Croatia will order 18 self-propelled artillery howitzers “Caesar“ from France for 320 million euros as part of its program to modernize its armed forces, the Croatian Defense Ministry told AFP, BTA reported.
The order, which was approved by the Croatian Parliament's Defense Committee, is expected to be officially signed in December after being approved by the government, the ministry said yesterday. The financing will come from an EU defense loan program announced in spring 2025.
These loans are intended to finance projects in sectors identified as priority - ammunition, drones, air defense systems, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. At least 65 percent of the components for these projects must be manufactured in the EU, Ukraine or some other European countries such as Norway.
Croatia's order is divided into two parts: the first concerns the Caesar howitzers themselves, the second includes surveillance equipment, vehicles equipped with communication systems and armored vehicles, as well as off-road trucks for transporting ammunition, according to the ministry.
Delivery of the howitzers is planned for 2029.
The Caesar is a 155-millimeter truck-mounted gun capable of firing six shells at a distance of 40 km in less than a minute. It has been in service with the French army since 2008 and has proven itself on the Ukrainian battlefield against Russia. Croatia, which recently approved a 1.9 billion euro investment plan to modernize its defense, also plans to acquire 44 German Leopard 2A8 tanks, 420 Czech-made Tatra trucks, and anti-drone systems.