Defence in brief: Switzerland opts for Piranha IV based howitzer

On the 11th November, GDELS announced that its 10×10 Piranha IV heavy mission carrier had been selected as the base of Switzerland’s new self-propelled howitzer. The system pairs the Artillery Gun Module (AGM) from KNDS with the Piranha hull. The vehicle will have a crew of two with an optional third all housed in the Piranha. The Piranha 10×10 was released in April 2024 with a gross vehicle weight of 40 tonnes including a 17 tonne payload. The AGM can fire through 360 degrees and delivers up to eight rounds per minute, with all firing fully automated. It carries a total of 30 155 mm rounds and 30 modular charges, and can deliver five rounds onto a target at a range of 12 km, all landing within two seconds. This is valuable for artillery as it is essential to deliver a significant weight of fire within the first 75 seconds, after which the opponent is likely to have taken cover if not defeated. 

The vehicles will replace the Swiss M109, which has been modernised by Ruag. The adoption of highly automated guns like the AGM or Archer can introduce challenges into forces used to operating conventional howitzers. The loss of up to six crew (going from eight in an M109 to two in an RCH155 for instance) has a knock-on effect to the management of the gun and its maintenance in combat, especially if frequent reloads and repairs are needed. Often, the crew that are saved by the automation will be needed in another form, such as additional maintenance or logistics staff to keep the vehicle running and reloaded. There is also the question of casualties; an M109 crew could afford to suffer one or two casualties and keep the gun running, albeit at a reduced capacity, but an RCH155 or Archer would be out of action in the same scenario.