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‘Shoot and Scoot’ – War in Ukraine Overturns Another Conventional Tenet of War. Threat from drones, loitering munitions & precision-guided weapons applies as much to artillery systems as it does with tanks & armored vehicles.

For decades conventional wisdom among military strategists has been artillery was the king of the battlefield. Only threatened by counter battery capability of enemy’s guns. If guns outnumbered or outranged those of opposition, you sited them correctly, and had a good strategy – then you would prevail.

Artillery of 20th century came in two main forms towed mostly tracked & armored self-propelled howitzers. The appearance of truck-mounted guns, France’s Caesar were seen as an interesting but inferior hybrid of the two, generally allowed guns to be redeployed faster than towed cousins, experts thought that they lacked the cross-country capability offered by tracks.

War in Ukraine has seen loitering munitions, precision-guided weapons, and most particularly drones, being the catalyst for a change in the balance of the artillery equation. Artillery is likely
probably will be indispensable weapon on battle field even more than ever, speed deployment, rapid firing moving on will be key to survivability – what the military calls: “shoot and scoot.”

An article in US military issues magazine Defense One says that Ukrainian experience, where wheeled guns have proved so effective, has impacted on US army plans for the future modernization of its artillery systems.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/34300

Cites Gen. James Rainey, chief of the US Army Futures Command telling a Senate hearing in May“… there are some very good, wheeled howitzers that having great effect in a place like Europe,” in reference to what was happening in Ukraine. His views contrast to the US' previous preference for tracked self-propelled artillery. In 2021 during a competition to select mobile artillery support for its Stryker Brigades, it rejected the foreign wheeled offerings in favor of the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

If happening in Ukraine. His views contrast to the US' previous preference for tracked self-propelled artillery. In 2021 during a competition to select mobile artillery support for its Stryker Brigades, it rejected the foreign wheeled offerings in favor of the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

Rainey said that on the future battlefield, artillery systems must be constantly on the move to avoid being detected, identified and destroyed. He said that, in addition, the US was also examining ways of improving and extending the range of mortar systems to supplement that need.

Ukraine’s experience shown utility of wheeled howitzers, including Sweden’s FH77BW L52 Archer, France’s Caesar, Ukraine’s own 2S22 Bohdana, compete favorably with tracked guns in terms of firepower, rate of fire, precision & range.

Ukraine recently announced it has expanded its production of Bohdanas to 10 systems a month.
While wheeled guns may not be as mobile off-road as tracked artillery there are sufficient trails and roads in Ukraine (and Europe) that combined with all-wheel drive makes less of a disadvantage than once thought. 

Wheeled guns are generally much cheaper, easier to maintain, and modern armor technologies offer protection comparable with most tracked vehicles. In 2023 the unit cost of the French Caesar MkII was €3.2 million ($3.5 million), compared with Germany’s tracked Panzerhaubitze 2000s was €18.4 million ($20 million) apiece, to Defense News. It studies shown cost of operating & maintaining wheeled systems result in cost savings of roughly 30%.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/34300