Elbit Systems To Supply ATMOS Artillery Systems To An Unnamed Country
Elbit Systems recently announced that it has won a contract worth approximately $102 million to supply artillery systems to an unnamed international customer. According to the company’s press statement, the contract will see Elbit supply a battalion of Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer (ATMOS) 155mm/52 caliber truck-mounted howitzer systems over an eight-year period. Although the company did not reveal the identity of the customer, it is believed that the country in question may be Colombia, which is known to be interested in Israel’s ATMOS howitzers in addition to the French Caesar artillery systems.
In a statement on the contract, Elbit Systems Land General Manager Yehuda (Udi) Vered said, “Elbit Systems’ comprehensive integrated artillery solutions provide a valuable competitive edge to the ground forces of our customers around the world. This contract is a vote of confidence in the advanced indirect fire solutions we provide.”
ATMOS is a 155mm/52 caliber self-propelled howitzer system designed and manufactured by Soltam Systems, an Elbit Systems subsidiary. The system, based on the Soltam ATHOS 2052 towed howitzer, may be mounted on any high mobility 6×6 or 8×8 truck chassis. The main weapon of the system is the 155mm L52, which is considered one of the most powerful conventional guns. As secondary weapons, the vehicle can be outfitted with a 12.7mm machine gun and several smoke grenade launchers. An onboard electronic package, automatic laying system, and automatic loading system are also part of the artillery system. ATMOS has a maximum target range of 41km using Extended Range Full Bore Base Burn (ERFB-BB) shells and can fire all types of certified 155 mm ammunition used by NATO and other countries. The vehicle, which has a total carrying capacity of 32 shells, can fire between 4 and 9 rounds per minute. The artillery system’s cabin, which may be operated by a crew of 2-6 personnel depending on customer needs, is armored and can withstand small arms fire and shell fragments.
Azerbaijan, Romania, Botswana, Cameroon, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, and Zambia are currently known users of the ATMOS system. Elbit Systems also revealed last month that it had signed two contracts for $252 million to provide an unnamed NATO country with a battalion of ATMOS 155mm/52 caliber truck-mounted howitzers and two PULS rocket launcher systems. Although the identity of the customer was not revealed in the company’s press statement, it is almost certain that the country in question is Denmark, which donated all 19 of its Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine in February of this year.