Ukrainian service members firing a M777 howitzer on an unspecified front in the Donbass region. Source: the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
The Russian military has successfully destroyed three more M777 155 mm towed howitzers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
On November 5, the RIA Novosti news agency released footage documenting a pinpoint strike with a Lancet loitering munition on an M777 howitzers of the AFU on Nikolaev front.
The strike was carried out with the improved version of the Lancet-3, which has an endurance of an hour and is armed with a warhead weighting five kilograms. It is also equipped with an elector-optical system that allows it to detect, track and lock on static and moving targets.
On November 6, Russian sources shared another video showing the destruction of two more M777 howitzers of the AFU, this time on Donetsk front.
The howitzers were apparently located by an Orlan-10 drone, which has a flight duration of 16 hours and a range of 140 kilometers. The drone can be equipped with several types of sensors to carry out different missions including reconnaissance, 3D-mapping, electronic warfare and communication relay.
The M777 howitzer has a maximum rate of fire of seven rounds per minute with a range of up to 40 kilometers when firing Excalibur precision-guided rounds.
The AFU received 162 howitzers of this type after the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. The United States provided 152, while Canada provided four and Australia six. All howitzers were reportedly delivered between May and October.
The Russian military has already destroyed or damaged many of Ukraine’s newly-acquired M777 howitzers, in most cases with drones and artillery fire.
Ukrainian forces are still outgunned by the Russian artillery. The U.S. and its allies in the West don not apparently have the resources to solve Kiev’s artillery problem.
