Science & technology | Artillery technology

The modern cannons that may make the difference in Ukraine

Who will pound harder?

December 2, 2018 - Iraq: A French Caesar self-propelled howitzer fires into the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Southwest Asia. As part of the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, they are supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces as they clear the last remaining pockets of ISIS from the Middle Euphrates River Valley and prevent them from fleeing into Iraq. In conjunction with partner forces, Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve defeats ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and sets conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability. (Mikki L. Sprenkle/US Army/Polaris)Credit: Polaris / eyevineFor further information please contact eyevinetel: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709e-mail: info@eyevine.comwww.eyevine.com

“Hard pounding this, gentlemen, but we will see who can pound the longest.” Thus spoke the Duke of Wellington on the afternoon of the battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon’s guns were pasting his troops. Those words come to mind as the war in Ukraine descends into an extended artillery duel, focused on the Donbas, in the country’s east. Phillip Karber is a former American marine who now leads the Potomac Foundation, a research and policy outfit in Virginia, and who regularly visits the war’s front lines to study the fighting. He reckons Russian artillery barrages are now responsible for about 80% of Ukrainian casualties. Figures on the other side are no doubt similar.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Engineering the god of war”

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