PARIS — Nexter has signed a contract with Denmark for the sale of 15 Caesar 155mm truck-mounted artillery with options for six more units, the land weapons company said.
"Nexter … has been awarded a contract by the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) for the supply of 15 (plus 6 as an option) 8x8 Caesar artillery systems to the Danish Army," the company said in a May 22 statement.
Denmark signed the Caesar contract on Monday, a Nexter spokeswoman told Defense News. That Danish deal is the company's first sale of its eight-wheel drive version, mounted on a Tatra truck chassis. The sale was also to a NATO ally, seen as significant.
The sale to Denmark was worth €40.3 million (U.S. $45.2 million), Army Recognition's website reported March 15.
Denmark picked Nexter in March for exclusive talks after a tender that included Elbit Systems.
The French Army has deployed its six-wheel drive Caesar in the Wagram task force, a French artillery unit in the allied Operation Inherent Resolve supporting the Iraqi Army in Mosul, Iraq. The first deployments were in Afghanistan and Mali.
The eight-wheel drive version offers "improved operational autonomy and a platform offering significant growth potential for further adaptation," Nexter said. Danish industry will be "essential" in the 10-year service of the artillery. No further details were available.
Nexter put the eight-wheel drive version on display at the Defence and Security Equipment International trade show in London in 2015.