A great recital of gunfire from the Field Artillery Command of the Spanish Army

On April 23, the Field Artillery Command of the Spanish Army concluded a major gamma-time exercise.

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

Despite the ever-increasing advances in missiles and drones, field artillery remains of great importance and enormous weight in armies, as demonstrated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where conventional artillery pieces continue to be fundamental to operations. Currently, the Spanish Army's field artillery lacks offensive missile-based systems, pending the future SILAM. The active field artillery systems are as follows:

• M-109A5E Self-Propelled Howitzers. Manufactured in the USA, the Spanish Army has 96 units. They have 155 mm caliber cannons. These artillery systems are usually accompanied by M-548 Ammunition Carriers (158 units in total), a cargo version of the M-113 armored personnel carrier. These howitzers are usually assigned to armored units.
• Santa Bárbara Systems 155/52 APU-SIAC Howitzers. Manufactured in Spain, the Spanish Army has 66 units in total (in addition to 16 of the APU V07 SIAC coastal artillery variant). It is a towed 155 mm caliber system, equipped with an auxiliary power unit that allows it to move at speeds of up to 18 km/h. These pieces are towed by 10-ton Iveco-Pegaso M.250.37WM Specific Tractor Vehicles (VET), three-axle trucks specially designed to transport ammunition for these guns.
• L-118/L-119 Light Howitzers These are towed 105mm artillery pieces. The Spanish Army has 56 units. They are usually towed by VAMTAC SK-95 light trucks and can also be transported by helicopter using slings. They are assigned to light infantry units (Legion, BRILAT, BRIPAC, and Mountain Troops).
• OTO Melara Model 56 Light Howitzers. These are now old 105mm howitzers that have mostly been replaced by the L-118/L-119. Some are still in service, for example in the 30th Mixed Artillery Regiment (RAMIX 30) in Ceuta.

In the Spanish Army, exercises conducted at the regimental or equivalent unit level are known as gamma exercises. In this case, the exercise, named Gazola 26 and carried out with live fire, took place at the "San Gregorio" National Training Center (CENAD) in Zaragoza and in the Strait of Gibraltar area. The Spanish Army has described these maneuvers as "a key exercise to guarantee operational capability, interoperability, and effectiveness in a high-intensity combat scenario." Yesterday, the Spanish Army released a spectacular video of this exercise, a veritable showcase of M-109 and APU-SIAC firing:

You can see some screenshots from this video here, with information about what we see in them.

An impressive shot from an M-109A5E self-propelled howitzer. We can see the projectile in flight at the top right. The M-109A5Es seen in this video belong to the Field Artillery Command and the 20th Field Artillery Regiment of the Brigade "Aragón" I.

In this image we see an M-109A5E on the left and an M-548 ammunition vehicle on the right. The gunner we see in the center is operating a Leica TCR 1203+ R400 Total Station, an instrument used for topographic measurements and which in this case serves to guarantee the accuracy of the shot by the exact determination of the coordinates of the pieces and the targets.

A soldier from the Field Artillery Command loading a projectile from an Iveco-Pegaso M.250.37WM VET. These trucks can carry up to 32 155mm rounds for APU-SIAC howitzers.

A Santa Bárbara Sistemas 155/52 APU-SIAC howitzer of the Field Artillery Command at the moment of firing.

An APU-SIAC howitzer, already folded and about to be attached to an Iveco-Pegaso M.250.37WM armored personnel carrier. I've seen the folding, attachment, and transport process of these howitzers up close, and it's certainly impressive. The APU-SIAC howitzers are quite large.