U.S. Army M109A6 Paladin howitzers at the firing range

Описание: The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions.

The M109 has a crew of four: the section chief/commander, the driver, the gunner, and the ammunition handler/loader. The chief or gunner aims the cannon left or right (deflection) and up and down (quadrant).

The British Army replaced its M109s with the AS-90. Several European armed forces have or are currently replacing older M109s with the German PzH 2000. Upgrades to the M109 were introduced by the U.S. (see variants) and by Switzerland (KAWEST). With the cancellation of the U.S. Crusader, Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon and M1299 the M109A6 ("Paladin") will likely remain the principal self-propelled howitzer for the U.S. until a replacement enters service.

The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.The Army is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence.It has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.The United States Army considers itself a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775.