Source: Weapons Artillery
The Yavuz 155mmm wheeled self-propelled howitzer is an new artillery system developed jointly by the Turkish companies MKE and Yol-Bak to response to the need of the Turkish army for a new howitzer offering more mobility and fast deployment. The MKE Yavuz is based on an German-made MAN 6x6 military truck chassis with a 155mm 52 calibre howitzer mounted at the rear of the chassis. The main weapon is a truck-mounted solution of the Panter 155mm towed howitzer also manufactured by MKE that is already in service with the Turkish army. The MKE Yavuz is developed based on a chassis and engine of commercial MAN truck converted to be used for military applications, but the cabin and layout are fully designed by MKE and Yol-Bak . A double cab is located at the front of the MKE Yavuz 155mm 6x6 self-propelled howitzer able to accommodate the crew which consists of five people including driver, commander, gunner and two loaders. The crew cab is fully armoured to provide protection against firing of small arms and shell splinters. The MKE Yavuz is fitted with a semi-automatic loading system and a total of 18 ammunition are stored in storage box located on each side of the truck chassis. It can fire at a maximum range of 40 km and need only 60 seconds to be ready to fire. According to MKE engineers, first firing tests with the Yavuz artillery howitzer were performed on April 2017.
