UKRAINE: The Austrians are here

Well, at least around the corner. Initially, Austria directly provided helmets and no weapons, but now a big gun is coming: M109A5Ö – the former artillery tank of the Bundesheer. However, it is not from Austria, which is "neutral." So, around the corner: The M109A5Ö was donated by Latvia and is now in Ukrainian service. The model has a long service history. Originally, it served as the M109A2 in the British Army, was transferred to Austria in 1994, upgraded to the M109A5 (the Ö stands for Österreich) standard, and delivered to Latvia in 2017.

The M-109 A5Ö self-propelled howitzer is the artillery weapon system of the Austrian Armed Forces. The cannon is equipped with an electronic fire control system and a self-propelled carriage with state-of-the-art aiming and observation devices. Each self-propelled howitzer has an inertial navigation, orientation, and aiming system.

Technical Data

Or, to put it in historical context: the M109 – they were also donated to Ukraine by other countries – are now involved in the conflict for which they were originally built.