Italy deploys PzH 2000 Howitzers in Germany for NATO artillery drill

Italian Army artillery units have deployed PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Germany for a major NATO training exercise, demonstrating the Alliance’s growing focus on cross-border artillery coordination.

The drills, part of Dynamic Front 26, took place at Grafenwoehr Training Area on 8 February and involved live-fire operations alongside command-post exercises, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The event brought together forces from more than 20 NATO and partner nations, with live-fire locations extending to Romania, Poland, Germany, Spain, and Türkiye.

The Italian PzH 2000, a heavily armoured 155 mm/L52 tracked howitzer, is designed for rapid “shoot-and-scoot” operations. Its automated loading system allows bursts of three rounds in about ten seconds, with a sustained rate of up to ten rounds per minute. This speed enables the gun to fire, relocate, and evade counter-battery strikes in under two minutes, combining mobility, protection, and firepower.

Officials said the exercise aimed to test NATO’s ability to synchronise long-range fires across multiple countries. “Dynamic Front 26 rehearses the full chain of modern artillery employment — from assembling forces to executing live missions while higher headquarters manage competing priorities,” a NATO statement said.

The drills also emphasised networked operations. Participating nations used a digital framework allowing fire missions to be generated in one country and executed in another, reflecting NATO’s vision for distributed, multinational fires.

Italy’s PzH 2000 units are equipped to fire extended-range, precision-guided ammunition such as the Vulcano 155 family, which can strike high-value targets beyond the frontline with metre-level accuracy. The system’s widespread adoption among NATO members — including Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, and Hungary — further facilitates multinational artillery coordination.

Dynamic Front 26 is the last exercise under its current structure before merging with Arcane Thunder next year to form Arcane Front, a wider effort to integrate sensors, shooters, and decision-making across domains.

NATO officials said the exercise sends a clear deterrent message: any attempt at a rapid military advance in Europe would face coordinated, theatre-wide artillery response.

By Aghakazim Guliyev