Experimental weapons work on the battlefield, and on the chassis of a regular HMMWV

The first photo has appeared on the Internet, confirming the existence of an experimental American mobile 105-mm howitzer in units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine 2- CT Hawkeye on the HMMWV chassis.

At one time, the specialized portal Militarnyi with reference to the representative of the company AM General Mike Evans  reported on the testing  by the soldiers of the Defense Forces 2-CT Hawkeye MHS. She came to Ukraine in April of this year. under the seal of secret supply for real tests in combat conditions.

It took two weeks for the Ukrainian crew to train. Target shootings were conducted at real targets. The testing was completed successfully.

And now, with a reference to real events, a photo of this installation appeared. However, neither time nor geography is specified. The photo received from its subscriber was published by the national information portal “Tysk”.

The appearance of this howitzer in the combat zone and its successful use on the battlefield may affect the Pentagon's decision to put it into service.

It is worth clarifying that this is not yet a serial car, Hawkeye remains an experimental prototype and has not yet entered mass production. Only a few units were produced, two of which were given to the US Army, one to Ukraine.

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The howitzer works with several types of 105 mm ammunition. These can be classic M1 and M1130A1 high-explosive shells, M913 rockets, M314 illumination shells and M60/M60A2 smoke curtains.

The experimental 2-CT Hawkeye is based on the M1152 Humvee chassis. This – two-door car with a total weight of 6.4 tons. Under its hood is a V8 turbodiesel engine with a capacity of 205 horsepower.

The car has a 4-speed automatic transmission, a 2-speed transfer case and an anti-lock braking system. The cabin is designed for a crew of 4 people.

For the transportation and operational work of a powerful 105-mm howitzer (see illustrative video below) the chassis of the car was strengthened, and the howitzer itself made it much easier.

Outriggers were also installed in front and behind, which fix the installation during firing. Productivity – up to 12 rounds per minute.

Soft recoil technology has been integrated to stabilize the HMMWV chassis during firing. Without such an addition, the design and artillery system would quickly fail due to strong recoil.

The gun manufactured by Mandus Group (see illustrative video below) has a barrel length of 27 calibers and provides a firing range of 11.6 km with standard ammunition and up to 19.5 km with rockets. The system is equipped with a digital fire control system and on-board communication, which eliminates the need for research fire points, aiming circles, etc.

Practical use has shown that it takes only one and a half minutes to prepare the system for firing after moving. After the last shot, three minutes are enough to prepare for transport mode, which is a good advantage in defense against Russian FPV drones.