The U.S. Marine Corps is preparing to send a new batch of battle-proven 155mm ultra-lightweight howitzers to Ukraine, the Department of Defense says.
The Department of Defense announced on its Facebook page that Marine Corps Marines are preparing M777 towed 155 mm howitzers for shipment, along with other supplies and munitions, as part of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III that 74 of the 90 M777 artillery cannons that the U.S. supplied Ukraine are forward in the fight, providing long-range, indirect fire capability, the official said, noting that the guns are being used not only in the Kharkiv area but elsewhere in the Donbas.
The M777 towed howitzers supplied by the U.S. and other types supplied by ally and partner nations to Ukraine are having a big impact on the battlefield.
The 155mm howitzer weighs 4.2 tonnes and can fire as many as five rounds per minute. The M777 is the world’s first artillery weapon to make widespread use of titanium and aluminum alloys, resulting in a howitzer that is half the weight of conventional towed 155mm systems.
Howitzer is equipped with a 39-calibre barrel. It has a maximum firing range of 24.7km, with unassisted rounds, and 30km with rocket-assisted rounds.