Ukraine and Germany to jointly produce 200 Bohdana self-propelled howitzers on Mercedes-Benz chassis
Ukraine and Germany have signed a series of defence agreements worth more than €1.2 billion, including a deal to jointly produce 200 Bohdana self-propelled artillery systems on Mercedes-Benz Zetros chassis.
Source: Ukraine's Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal on social media
Details: The agreement to produce 200 self-propelled howitzers was valued at €750 million. Shmyhal said that the project would help Ukraine boost its artillery capabilities.
Ukraine and Germany have also agreed on the supply of spare parts for Patriot air defence systems, the purchase of Ukrainian drones worth €200 million, joint production of Linza drones and a contract for the delivery of the latest electronic warfare systems.
Zetros vehicles, on which the new Bohdana systems will be built, are all-wheel-drive trucks made by German company Mercedes-Benz. The truck has a reinforced chassis with water-protected units and a raised air intake pipe, allowing it to drive through water up to 80 centimetres deep.
It is fitted with a 375-horsepower engine, a 16-speed manual gearbox with cable shift and gear-change support, a two-speed transfer case and can be produced with short or extended wheelbases in configurations from 4x4 to 8x8.
Background:
- It was reported in September that Ukraine's defence industry has been expanding production of artillery systems, particularly the 155-mm Bohdana self-propelled howitzer, by developing new variants based on foreign platforms.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said earlier that production of the Bohdana self-propelled artillery system has reached 40 units per month.
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