The Panzerhaubitze 2000 ("tank howitzer 2000"), () abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

in the 1980s and 1990s for the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. It is capable of a very high rate of fire; in burst mode it can fire three rounds in nine seconds, ten rounds in 56 seconds, and can—depending on barrel heating—fire between 10 and 13 rounds per minute continuously. The PzH 2000 has automatic support for up to five rounds of Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact (MRSI). Replenishment of shells is automated. Two operators can load 60 shells and propelling charges in less than 12 minutes. The PzH 2000 equips the armies of Germany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, mostly replacing older systems such as the M109 howitzer. In November 2019, a PzH 2000 L52 gun fired a shell a distance of 67 km.

Development

In 1986, Italy, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

agreed to terminate their existing development of the PzH 155-1 ( SP70) programme, which had run into reliability problems and had design defects, notably being mounted on a modified tank chassis. A new Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding (JBMOU) for a 52 calibre barrel (based on a UK proposal), to replace the 39 caliber design, was nearing an agreement. German industry was asked for proposals to build a new design with gun conforming to the JBMOU. Of the proposed designs, Wegmann's was selected. Wegmann eventually won a contract in 1996 for 185 units to be delivered to Germany's rapid reaction force, followed by another 410 for the main force. Wegmann and

KraussMaffei KraussMaffei is a German manufacturer of injection molding machines, machines for plastics extrusion technology, and reaction process machinery. It was acquired by ChemChina in 2016. History Locomotives KraussMaffei was formed in 1931 from a me ...

, the two main German military tracked vehicle manufacturers, merged in 1998 to form ''KMW''.

Design

designed the 155 mm 52-calibre JBMOU compliant rifled gun (60-rifles, right-hand spiral), which is

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hard ...

-lined for its entire 8 m length and includes a

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...

on the end. The gun uses a new modular charge system with six charges (five identical), which can be combined to provide the optimal total charge for the range to the target, as well as the conventional bagged charge systems. Primer is loaded separately via a conveyor belt, and the entire loading, laying and clearing are completely automated. The maximum range of the gun is 30–36 km with the standard DM121 Boattail round, about 40–47 km with

base bleed Base bleed is a system used on some artillery shells to increase range, typically by about 20–35%. It expels gas into the low pressure area behind the shell to reduce base drag (it does not produce thrust). Since base bleed extends the ran ...

rounds, and 67 km with M2005 V-LAP assisted projectiles. In April 2006 a PzH 2000 fired assisted shells (

Denel Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency ...

V-Lap) over a distance of 56 km with a probable maximum range of over 60 km. The gun can also fire the

SMArt 155 SMArt 155 is a German 155 mm artillery round, designed for a long range, indirect fire top attack role against armoured vehicles. The SMArt carrier shell contains two submunitions with infrared sensor and millimeter wave radar, which des ...

artillery round, which is used by Germany and Greece. Wegmann supplied both the chassis, sharing some components with the

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Ger ...

, and the turret for the gun. The system has superb cross-country performance because of its use of continuous tracks and considerable protection in the case of counter-fire. The turret includes a

phased array In antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled array of antennas which creates a beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving th ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

on the front glacis for measuring the muzzle velocity of each round fired. Laying data can be automatically provided via encrypted radio from the battery fire direction centre. A lighter, more air-portable version, using the gun in a module fitted to a lighter chassis, has been developed by KMW. It is called the Artillery Gun Module. In December 2013,

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...

and the German Army completed compatibility testing for the M982 Excalibur extended range guided artillery shell with the PzH 2000. Ten Excaliburs were fired at ranges from 9 to 48 km. Shells hit within 3 m of their targets, with an average miss distance of 1 m at 48 km. The Excalibur may be accepted by the German Army in 2014. A PzH 2000 L52 gun fired a shell 67 km at the Alkantpan test range in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

on 6 November 2019. In 2021, Germany and the Netherlands agreed to jointly define & execute a Mid-Life Update to the operational Pzh2000 in their inventories and ensure standardisation and availability.

Combat record and alterations

The PzH 2000 was used for the first time in combat by the

Fire Support Command The Fire Support Command (Dutch (language), Dutch: ''Vuursteun Commando, VustCo'') is the artillery arm of the Royal Netherlands Army. The command consists of 41 Artillery Battalion, a staff, the Fire Support School and the artillery training groun ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

in August 2006 against

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

targets in

Kandahar Province Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, in support of

Operation Medusa Operation Medusa (September 2–17, 2006) was a Canadian-led offensive during the second Battle of Panjwaii of the War in Afghanistan. The operation was fought primarily by the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group and other e ...

