According to well-informed sources, negotiations between the cabinet of Defense and the East Flemish technology company OIP have broken down on the price of the M109s. “Negotiating is very difficult when the counterparty asks more than ten times what they paid for it themselves,” a source said.
OIP, a company of which a subsidiary is specialized in military vehicles, would also have been unwilling to have the condition of the M109s checked by specialists from the Belgian army. The Defense Ministry was recently told that the armored howitzers have since been sold to another party. To whom, that is unclear. OIP does not want to comment on the file.
“So that delivery will not come, but that was not for reasons of principle,” said Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS) on Friday. The standard.
Carl Gustavo
The story of the discarded M109s is a striking example of the years of financial disinterest in the Belgian army, and the sometimes absurd consequences of this on the field. When the army said goodbye to its 64 M109s in 2008, they were in excellent condition. They just got an update. However, its operating costs were too high for the ever-shrinking budget.
In 2015, 38 M109s were sold to Indonesia. The rest moved to OIP, for 15,000 euros each. According to a military source, a dumping price for modern weaponry. At OIP, they were in a hangar until the government knocked on the door in April to buy back the discarded armored howitzers and immediately send them to the front in eastern Ukraine.
As for military support to Ukraine, without the delivery of the M109s, it seems to be drying up. Since the end of April, 2.65 million euros in equipment has been delivered, figures that were presented behind closed doors in the House last Wednesday show. It concerns 952 bulletproof vests, 2,000 associated protection plates and 1,100 rockets for the ‘Carl Gustav’, a rocket launcher of Swedish manufacture. Sweden has delivered 5,000 Carl Gustavs to Ukraine.
Immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belgium already donated military support to Ukraine. These included 5,000 FNC machine guns, 200 LAW anti-tank weapons and 3,800 tons of fuel for a total amount of 77 million euros. As in other Western countries, the atrocities committed by the Russian military, especially in Butya, a suburb of Kiev, prompted the government to approve additional aid at the end of April. Details were not released at the time.
MLRS
Ukraine has been demanding for months for more war equipment such as tanks, heavy artillery and warplanes to withstand the Russian attack in the eastern Donbas region. Today, the Russian army is achieving modest success there, mainly thanks to superior numbers of soldiers and heavy artillery. The United States alone has so far delivered 105 howitzers to Ukraine.
Currently, the MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) tops the Ukrainian wish list. This is an advanced weapon that can fire twelve missiles in a minute. Ukraine could use the missiles to target Russian positions over a long distance, up to 300 kilometers. Howitzers range 30 kilometers. US President Joe Biden is refusing delivery for the time being. He fears that Ukraine will then shell Russian territory.
One possible compromise is for the United States to supply MLRS weapons with missiles that range as little as 70 kilometers. That is the maximum range of the Russian artillery and the distance from the front to the Russian border.
