A military theorist once wrote “the backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy” — an idea that perfectly describes the capabilities of the Hawkeye Mobile Howitzer System (MHS). The Hawkeye MHS is made by AM General, the same company that created the Humvee.
A howitzer is a type of artillery weapon that is generally towed and then mounted onto a vehicle. The Hawkeye MHS is a “shoot-and-scoot” solution that eliminates the need to tow a howitzer by building directly into a vehicle. This gives operators the ability to deploy and redeploy with both speed and secrecy.
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“So it’s one single unit,” Capt. James Brock of the Illinois Army National Guard said. “You don’t have to displace the howitzer, or unhook the Howitzer from the vehicle in order to fire the Howitzer. So it’s a little bit of a time saver.”
The Army has tested the MHS for several years but has yet to sign off on it. However, that could change depending on recent events.
Mike Evans, the director of AM General’s Soft Recoil Technologies and Fires Programs, told people at the U.S. Field Artillery Association’s Fires Symposium that the howitzer Hawkeye may play a role in Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion.
“We recently put a 105 system into Ukraine,” Evans said. “We shipped it on [April 26]. It was received in Ukraine on [May 2]. We trained it for two weeks, they immediately went into testing and that systems destined to be one of the first soft recoil systems in combat. So it’s moving very quickly.”
The Hawkeye MHS is equipped with a soft recoil system and said to generally fire three rounds per minute. It can safely fire up to eight rounds per minute for three minutes. As for the range of fire, if it is equipped with the extended-range rocket-assisted M913, it can hit targets up to 12 miles away.
In a May 2019 interview, Brock said that kind of performance is one artillery can get behind.
“The soldiers were obviously excited,” Brock said. “I mean, anytime you get an opportunity to work on any other howitzer system … if it’s different, but it still goes boom and it’s loud. They’re always excited to try out a new weapon system.”
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[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ACCORDING TO MY PRODUCER, WHO LOVES OBSCURE CENTURIES-OLD QUOTES THAT HE ASSURES ME ARE REAL, PRUSSIAN GENERAL AND MILITARY THEORIST CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ ONCE WROTE “THE BACKBONE OF SURPRISE IS FUSING SPEED WITH SECRECY.” AN IDEA THAT’S AS TRUE TODAY AS IT WAS WHEN HE WROTE IT 200 YEARS AGO. AND IT PERFECTLY DESCRIBES THE CAPABILITIES OF OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.
MEET THE HAWKEYE MOBILE HOWITZER SYSTEM OR THE M-H-S!
MADE BY A-M GENERAL, THE SAME PEOPLE WHO GAVE THE WORLD THE HUMVEE, THIS SHOOT-AND-COOT SOLUTION ELIMINATES THE NEED TO TOW A HOWITZER BY BUILDING IT RIGHT INTO THE VEHICLE. GIVING OPERATORS THE ABILITY TO DEPLOY AND REDEPLOY WITH, YOU GUESSED IT, SPEED AND SECRECY.
[Capt. James Brock, 2nd Battalion, 122 Field Artillery, Illinois Army National Guard }
“So it’s one single unit. You don’t have to displace the howitzer, or unhook the Howitzer from the vehicle in order to fire the Howitzer. So it’s a little bit of a time saver.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S AN OPTION THAT’S BEEN TESTED BY THE ARMY FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND WHILE THEY HAVEN’T BOUGHT OFF ON IT YET, THAT COULD CHANGE DEPENDING ON RECENT EVENTS.
MIKE EVANS, THE DIRECTOR OF A-M GENERALS SOFT RECOIL TECHNOLOGIES & FIRES PROGRAMS, TOLD AN AUDIENCE AT THIS YEAR’S U.S. FIELD ARTILLERY ASSOCIATION’S FIRES SYMPOSIUM THE HOWITZER HAWKEYE IS LIKELY TO PLAY A ROLE IN UKRAINE’S WAR AGAINST RUSSIA’S ILLEGAL INVASION.
[Mike Evans, AM General]
“We recently put a 105 system into Ukraine. We shipped it on the 26th April. It was received in Ukraine on the second of April. We trained it for two weeks, they immediately went into testing and that systems destined to be one of the first soft recoil systems in combat. So it’s it’s moving very quickly..”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WHILE NOT NAMING THE HAWKEYE DIRECTLY, A-M GENERAL HAS JUST ONE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE 105 MM HOWITZER AVAILABLE.
EQUIPPED WITH A SOFT RECOIL SYSTEM, THE HAWKEYE IS RATED TO FIRE THREE ROUNDS PER MINUTE BUT CAN SAFELY FIRE UP TO EIGHT ROUNDS PER MINUTE FOR THREE MINUTES. IN A MAY 2019 INTERVIEW, CAPTAIN JAMES BROCK OF THE ILLINOIS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD SAID THAT KIND OF PERFORMANCE IS ONE ARTILLARY TROOPS CAN GET BEHIND.
[Capt. James Brock, 2nd Battalion, 122 Field Artillery, Illinois Army National Guard]
“The soldiers were obviously excited. I mean, anytime you get an opportunity to to work on any other howitzer system, whether it’s a test system or just going from a one one Niner to a Paladin, right if it’s different, but it still goes boom, and it’s loud. They’re always excited to try out a new weapon system.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
AS FOR THE RANGE OF FIRE, IF THE 105 ROUND IS EQUIPPED WITH THE EXTENDED-RANGE ROCKET-ASSISTED M-9-13, IT CAN HIT TARGETS UP TO 12 MILES AWAY.
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