On June 13, 2025, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia announced that it had ordered 12 CAESAR 6×6 wheeled self-propelled howitzers, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028. This country has joined the long list of CAESAR howitzer customers already waiting their turn for delivery.
This is reported by Army Recognition. This raises the question of how the new export contract for CAESAR howitzers aligns with France’s promise to provide all artillery systems of this type manufactured in 2025 to Ukraine. In other words, the French need to balance fulfilling their commitments to Ukraine with honoring contracts that have already been signed.
Read more: €20 Billion for Ukraine’s Defense Industry: The Best Form of Western Support, but What Will It Take?
It should be recalled that Macron announced France's intention to transfer all Caesars manufactured in 2025 to Ukraine in May this year. It appears that CAESAR howitzers produced between January and April 2025 may not be reserved exclusively for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and could also be allocated to other recipients.
Latest figures from November 2024 indicate that France has reduced the cycle for CAESAR howitzers from 30 to 15 months, with up to 12 now being produced per month. This means that all CAESARs manufactured in 2025 entered production no earlier than the beginning of 2024, and those entering production in 2025 will be fully ready by the second half of 2026.
To summarize all the data presented, the French may well reserve all CAESAR howitzers produced since the beginning of 2025 for their own or export needs, while still fulfilling their obligations to war-torn Ukraine.
Moreover, export orders for these French howitzers currently appear to be extremely large. At present, confirmed contracts for CAESARs have been signed by Lithuania (18 units) and Belgium (9 units). There are also reports of alleged orders from Croatia and Armenia, but the number of units has not been disclosed.
This does not include the fact that in February 2024, France placed an order for 109 upgraded CAESAR Mk2s for its own use, marking the largest domestic contract. Considering the current volume of orders, it is not surprising that Slovenia will not receive CAESARs until as late as 2028.
According to The Military Balance 2024, at the beginning of last year, the Slovenian Army had only 68 artillery systems, including 18 towed 155 mm TN-90 howitzers (a localized version of the Israeli Soltam M-71) and 50 mortars of 82 mm and 120 mm calibers.
Read more: From the Ukrainian Battlefields to European Assembly Lines: MBDA’s Plan for 1,000 One-Way Effectors Monthly
