Saudi Arabia is interested in procuring Turkish Panter 155mm towed howitzers

Defense News June 2022 Global Security army industry
Posted On

According to information published on the "Tactical Report" website on June 6, 2022, Saudi Arabia is interested in procuring the Turkish-made Panter 155mm towed howitzer developed by the Turkish company MKEK.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Army Recognition Global Defense and Security news
Turkish-made Panter 155mm towed howitzer is manufactured by the company MKEK. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Mechanical and Chemical Industry or MKE was established in 1950. It is a reorganization of a government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with military products.

In recent months, Turkey has strengthened its relations with Saudi Arabia and on April 2022, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi
Arabia during an official visit. During the visit, the possibilities of expanding cooperation in a large variety of fields, including healthcare, energy, food security, agricultural technologies, defense industry, and finance were discussed.

The Panter is a 155 mm/52 caliber towed howitzer that was developed in the 1990s to meet the operational requirements of the Turkish army. The howitzer entered into service with the Turkish army in 2022. It is also produced under license in Pakistan.

The 155 mm/52 caliber Panter howitzer is mounted on a conventional split-trail carriage. When in the traveling position the 155 mm/52 caliber ordnance is traversed through 180° and locked in position over the closed trails. The travel lock is mounted on the right trail. Mounted on the forward part of the carriage is an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) that enables the 155 mm/52 caliber Panter to propel itself at a maximum speed of 18 km/h.

The gun of the Panter has a maximum firing range of 40 km with ERFB-BB long-range artillery projectiles, 30 km with M549A1 rocket-assisted projectiles, and 18 km with regular M107 ammunition.

The Panter 155mm towed howitzer can be towed by a 6x6 military truck at a maximum road speed of 80 km/h. The howitzer is operated by a crew of six which is transported by the tractor truck.