German weapon maker KNDS reincarnates DONAR self-propelled artillery system as NEMESIS. With a more sleek design (based on renderings) and a new name, the system is trying to break the 16-years streak of failing to secure a supply contract despite proactive efforts to find a customer.
Hartpunkt published the details on the rebranded system, and it seems that changes are mostly cosmetic while the specifications, as well as strong and weak points, remain the same. As before, the artillery piece boasts high automation, reducing the required crew to only two people. The cabin, though, has a seat for a third member if a maintenance specialist is needed on-site.
Read more: Spain Considers Radhaubitze to Replace its Hundred Aging M109 Howitzers
An important advantage of Nemesis is that all parts are fully made in Europe. The heart of the system is the Artillery Gun Module — based on the L52 gun, also used in KNDS Panzerhaubitze 2000. Donar, now Nemesis, conceptually develops the concept of PzH 2000 by integrating the cannon into a weapon module on a lighter chassis.
For the Nemesis, KNDS chose a tracked ASCOD 2 vehicle, allowing the artillery piece to travel at 60 km/h on road with an operational range of 500 km. A similar project Radhaubitze, known to export customers as the RCH-155, mounts the same turret on a wheeled Boxer or Piranha.
Both Nemesis and RCH-155 were offered to Spain in June 2024 as replacement options for its aging 100-strong M109 fleet in a joint attempt by KNDS and the local offshoot of General Dynamics, Santa Barbara Sistemas. Although the wheeled variant interested the Spanish military, a supply contract hasn't been signed yet.
Overall, the RCH-155 has been enjoying more success in foreign markets so far. Ukraine has recently become the first operator, and the United Kingdom envisions the German wheeled gun as the core of its future fleet of artillery systems, currently depleted by donations to the same Ukraine. Whether the rebranding will help the tracked Nemesis achieve similar levels of popularity is yet to be seen.
Earlier, Defense Express highlighted which artillery system proved most suitable for modern high-intensity warfare based on real performance on Ukrainian battlefields, specifically, among the German PzH 2000, French CAESAR, and Swedish Archer. The report presented to the French parliament shed light on this matter and detailed how many Caesars were lost in combat.
Read more: France Revealed CAESAR Losses in Ukraine and Its Performance Compared to PzH2000 and Archer
