The Ukrainian army has on its own initiative developed a software program with which the twelve armored howitzers obtained from Germany and the Netherlands can be used against the Russians much more effectively than the German and Dutch army thought possible. This is what top NATO official David van Weel says in an interview in the recently published summer issue of EW.
To fire a precision shot, the Ukrainians only need half a minute of preparation time. The German and Dutch army takes 20 minutes to get there.
The computer program is so smart and contemporary that it has come to be called ‘the Artillerie Uber’ at NATO headquarters, says Van Weel (46). He is NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. In that role, he has access to top-secret intelligence reports on the battle in the Donbas and southern Ukraine.
Operate in a group
An armored howitzer Pzh2000 is a modern gun with a range of up to more than 50 kilometers. Depending on the circumstances, he fires grenades with a precision of a few meters to tens of meters. A battery of howitzers operates in groups. To surprise the enemy, targets must be bombarded from various positions.
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After firing, the tracked armored howitzer quickly flees as the enemy responds with counterfire. With the latter, the opponent betrays his position and then it’s up to another armored howitzer to mark that position and deliver another salvo from an unexpected angle.
The deployment of these heavy artillery pieces requires speed, constant location changes and adequate mutual consultation. Much depends on the choice of grenades, the magnitude of which can be changed at the last minute. All this makes deploying the Pzh2000 a complex matter, also because no civilian targets and no friendly troops may be hit. It is also a rule that an observer in the field, a fighter pilot or the ground station of a reconnaissance drone always keeps an eye on the damage caused.
Within half a minute
The Ukrainians use their ‘Artillery Uber’ to coordinate their actions. According to Van Weel, that goes much faster than the way in which the Germans and Dutch work with the artillery weapon. Van Weel says in EW about the Ukrainians’ new method: ‘Scouts point out in the digital system the place where artillery fire should strike. The program calculates which artillery is in the most favorable position. Within half a minute the digital command follows and shots are fired. Very fast, because it takes us at least 20 minutes to organize that. The twelve armored howitzers supplied by Germany and the Netherlands are now also linked with that software. These artillery pieces are then much more effective in the fight against the Russians.’
No steel against steel
Van Weel cites this as an example of the new military developments that are becoming visible in Ukraine. According to him, the battle is ‘not a classic conflict of steel against steel’. It is precisely a war in which sensors, large amounts of data and artificial intelligence play an important role.
It was previously known that the Ukrainians inflicted heavy blows on the Russians with clever use of Turkish Bayraktar drones.
Defense minister Kajsa Ollongren (D66) did not want to answer questions from EWmagazine.nl about the actual deployment of the Pzh2000 in Ukraine. Over the past few weeks, Germany and the Netherlands have supplied a total of twelve of these artillery pieces, including training of the necessary troops. Once in Ukraine, Berlin and The Hague no longer have control over the deployment.