. It was then used regularly in support of coalition troops in Uruzgan province. The PzH 2000 was also used extensively during the Battle of Chora. It was known as "the long arm of

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

" and proved to be accurate and effective. However, the gun was criticised by the Dutch in Uruzgan province as the NBC system, designed for use in Europe, couldn't cope with the high level of dust in Afghanistan. The guns have been modified with additional armor being fitted to the roof to protect against mortar rounds. There have been reports of other problems, including the need to keep it in the shade unless actually firing, the damage done when traveling on poorly built roads, and a significant 'cold gun' effect necessitating the use of 'warmers'. Starting in June 2010, German ISAF troops at PRT

Kunduz , native_name_lang = prs , other_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg , imagesize = 300 , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_ ...

had three PzH 2000s at their disposal. They were first used on 10 July 2010 to provide support for the recovery of a damaged vehicle. This was the first time in its history that the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

has used heavy artillery in combat. The PzH 2000 also played a key role during Operation Halmazag in November 2010, when the villages of Isa Khel and Quatliam were retaken from the Taliban by German paratroopers.

War in Ukraine

On 21 June 2022, twelve Panzerhaubitze 2000s were deployed to Ukraine; seven came from Germany and five from the Netherlands. After a couple of weeks of intensive use, the guns required repairs, as they are designed and built to fire no more than 100 shots a day.Gelieferte Panzerhaubitzen müssen schon repariert werden
FAZ, 29 July 2022. This came about due to error messages that were being displayed. Ukraine has also fired "special ammunition at too great a distance." Germany considers 100 shots a day "a high-intensity mission". Ukraine has constantly exceeded this number. This has stressed the loading mechanism. The

has sent spare parts while a repair facility in Lithuania was chosen to repair the weapons. This comes as Ukraine and KMW enter into a 1.7 billion euro deal to purchase 100 PzH 2000s. Russian state news agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

reported that a Panzerhaubitze 2000 was destroyed by Russian forces in

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

on 30 October 2022.

Operators

* : 16 ordered (second-hand from Germany); 12 to be modernized and overhauled, 3 for spare parts, 1 for training. Total value of the contract was 55 million

euros The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . Th ...

. The first PzH 2000 was delivered on 29 July 2015. Agreement for the procurement was signed in 2014, deliveries were to take place between 2015 and 2016, howitzers to be introduced in service by 2019. * : 185 delivered between 1998 and 2002. Fourteen units (7+3+4) were sent to Ukraine by October 2022. 16 sold to Croatia and 21 to Lithuania. 108 to remain in active service. * : 25 ordered in 2001 and delivered between 2003 and 2004. * : 24 were ordered in December 2018. As of December 2022 10 of them were delivered. * : 70 ordered in 2002 and delivered between 2004 and 2008. 2 pre-production models were retired. * : 21 delivered between 2015 and 2022. 17 active, 3 for spare parts, and 1 for training. * : 57 ordered in 2002 delivered between 2004 and 2009, 5+3 were sent to Ukraine in 2022, 46 to be modernised (2024). * : 24 ordered in 2013, first three delivered in 2015 *: 22 delivered, 6 more planned by Italy. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, an announcement was made on 20 April that five Dutch PzH 2000s would be transferred to Ukraine, with ammunition and training to be provided by Germany. On 6 May, it was announced that Ukraine would receive seven units from German Army stocks which were undergoing maintenance. On 7 May, Chancellor

Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz (; born ) is a German politician who has served as the chancellor of Germany since 8 December 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister ...

agreed to supply the ammunition required, straight from industry to Ukrainian forces, without having to go through the German government for approval in the future. Training of Ukrainian artillery crews started on 11 May 2022 at the Bundeswehr's artillery school in Idar-Oberstein. On 21 June, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov announced that the first PzH 2000s had entered Ukrainian service. ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' reported on 27 July that Germany had agreed to sell 100 more PzH 2000s to Ukraine. By the end of July many of the PzH 2000s' ammo loading mechanism broke down because of considerable strain: while the PzH 2000 is designed to fire 100 shells per day, the Ukrainians probably fired the gun much more often. Beside sending the necessary spare parts to Ukraine, the German government was negotiating the creation of a repair center for its equipment in Poland. In October 2022 the howitzers were sent to Lithuania because Poland had demanded that the repairs to be done by a local company, including access to confidential information which the manufacturer was unwilling to share with a competitor. Eventually a repair center in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

is planned to shorten the route from the war zone in Ukraine.

