NATO-supplied artillery piece for Ukraine catches fire after UAV attack

According to Russian media, the incident occurred in southern Ukraine.

A video shared by the military website Voenhronika.ru shows that a Russian reconnaissance drone (UAV) discovered an FH70 howitzer deployed by Ukrainian artillery in an unspecified area of ​​Kherson province. The coordinates of the howitzer were immediately transmitted to the command post and a Lancet suicide UAV was sent there to attack.

FH70 gun on fire after the attack. Photo: Voenhronika.ru/ Telegram

The Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the images published by Russian media.

According to Military Today, the FH70 is a howitzer jointly manufactured by several defense industry corporations in three NATO member countries, including the UK, Germany, and Italy, and officially used by the British army in the late 1970s.

BBC Ukraine news site said that all FH70 howitzers donated to Kiev since May have come from Italy and Estonia.

Ukrainian soldiers use FH70 artillery. Photo: Mil.in.ua

The FH70 weighs 9.6 tons; its length when marching is 9.58m and when in combat is 12.43m. The gun's elevation angle ranges from -5 to 70 degrees, and its crew requires 8 soldiers. The FH70's maximum rate of fire is 6 rounds/minute. However, in special combat situations, the artillery crew can switch to 3-round burst mode within 15 seconds.

According to Military Today, the FH70's firing range with conventional and extended-range ammunition is 24km and 30km respectively. The ammunition used by this weapon is 155mm in size, manufactured according to artillery ammunition standards for NATO member countries.