PARIS ($1=0.96 Euros) — The Czech Republic has revealed to the world the long-kept secret new artillery configuration of the heavy-wheeled self-propelled artillery system of the TMG [Truck Mounted Gun] category – the Morana self-propelled howitzer. The self-propelled howitzer is manufactured by the company Excalibur Army and is not even present to date [June 13] in the company’s web portfolio.
Morana SPH is built on the experience of the Czech company, which has so far achieved the production of self-propelled howitzers Dana M2, Dana M1, and ShKH vz. 77 Dana and 2S1 Gvozdinka. The last self-propelled howitzer in the portfolio of the Czech manufacturer is 155mm Dita and a quick look at it shows that 155 / 52mm Morana is built based on 155mm Dita.
Unlike Dita, Morana’s designers have decided to mount the artillery gun system in the rear of the vehicle, which is built on the proven platform of the Tatra Force 8×8 chassis. Moving the gun system to the rear of the howitzer, the designers placed the propulsion unit behind the cabin of the vehicle, which is armored. The company says that in this way Morana SPH is a mix of light-wheeled self-propelled artillery systems of the TMG [Truck Mounted Gun] category and heavy artillery systems on a chassis.
The Morana SPH cannon is 155 mm with a barrel length of 52 calibers. The tool can be used in three basic modes: fully automatic, manual, and emergency. Loading with artillery shells is also fully automatic. Initially, the howitzer compartment was loaded with 40 artillery shells that could be fired at six per minute. In addition, there is an integrated 12.7 mm machine gun as a secondary weapon for self-defense, and the entire weapon configuration is controlled by an onboard control system with a ballistic computer.
The crew of Morana SPH has three members – leader, commander, and operator. The interesting thing, in this case, is that the three-member crew remains in the cabin and performs total control over all actions of stopping, positioning, loading, aiming, and firing the 155mm artillery shell. In this way, in the armored cabin, where the howitzer doors are also armored, the crew remains completely protected.
The presentation of the 8×8 155 / 52mm in Paris was attended by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France Michel Fleischmann, the Deputy Minister of Defense Tomas Kopechny, and the President of the Association of Defense and Security of the Czech Republic Jiri Hinek.
The Czech Ambassador to France, Michel Fleischmann, praised the Czech Republic’s ability to develop modern defense technologies: “The modern artillery system is an important technology not only for the Czech Republic but also for European security.” Deputy Minister Tomasz Kopeczny said: “Ukraine has shown that modern artillery is key to protecting against Russian aggression.”
