U.S. soldiers fire an M198 howitzer. LCpl Samantha L. Jones/USMC
ISIL Captured 52 U.S.-Made Howitzers; Artillery Weapons Cost 500K Each -- Washington Times
Sunni radicals with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) may have captured as many as 52 U.S.-made M198 howitzers in their march across Iraq in June.
“They shouldn’t have too much trouble shelling large area targets like a city if they have sufficient ammo,” Jeremy Binnie of the British military consultancy HIS Janes toldMcClatchy news service Monday.
The artillery weapons, which cost roughly $500,000 each, include GPS aiming systems.
Mr. Binnie told McClatchy that the Islamic terrorist organization would have a difficult time figuring out exactly how to use the technology’s pinpoint accuracy, but that members would still be able to do significant damage. Each howitzer has a range of 20 miles and can fire two rounds per minute.
Read more ....
Update #1: ISIS Militants Captured 52 American-Made Artillery Weapons That Cost $500,000 Each -- Business Insider
Update #2: $26 Million Worth of U.S. Weapons Now in ISIS’s Hands -- Fiscal Times
My Comment: The next question that begs to be answered is .... do they have the ammo?
4 comments:
What I would like to know is how are they gaining the expertise to use any of the equipment they've captured? Tanks, artillery etc.
Mao Tse-tung transferred 24 105 mm howitzers captured during the Korean War to Vietnam.
I read somewhere that these out ranged the French artillery.Hence no counter battery fire.
Dien Bien Phu fell.
The Iranian are backing up the Shia. I do not expect Baghdad to fall. But what do I know. Abu Graib could fall though.
Jason Lacombe made a good point. but these people could get outside assistance, Baathist support or be autodidacts.
Jason,
There are probably plenty Iraqs US trained who'd teach ISIS or shoot the weapons themselves to save their own hides.
it's a big shit sandwich and we're all gunna have to take a bite
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