France Pledges Entire 2025 CAESAR Howitzer Output to Ukraine

All CAESAR wheeled self-propelled howitzers produced in 2025 will be transferred to Ukraine’s Defense Forces, French President Emmanuel Macron announced during an interview with TF1Info.

Macron emphasized that Ukraine’s security depends on the strength of its military and reiterated France’s continued support through weapons supplies and industrial production. “A strong Ukrainian army is key to peace,” Macron said, highlighting the role of French defense industry contributions in that effort.

France has committed to ramping up its production of the CAESAR artillery system to meet increasing demand. The country currently plans to manufacture 12 howitzers per month — a sharp increase from the pre-war output of just two per month.

Production levels have steadily risen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Output increased to six units per month, then to eight, and is now scaling to 12. This production surge will require Arquus, the supplier of the howitzer’s chassis, to produce one chassis every four days.

Ukraine has so far received 37 CAESAR systems from France and Denmark, with 78 more planned under an international military support initiative.

According to reports, 90% of the artillery barrels produced for CAESAR systems by the Franco-German defense consortium KNDS are being sent to Ukraine. At KNDS’s La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin facility, production of 155mm shells has doubled, with a target of 100,000 units by year-end.