Czech Republic to deliver Ukraine with 26 DANA M2 8x8 152mm self-propelled howitzers.

According to a Tweet published on January 3, 2023, by "Praise The Steph", Ukraine will receive 26 Dana M2 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers from the Czech Republic as well as DN1CZ an ER (Extended Range) 152mm artillery ammunition.
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Czech Dana M2 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer carried on a truck on the way to Ukraine. (Picture source TIkTok user171815619711)

A video was published on TikTok, on December 29, 2022, showing a Czech-made Dana M2 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer carried by truck. Citing information published by the author of the video, this DANA M2 should be delivered to Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Czech Republic would have already supplied Ukraine with an undisclosed number of DANA coming from the Czech army military inventory.

The DANA M2 is the latest variant of wheeled self-propelled howitzer in the DANA family. The DANA was developed in the late 1970s by ZTS based now in Slovakia, to meet the operational requirements of the Czech Army for a highly mobile self-propelled artillery system.

The DANA is a 152mm self-propelled howitzer which is based on Tatra 815 8x8 military truck chassis with the driver's compartment at the front, a fully enclosed turret in the center, and the engine compartment at the rear. The howitzer is armed with one 152mm gun system able to fire all the Soviet-made 152mm ammunition.

The DANA M2 152mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer is manufactured by the Czech company Excalibur Army. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The Dana M2 is a modernized version of the previous DANA using the same truck chassis but fitted with a new crew cabin offering more protection and fitted with two large bulletproof windows at the front and one window on each side enhancing situational awareness.

The Dana M2 is equipped with a new powerful Onboard Control System which contains subsystems of diagnostics, navigation, automatic gun aiming, computerized firing control elements, and a new ammunition selection system. The newly implemented automatic guiding system allows fast and fully automatic weapon adjustment into the fire position.

The Dana M2 is armed with one 152mm cannon which has a maximum firing range of 20 km with extended ammunition type and 21.5 km with DN1CZ ammunition. Notice that Dana-M2 is so far available only in Russian 152mm caliber, not NATO 155mm. The howitzer is fitted with a fully automatic system that loads the projectile and then the charge using an automatic rammer. The vehicle carries a total of 40 ready-to-fire ammunition.

The turret of the DANA M2 is divided into two parts, with the gunner and loader operator on the left, while the ammunition handler is on the right and sets the fuzes of the projectiles manually.

The DANA M2 is powered by a Tatra T-3-930-52M V12 Diesel engine with an output of 265 kW. The vehicle can run at a maximum road speed of 90 km/h and 25 km/h in off-road conditions with a maximum cruising range of 600 km.

The extended range round DN1CZ is primarily designed to be used with the 152 mm SPGH DANA model 77 and DANA-M1 and M2 without modification. It consists of a separate loading munition, including the 152 mm OFdDV (HE ER BB) projectile and the propelling charge P740. The ammunition can be fired at a maximum range of 25.5 km.