Denmark selects 5 bidders for artillery buy...via IHS Janes

via Janes.

Denmark has prequalified five contenders to meet its self-propelled howitzer requirement, the Norwegian defence procurement agency (FMI) has announced.

The contenders are vying to replace the Royal Danish Army's existing M109A3 155 mm self-propelled howitzers.

According to the FMI the five candidates are: BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Hanwha Techwin, Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), and Nexter Systems.

The prequalification concerns an assessment of the bidder's abilities to meet manufacturing and other requirements, rather than an evaluation of any platforms being offered. Accordingly, no information was provided on the platforms the competitors may be planning to offer, although three of the bidders have only one possible candidate for the programme: the Autonomous Truck Mounted howitzer System (ATMOS) from Elbit; the wheeled CAESAR system from Nexter; and the tracked K9 Thunder from Huta Techwin.

Meanwhile, HSW could offer either its tracked Krab system (a Polish amalgam of the K9 and the British AS90) or its Kryl wheeled system (a variant of ATMOS). BAE Systems likewise could offer either an updated version of the M109 (the most modern being the M109A7 for the US Army) or its wheeled Archer system. Speaking to IHS Jane's on 12 April, BAE Systems would not confirm which it would be offering.

This is Denmark's second attempt at purchasing a replacement for its M109A3 howitzers, with its initial attempt to buy 21 new self-propelled howitzers first having been cancelled in April 2015 ostensibly due to financial reasons.

I don't get it.  They're putting up nice artillery systems but they're so different that I can't even begin to fathom the base requirement.

It really doesn't matter.  They're caught in the F-35 vortex and will end up canceling this program too.  Its become common for military forces around the world to start competitions that they know will never see the light of day just to keep their natives quiet.  I'm betting this is just another example of that.  They just don't have the money to buy the F-35 and at the same time purchase other equipment.

They share the Marine Corps hurt locker.