Some impressive shots from SPH M-109 of the Spanish Army in immediate defense

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates, field artillery continues to play a fundamental role in defense.

The shots of the M-109 howitzers of the Spanish Army in Latvia seen from inside
Booms in the Baltic lands: the images of the artillery of the Spanish Army in Latvia

The Spanish Army has towed and self-propelled field artillery systems. Among the former, in addition to some 105 mm OTO Melara M-56s used mainly for rescue, there are the 105 mm L-118 Light Gun light howitzer and the Santa Bárbara Sistema 155/52 heavy howitzer in two versions: SIAC (field artillery) and APU SBT-V07 (used in coastal artillery), with a caliber of 155 mm.

Currently, the Spanish Army's only self-propelled artillery system is the M-109A5E self-propelled howitzer (SPH) (above). A total of 96 units of this American model are active in various field artillery units. The M-109 has a 155 mm L/39 cannon located in a mobile turret. Unlike a tank gun, this howitzer's shells and propelling charges are loaded separately. Each SPH can carry 32 full rounds.

To support the M-109A5E SPHs, the Army has 158 M-548 ammunition vehicles (here we see one of them with an SPH), a cargo variant of the M-113, capable of transporting up to 5 tons of ammunition and purchased in Spain in two batches, in 1964 and 1970, as David Díaz Cabo points out in his indispensable book "Guide to Spanish Artillery". In addition, the Army has 18 M-548/6 SEM-1I, a version modified in Spain with six wheels touching the ground (the M-548 has five) and mine-laying capability.

The aforementioned field artillery systems are howitzers, that is, they are dedicated to fire support tasks using parabolic fire, that is, with high firing angles that allow the artillery system to fire from behind natural obstacles (hills or mountains) or artificial ones (walls or buildings), with a fairly steep angle of fall of the projectiles on the target. However, the shots are not always made in this way.

Yesterday, the Spanish Army's Ground Force (FUTER) published an interesting video of a live-fire exercise of a Fire Support Unit (UAF) of the Field Artillery Group X (GACA X), belonging to the Brigade "Guzmán el Bueno" X, based in Cerro Muriano (Córdoba). In the video we see different types of vehicles: the M-113 armored personnel carrier, the M-577 command vehicle, the ammunition vehicle and the M-109A5E self-propelled howitzer.

The interesting thing about this video is that we see M-109 SPHs firing their cannons with direct fire at the target, which in artillery jargon is known as "immediate defense". It is the type of firing an artillery battery uses when it has to defend itself against a threat close to its position. It is a type of firing that is not very common to see, and it appears at the end of the video:

Seguridad en los desplazamientos, apoyo de fuegos y defensa inmediata con el obús M109 en puntería directa como arma principal.
Así se instruye el #GACAX#SomostuEjercito#SiempreLejosFuerte#BrigadaGuzmanelBueno#40AniversarioBRIX#SedFuertesEnLaGuerra pic.twitter.com/uxNMV8pxms

— Fuerza Terrestre (@FUTER_ET) April 8, 2025

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Images: Ejército de Tierra / eFP Battle Group Latvia / Fuerza Terrestre.