THE PHILIPPINE Army's artillery units have test-fired for the first time its newly-acquired Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System (ATMOS) 155mm/52 caliber self-propelled artillery pieces
.In a statement sent to reporters Sunday, Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the live-fire exercises were held from April 6 to 8 at the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation Area in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija.
Trinidad said the ATMOS 155mm howitzer system is a "shoot-and-scoot" weapon that can be rapidly deployed in rugged terrain.
"The weapon incorporates an 'inertial navigation system' (INS)-based gun-laying method and an automatic loader," he added.
The Army received 12 ATMOS howitzer units in December 2021 from Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.
The self-propelled artillery pieces are procured under the Horizon 2 of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Plan. It is worth PHP2.4 billion.
Trinidad earlier said the weapons would augment the existing 155mm towed-howitzers being operated by the Army Artillery Regiment.
"It is in addition to the existing fire support artillery guns, the 155mm-towed howitzers," he added.
The Army Artillery Regiment’s 1st and 2nd Self Propelled Batteries and the Artillery Training School (ATS) participated in the drill. (Priam Nepomuceno)
