“Samuel, notify your men; the British are coming.”-General Oliver Prescott, 19APR1775
North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Robert Jordan.
On 18MAR2021, the North Carolina Army National Guard got brand new M109A7s.
U.S. Army photo by Cameron Porter.
About 36 M109A7, so-called next generation Paladin, self propelled artillery, and their ammo carrying M992A3 vehicles, arrived at the U.S. Army Prepositioned Stock-2 Coleman worksite in Germany, 04MAR2021.
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Calab Franklin.
On 16SEP2020, the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment (2-82 FA), 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fired its first shots with next-gen M109A7, at Fort Hood, Texas.
USA photo by Sergeant Calab Franklin.
Here’s why it is not a Paladin: At first it might be hard to tell the difference between an M109A7 and the M109A6. It is not just a radical upgrade of the M109A6, it is a totally new vehicle. The hull of the M109A7 is not your father’s/grandfather’s M109, it is based on the lower hull of the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
USA photo by Sergeant Calab Franklin.
Texas artillerymen take cover behind an M992A3 Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle (also based on the Bradley) while they pull the lanyard on the M109A7.
USA photo by Sergeant Benjamin Northcutt.
An M109A7 gets a lift at the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, 22JAN2019.
USA photo by Sergeant Benjamin Northcutt.
An M109A7 Howitzer from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, maneuvers inside the cargo-ship Resolve, 20JAN2019.
USA photo by Sergeant Heidi Kroll.
Compare this photo of an M109A6 during a wargame in Toruń, Poland, 22JUL2020, with the photo of the M109A7 in the cargo-ship Resolve. You should be able to note the differences (tracks, shape of hull).
Video by Staff Sergeant Adam Decker, explaining 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s M109A7 qualifications in Toruń, Poland, March 2019:
Photo via 1st Infantry Division.
More examples of why the ‘A7’ is not a Paladin: In this 2016 photo of a M109A6 on Fort Riley, California, you can clearly see the recoil spade on the back of the hull (one on each side of the access door). The M109A7 has no spades. You can also see the type of track, which is skinnier than that used on the M109A7.
The M109A6 has a 440 horsepower diesel, while the M109A7 has a 600hp engine. According to British sources, the M109A7 requires only four crewmembers and has automated loading of the gun, which can be aimed while the vehicle is moving.
The U.S. Army awarded a $688-million contract to BAE Systems, in October 2013, for the production of Paladin M109A7. BAE is a British Empire company (formerly British Aerospace BAe, and GEC-Marconi/Marconi Electronic Systems MES). In 2015, BAE got another $245-million from the U.S. Army, for the M109A7 and the M992A3 Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle. Another $414-million was paid to BAE at the end of 2017! All that was in addition to the total of at least $377-million paid to BAE to upgrade the M109A6 and M992A2 under the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program!
In the late 1990s, under the Bill Clinton regime, MES began taking over U.S. defense contractors. In 1999, MES and BAe merged to create BAE Systems, apparently to stop a U.S. defense contractor from taking over MES. In 2001, the same year the False Flag War on Terror began, BAE Systems aggressively invaded the U.S. defense industry, taking over many U.S. companies, including cyber security companies.
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