{"id":59231,"date":"2025-04-09T21:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T19:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59231"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:08:35","slug":"some-impressive-shots-from-sph-m-109-of-the-spanish-army-in-immediate-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/04\/09\/some-impressive-shots-from-sph-m-109-of-the-spanish-army-in-immediate-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Some impressive shots from SPH M-109 of the Spanish Army in immediate defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates, field artillery continues to play a fundamental role in defense.<\/p>\n

The shots of the M-109 howitzers of the Spanish Army in Latvia seen from inside<\/a><\/rel>
\nBooms in the Baltic lands: the images of the artillery of the Spanish Army in Latvia<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The Spanish Army has towed and self-propelled field artillery systems.<\/strong> 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<\/strong> light howitzer and the Santa B\u00e1rbara Sistema 155\/52 heavy howitzer in two versions: SIAC<\/strong> (field artillery) and APU SBT-V07<\/strong> (used in coastal artillery), with a caliber of 155 mm.<\/p>\n

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Currently, the Spanish Army's only self-propelled artillery system is the M-109A5E self-propelled howitzer (SPH)<\/strong> (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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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To support the M-109A5E SPHs, the Army has 158 M-548 ammunition vehicles<\/strong> (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 D\u00edaz Cabo points out in his indispensable book \"Guide to Spanish Artillery\"<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

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The aforementioned field artillery systems are howitzers<\/strong>, that is, they are dedicated to fire support tasks using parabolic fire, that is, with high firing angles<\/strong> 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<\/strong>. However, the shots are not always made in this way.<\/p>\n

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Yesterday, the Spanish Army's Ground Force (FUTER) published an interesting video of a live-fire exercise<\/a> of a Fire Support Unit (UAF) of the Field Artillery Group X (GACA X), belonging to the Brigade \"Guzm\u00e1n el Bueno\" X<\/strong>, based in Cerro Muriano (C\u00f3rdoba). 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The interesting thing about this video is that we see M-109 SPHs firing their cannons with direct fire at the target<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>. It is a type of firing that is not very common to see, and it appears at the end of the video:<\/p>\n

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Seguridad en los desplazamientos, apoyo de fuegos y defensa inmediata con el ob\u00fas M109 en punter\u00eda directa como arma principal.
As\u00ed se instruye el #GACAX<\/a>#SomostuEjercito<\/a>#SiempreLejosFuerte<\/a>#BrigadaGuzmanelBueno<\/a>#40AniversarioBRIX<\/a>#SedFuertesEnLaGuerra<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/uxNMV8pxms<\/a><\/p>\n

— Fuerza Terrestre (@FUTER_ET) April 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n