The Camion Équipé d'un Système d'Artillerie (English: "Truck equipped with an artillery system") or CAESAR[2] is a French 155 mm, 52-caliber self-propelled howitzer that can fire 39/52 caliber NATO-standard shells.

Equipped with an autonomous weapon network incorporating an inertial navigation system and ballistic computer, the CAESAR can accurately strike targets more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) away using "Extended Range, Full Bore" (ERFB) ammunition with base bleed,[3][irrelevant citation] or targets over 55 kilometres (34 mi) away using rocket-assisted or smart ammunition.

Absent further orders for its products, GIAT might have had to shut down its artillery program for unprofitability, permanently losing an important industrial capability.

Using the TRF1 and its usual tow vehicle, the Renault TRM 10000, as a baseline, the project team determined that mounting the gun directly on a truck bed would reduce overall material costs.

After designing a subframe and a rear anchoring platform to filter and dissipate the gun's recoil, the team chose to adapt the Unimog U 2450 truck as the system's base.

After delivery was completed in June 2003, the French Army formed an "experimental" artillery section that used the prototypes to develop military doctrine for future CAESAR-equipped units.

Thus, in December 2004, the DGA awarded GIAT a €300 million contract to produce 72 new CAESARs, upgrade the five vehicles already delivered, supply an initial amount of ammunition, and provide maintenance to the fleet for five years.

[16] GIAT and its successor companies have developed and produced 155 mm rounds designed to maximize the range of the CAESAR, such as the LU 211,[17] which is manufactured at Les Forges de Tarbes,[18] within the confines of the town arsenal.

In February 2022, Nexter was awarded an initial €600 million contract by the French defence procurement agency (the DGA) for the development and acquisition of the CAESAR 6x6 Mark II new generation artillery system.

[29][30] Nexter, the industrial prime contractor, will be working in particular with Arquus (chassis) and Safran (electronics), the main partners involved in the development and implementation of this program.

[31] From mobility to connectivity, and from ballistic protection to increased firing efficiency, as well as accuracy further refined by an artificial intelligence system developed by Helsing,[32] the improvements remain those set out in 2022 when the program was launched.

It will incorporate a new version of its velocity radar and new fire control software, as well as Safran's Geonyx inertial navigation system to replace the SIGMA 30, which promises enhanced geolocation and pointing accuracy in environments with no GNSS signal.

[30] Finally, the cabin will be predisposed to receive the vetronics of the SCORPION combat information network, such as the NCT-t (noeud de communication tactique - terre) software radio from the CONTACT program and the ECLIPSE anti-IED jammer from Thales, a technology that could be extended to anti-drone warfare, and which Belgium has chosen to integrate natively.

[30] The new armored cabin to protect against mines and ballistic projectiles is expected to raise the CAESAR Mark II's weight to 25 tonnes (27.56 tons) but the system will remain air-transportable, an indispensable French requirement.

They were deployed to Firebase Saham, a base freshly constructed by the United States Army to provide fire support during the battle, especially during cloudy days when U.S. aircraft could not see to conduct airstrikes.