, could Tallinn order more? At least, that’s what the Estonian Ministry of Defense suggested when [presenting](https://www.err.ee/1609757604/eesti-kaitsevoime-arendamisel-on-rohk-ohukaitsel-suvalookidel-ja-luurel) its budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which is expected to amount to €2.4 billion. Without going into detail, it indicated that the “indirect fire” segment would be strengthened in the coming years.

>Currently, the latter is based on six CAESAr [and soon twelve] as well as thirty-six K9 Thunder tracked howitzers, acquired in 2018 from the South Korean Hanwha Aerospace.

>”There will be more indirect fire systems. There will be more K9s and CAESArs. We have already acquired various types of prowling munitions with a range exceeding 40 kilometers,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on July 30.

Good. Buy european whenever possible.