Future Artillery 2025: Canada takes layered approach to fires modernisation

A Latvian soldier fires a Canadian Army M777 howitzer assigned to the NATO-enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group-Latvia during Exercise ‘Gangster Prime' in the Camp Ādaži training area in September 2019. (CAF)

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presented a layered approach to fires modernisation at Defence iQ's Future Artillery 2025 conference held in London from 20 to 22 May. The modernisation foresees long-range precision strike with a range of at least 100 km and indirect fires modernisation with a range of up to 50 km, with a loitering munition urgent operational requirement (UOR) having been completed.

The CAF's requirement is for self-propelled artillery systems that can provide integrated, synchronised, and co-ordinated fires and effects in the land environments capable of providing indirect fire support for a coastal defence and surface-to-surface role to the Canadian and allied armies up to the brigade level. The systems should feature lethality, a shoot-and-scoot capability, mobility and air transportability, interoperability, survivability, and sustainability.

For long-range precision strike, a decision on the procurement of 24 multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) is expected within the next six months. The Canadian Army is seeking 80–100 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs), up to 99 120 mm mortars mounted on Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs), and up to 85 81 mm mortars on Light Tactical Vehicles (LTVs), with ammunition, support platforms, fires command-and-control, infrastructure, and training. The loitering munition UOR was for Switchblade 300s and 600s, and some of the systems have been deployed to Latvia, where Canada leads a NATO multinational brigade.

In parallel, Canada is increasing the number of guns per artillery battalion from eight to 18, switching from 39 to 52 calibre for its howitzers, and seeking a sovereign ammunition supply.

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