The American company AM General has unveiled the next generation of its 105 mm Hawkeye mobile howitzer at the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington, the previous version of which was combat-tested during the war in Ukraine. This is reported by Defence Blog.
The new version of the Hawkeye combines an updated tactical truck chassis with a new powertrain and improved architecture . The company describes the howitzer as a "lightweight, agile, rugged, and lethal" solution for modern combat operations.
The manufacturer said the howitzer can be deployed from a portable to a combat mode, fired, and retracted in just 90 seconds. This allows artillery crews to deliver strikes and reposition themselves before enemy sensors or drones can detect the location of the shot.
"At the heart of the system is a patented soft recoil technology, which reduces recoil forces by up to 60%. This breakthrough enables integration of a large-caliber weapon on a nimble, rugged platform—bringing to life a new class of highly mobile, precision-capable artillery," AM General said in a statement.
The Hawkeye has a standard firing range of 11.6 km, which increases to 19.5 km when using rocket-propelled shells. The howitzer can fire up to eight rounds per minute, this rate of fire is maintained for three minutes, after which it drops to three rounds per minute.
AM General stated that the design updates and performance improvements are directly based on extensive field testing in Ukraine, where previous versions of the Hawkeye system were used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in real combat operations.
Earlier, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine and the EU will catch up with the Russian Federation in terms of artillery shot production in 2026. At the same time, the head of state is convinced that in the future the artillery track may become stronger than that of the enemy.