Pillars of the Ecuadorian Army Artillery: Howitzers M-198, M-101, and M-56

The Ecuadorian Army deploys its different artillery means through:

• Artillery Brigade:
  Nº 27 ‘Portete’
• Artillery Groups:
  Nº 5 ‘Atahualpa’
  Nº 7 ‘Cabo Minacho’
  Nº 13 ‘Mariscal Sucre’
  Nº 21 ‘Bolívar’
• The self-propelled Artillery Groups:
  Nº 11 ‘Teniente Rodríguez’
  Nº 79 ‘General Pintag’
• Launching Artillery Group:
  Nº 21 ‘Tiwintza’
• Multiple Launching Artillery Group:
  Nº 80 ‘Calderón’

The means currently in service are:

R.I.A. M-198 155-MILLIMETER TOWED HOWITZER

By March 2020, the maintenance process on ten units of the M-198 was reported to have been carried out by the “Quisquis” Maintenance Battalion.

The same tasks were repeated during May 2022, this time carried out by the Artillery Maintenance Center (CEMART) of the 27th Artillery Brigade, initially only on two pieces of this model and to extend the useful life of this system.

The Ecuadorian Army’s M-198s are deployed by the 79th Self-Propelled Artillery Group ‘General Pintag’, with 12 units reported in inventory, acquired at the time in the United States.

GIAT AMX MK-1 F3 155 MILLIMETERS HOWITZERS

A total of 12 MK-1 howitzers, in three batteries, with four pieces each, are currently deployed by the Army of this nation.

They are assigned to the Self-Propelled Artillery Group No.11 “Teniente Rodriguez”, having undergone an inspection and maintenance process in October 2021 by the CEMART.

HOWITZER R.I.A. M-101 A1/M2A1 OF 105 MM.

In April 2010, the Material Maintenance Center announced the operational recovery -after two maintenance processes- of 24 M-101/M2A1 pieces, with which the operational life of these units was extended, of which approximately 54 units had been acquired and are still in inventory and used in various artillery groups.

OTO MELARA (LEONARDO) MOD.56 105 MILLIMETERS HOWITZER

In 2010, the Ecuadorian Maintenance Center completed a project to maintain 38 pieces of the Italian-made Mod.56 and its operational reincorporation.

This model is highly appreciated for its ease of deployment in mountainous environments or with logistical difficulties to access, thanks to its low weight, dimensions, ranges, and the fact that it can be disassembled and reassembled in no more than 10 minutes.

MLRS URAL / KAMAZ BM-21 “GRAD” OF 122.4 MILLIMETERS

At the beginning of 1994, twelve BM-21 were acquired from Nicaragua, having their baptism of fire on February 4, 1995 (Cenepa), being used in 15 fire missions and firing 609 rounds during approximately 20 days.

By 2018, this newspaper announced that the Ecuadorian Army was developing a new prototype, replacing the 4×4 Ural 375-D truck with the 6×6 Kamaz PTC 43118 6.7 Cummins TD E6 226kW 6×6 Kamaz combat vehicle, on which the Grad rocket was mounted.

This development was possible thanks to the advice of the company Vradimaremeel, which supported the coupling of the vehicle and the rocket, and the loan of the Kamaz truck by the company Advancecorp S.A. (representative in that country of the Russian brand).

This system underwent maneuverability and demonstration fire tests, from which the effectiveness of the vehicle/rocket was confirmed.

However, based on the results of these tests, it has not been possible to establish if this institution has considered advancing a process for replacing the Ural trucks with the Kamaz.

This system was incorporated to have artillery with adequate mobility to evade counter-battery fire and sufficient range to destroy enemy battle echelons.

MLRS TATRA T813 KOLOS 122 MILLIMETERS (RM-70 “VAMPIRE”)

Ecuador also deploys six units of the RM-70, on 8×8 Tatra T813 “Kolos” vehicles, with armored cabs.

These means can fire their load of 40 rockets in less than 20 seconds, counting with a reloading time of no more than two minutes and also having a digital firing direction and control system.

By May 2017, the C.I.E.C.E. certification process of this system was carried out after real fire exercises.

To the models already referenced, 12 units of the 155-millimeter M-114 howitzer (12 units) would be added, but without confirming if they were incorporated at some point.

With information from InfoDefensa