BEDEX 2026: Belgium plans second artillery battalion

A CAESAR SPH at a CaMo day in Brasschaat, Belgium, on 15 May 2024. (Belgian MoD)

Janes learnt details of Belgium's plans for a second artillery battalion at the Brussels European Defense Exhibition and Conference (BEDEX) held from 12 to 14 March. These include the procurement of more self-propelled howitzers (SPHs), a multiple rocket launcher (MRL), and unmanned systems.

The 28 CAESAR Mk II NG (New Generation) 6×6 SPHs that Belgium is procuring under the Franco-Belgian Capacité Motorisée (Motorised Capability: CaMo) programme will be delivered in 2028, a Belgian army officer told Janes on 13 March, but he added that the second artillery battalion would not necessarily be equipped with the same system.

Belgium is also procuring 24 Griffon Mortier Embarqué Pour l'Appui au Contact (MEPAC) self-propelled 120 mm mortar carriers under CaMo.

The Belgian army officer told Janes that CAESAR batteries will also be equipped with loitering munition and MEPAC batteries with first-person view unmanned aerial vehicles.

Under CaMo, France plans to procure MRLs with Belgian involvement. The planned procurement aims to replace the French Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and will introduce MRLs into Belgian service.

The French Army is seeking a sovereign solution and plans to request studies from two competing consortiums or to buy MRLs off-the-shelf. The two consortiums are MBDA/Safran with the Thundart Artillery Rocket and Thales/ArianeGroup with a yet-to-be-announced system, plus the Fourdre MRL from Turgis & Gaillard.

The Belgian and French armies are integrating through CaMo, procuring the same vehicles under the French SCORPION transformation programme: Jaguar armoured reconnaissance vehicles, Griffon Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôle (VBMR) heavy multirole armoured vehicles, Serval Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôle Léger (VBMR-L) 4×4 light multirole armoured vehicles, and CAESAR SPHs.