Exports

A number of armies have tested the PzH 2000 system; its ability to provide accurate fire at 40 km has been a major selling point. The PzH 2000 was considered for the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's Crusader concept system, but several requirements of the Crusader made it unsuitable. The Crusader specifications placed the crew and gun in separate compartments, allowing a single highly armoured crew compartment to control the firing of an entire battery of guns through intervehicle links. In addition, the Crusader included an automated ammunition tender, and an active cooled barrel. The PzH 2000 was a contender for Phase 1C of Australia's Land 17 Artillery Replacement Programme, until that phase of the project was cancelled in May 2012.

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

tested a PzH 2000 alongside the 155mm SpGH ZUZANA and

AS-90 The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon used by the British Army. It can fire standard charges up to using 39 calibre long barrel (com ...

"Braveheart". Tests ended in 1998; more of the cheaper

155 K 98 The 155 GH 52 APU (which stands for ''155 mm gun-howitzer, 52 calibers, auxiliary power unit''), Finnish designation 155 K 98 (''155 mm kenttäkanuuna 1998'' or "155 mm field gun 1998"; FDF terminology doesn't recognise gun-howitzers), is a Fin ...

field guns were bought instead of self-propelled systems. The

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

evaluated a modified system known as MONARC for installation onboard

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

s; while the system performed well, components were difficult to protect against corrosion.

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

evaluated a slightly modified version, but selected the

ARCHER Artillery System The Archer Artillery System, or Archer – FH77BW L52, or Artillerisystem 08 is a self-propelled gun system for Sweden and Norway. The heart of the system is a fully automated 155 mm/L52 gun howitzer and a M151 Protector remote controlled weapo ...

instead. In December 2018, Hungary ordered 24 new-build PzH 2000s from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, along with 44 Leopard 2A7+ and 12 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, in a deal valued at over 160 billion HUF ( USD $565 million). In June 2022, Germany and the Netherlands authorized the transfer of twelve Panzerhaubitze 2000s to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the first being received on 21 June. In September 2022, Germany announced the hand-over of 4 additional Panzerhaubitze 2000s to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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Gallery

File:Pzh-2000 inside of a C-17.jpg, Dutch howitzer being transported to Afghanistan File:Dutch army Pzh-2000 firing on Taliban in Chura. June 16, 2007. Photo by David Axe.jpg,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

PzH-2000 firing on targets in Chora. June 16, 2007 File:Panzerhaubitze 2000, Military Parade, Zagreb, 4-8-2015.JPG, Croatian PzH 2000 at Zagreb Military Parade File:Panzerhaubitze 2000 im scharfen Schuss (Seil).jpg, Remote firing of the PzH 2000 by a German Army soldier in

Kunduz , native_name_lang = prs , other_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Kunduz River valley.jpg , imagesize = 300 , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_ ...

, Afghanistan (July 2010) File:PzH2000Munition.jpg, Ammunition File:Italian PZH 2000.JPG, Italian Pzh-2000 on display at Rome's

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and l ...

for the 2009 Army Day File:Pzh interno.jpg, Interior view of an Italian Pzh-2000 File:Dynamic Front 18 (39811016235).jpg, German soldiers with 4th Battery, 131st Artillery Battalion carry out a fire mission with self propelled howitzers. File:Allied Spirit I 150117-A-FO275-006.jpg, Dutch soldiers of Bravo Battery, Fire Support Battalion drive Panzerhaubitze 2000 into a simulated ambush. File:Pantserhouwitser 2000NL (PzH2000) photo-006.JPG, Panzerhaubitze 2000 engine

References

External links

Armored Vehicles - PzH 2000

Manufacturer's website (en)

Article on the Official Heer website (in German)

Dutch PzH 2000 Firing at Taliban Positions at Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pzh 2000 155 mm artillery Field artillery of Germany Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s Post–Cold War artillery of Germany Post–Cold War weapons of Germany Rheinmetall Self-propelled artillery of Germany Tracked self-propelled howitzers