The Italian 155-mm M109L turreted self-propelled howitzers have been spotted at the railway station in Udine (Northeast Italy). Presumably, 20 or more guns are headed to Ukraine.
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Should be recalled that Italy announced an artillery supply in October, 2022, and already transferred part of the M109L howitzers (out of 20-30). Some of them were spotted in March, 2023.
Italy purchased 221 155-mm M109s from the U.S. without armament. The armament was manufactured and installed in Italy by Otobreda (at that time known as OTO Melara) and issued to the Italian Army.
The hull of the M109 gun has been modified to the M109A3 standard which is compatible with the new elevating mass and the aiming system of the M109G artillery.
The main change on the M109L gun is the replacement of existing 23-caliber barrel with a 39-caliber barrel. Externally, it is configured to the M109 mounting, but, internally, it is ballistically similar to the FH-70 configuration and can thus fire existing M107 ammunition or FH-70 ammunition. The M109L howitzer has a maximum range of 24-30 km with assisted ammunition.
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