TADTE 2023: BAE Systems offers M109A7 for Taiwan's howitzer requiremen…

The M109A7 SPH, pictured above firing in an US Army exercise, can sustain a one round per minute rate of fire and a maximum rate of fire of four rounds per minute. (US Army)

BAE Systems has offered its M109A7 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer (SPH) to the Republic of China Army (RoCA) to meet the service's howitzer requirement, a spokesperson for BAE Systems told Janes at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September 2023.

The spokesperson said the company is in discussions with the RoCA and the service has also shown interest in procuring the SPHs.

“The RoCA operates nearly 200 M109A2s and M109A5s. The service wanted to buy [the] M109A6 for its requirement of howitzers. The US also approved the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Taiwan of 40 M109A6s in 2021. But the sale was cancelled due to unknown reasons,” the spokesperson added.

Now the RoCA is willing to buy the M109A7, which is equipped with a bigger chassis than the M109A6, the spokesperson said.

The M109A7 is the latest howitzer in the BAE Systems M109 family of vehicles and uses the existing main armament and cab structure of the M109A6, while replacing the vehicle's chassis components with modern components common to the Bradley vehicle.

Apart from howitzers, the spokesperson said the company will deliver eight M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles (RVs) to the RoCA in 2024.

In addition, the RoCA is planning to upgrade 60 in-service M88A1 RVs, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the company is in the process of offering its new amphibious combat vehicle (ACV) – primarily developed for the US Marines – to the RoC Marine Corps.