The Spanish Army increases its arsenal in Ceuta with eight Santa Bárbara SIAC howitzers

@DefAviation ES 2·18·2024 · 20:49 0

The Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa has just significantly strengthened its field artillery capabilities.

The deployment of military helicopters of the Spanish Army in Ceuta for an exercise
The military contingent of Melilla shows its means to defend that Spanish city

This week, the General Command of Ceuta (COMGECEU) of the Spanish Army has announced the arrival in that city of eight new SIAC 155/52 howitzers, which will be assigned to the Mixed Artillery Regiment No. 30 (RAMIX 30), the oldest artillery regiment of the Spanish Army.

The arrival of these howitzers to Ceuta is a consequence of the reorganization plan for the Army's artillery. It can be assumed that these eight howitzers will be destined for the Field Artillery Group I/30, which was currently already equipped with that model (six pieces, if my data is correct) and with OTO Melara M-56 howitzers 56 of 105/14, being the last Army unit that uses this type of pieces.

In the photos released by COMGECET you can see the landing of the howitzers from a Ro-Ro type ship. In the following photo, taken at the dock, two 10-ton Iveco-Pegaso M.250.37WM type Specific Tractor Vehicle (VET) trucks can be seen, which are responsible for towing this type of parts. Additionally, each truck carries up to 32 155mm ammunition for the howitzer.

The Spanish Army has 82 Santa Bárbara SIAC Systems howitzers, in two variants: 66 of the APU-SIAC version for field artillery and 16 of the APU (V07) version for coastal artillery. The COMGECEU has not indicated the unit of origin of the eight SIAC that arrived in Ceuta or its variant.

These 155 mm howitzers are the Spanish Army's largest caliber, along with the M-109 self-propelled howitzers. Manufactured in Spain, the SIAC can fire extended range ammunition, capable of hitting targets up to a distance of 40 km.

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Photos: Ejército de Tierra / Comandancia General de Ceuta.