Estonia receives its first six French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzers

The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) have taken delivery of its first batch of French-made Camion Équipé d'un Système d'Artillerie (CAESAR) self-propelled artillery pieces, following a joint procurement with the French government.
The six vehicles arrived by sea transport, after a deal was inked last summer between the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK), its French counterpart, the DGA, and European private sector defense holding company KNDS.
The second batch of six already bought howitzers are expected to arrive in country by the end of this summer.
This joint procurement also allows the option of additional CAESAR purchases in the future.
The CAESARs are to be assigned to the 3rd self-propelled artillery battalion of the EDF's Estonian division.
Ramil Lipp, head of the armaments category at RKIK, said: "I training and user-level instruction have been completed. We will continue with additional training, and we also need to train maintenance personnel."
The CAESARs will be used by both EDF conscripts and reservists, with training for the first group to start in the next few weeks, and for reservists, in the summer, under current plans.
Introduced in 2008, CAESAR is a French-built 155mm self-propelled howitzer capable of striking targets over 55 km using smart ammunition.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'