The American weapon that makes Russian soldiers shake in their boots

The Ukrainian Armed Forces, significantly bolstered by considerable military support from international allies, have substantially enhanced their capabilities with the introduction of the American M109A6 Paladin artillery system, a weapon that makes the Russian soldiers shake in their boots.

The M109A6 Paladin may not be as popular or as high-profile as some other weapons and equipment the United States has given to Ukraine but the M109A6 has helped Kyiv beat back Russia since the day they began arriving in Ukraine. 

Why the Russian Armed Forces fear the M109A6 Paladin is easy to understand. It is a remarkably powerful artillery system that is very good at hitting its target and moving before it can be attacked by counter-battery fire from the enemy side. So let's learn a little more about the machine. 

The M109A6 Paladin is a self-propelled howitzer that entered US Army service in 1991 as an upgraded model of the original M109 according to Military Today. The artillery has a larger turret than previous models and a maximum standard range of 15 miles (24km). 

“The most significant improvement for the Paladin consists of its new digital navigation and fire control systems.” Technology.org wrote about the M109A6. “These upgrades enable the… guns to open fire within 30 seconds of stopping at a fixed position.” 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By SFC Mcbride

Some models of the Paladin were outfitted with modification kits so they could fire M982 Excalibur extended-range precision-guided projectiles, which allows the Paladin to hit a target upwards of 25 miles (40km) away. But that’s not why Russians fear the Paladin. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By United States Army

The reason why the Paladin has gained such a fearsome reputation on the battlefield is because the system is mobile enough to perform shoot-and-scoot missions that allow it to fire at Russian soldiers and move before counter-battery fire can target the weapons. 

“The Paladin's ability to rapidly reposition after firing has made them a vexing challenge for Russian artillery troops,” wrote The Drive’s Howard Altman in his analysis of how the U.S. weapons system is being used by Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade. 

Military Today noted in its write-up on the Paladin that the artillery piece can stop to fire a round in under 60 seconds and be back on the move again due to its brief redeployment time. But the weapon has a much more significant maximum rate of fire if it is needed. 

The Paladin can fire a maximum of four standard rounds in under a minute and it has a sustained rate of fire that allows one round to be fired at the enemy every three minutes. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces aren’t using the Paladin in a sustained capacity. 

Ukraine's Paladins have played a key role in the country’s summer counter-offensive push south of the Robotyne-Verbove salient according to Howard Altman. The reason behind the success was their use in combination with German-made Leopard 2A6 tanks. 

The Paladin can fire standard 155mm howitzer rounds, and it’s being used on targets that are under 6 miles (10km) away in Ukraine according to Altman. But the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade hasn't been using standard shells against Russian positions on the east.

One 47th Paladin Commander explained during an interview with United 24 that he was firing M864 cluster munitions at Russian soldiers. The combination is effective because it allows Ukrainian forces to hit and destroy large numbers of infantry during an assault. 

The 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s Paladins were instrumental in recapturing the key strategic village of Robotyne on the route to the city of Tokmak. Paladins went on to guard the roads to Robotyne against Russian attacks and fired upwards of 100 rounds a day at that time. 

“When the infantry needs help, there’s no room for economy,” United 24 explained. But it is the Paladin’s maneuverability in combination with the munitions the artillery systems are firing that has got Russian onlookers and analysts worried about how to counter it. 

Russian Duma member Andrey Gurulev reported on his Telegram channel in September 2023 that the self-propelled Paladins have become known as “very difficult, or nearly impossible” to destroy according to a translation of his comments from The Drive. 

“Basically, all of [Ukraine’s] guns are installed in depth at a distance inaccessible to our artillery. An estimated two artillery brigades were concentrated in the ‘hottest’ directions, not counting the artillery of local brigades,” Gurulev wrote in his report. 

“We burned a lot of their towed artillery, they switched to using self-propelled guns. Our people say that it is very difficult, almost impossible, to catch them; after the second sighting shot they move and change position,” Gurulev added. 

The first 635 Ukrainian Paladin crew members finished their training on the machines in February 2023 according to the Associated Press, which added that American officials believed the Paladin would be crucial to the success of Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russia. 

That belief by U.S. officials was eventually borne out in battles where the Paladin was the key to some of the biggest battlefield successes Ukraine had seen up until the point it launched its counter-offensive against Russia in the summer of 2023.

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