The U.S. Army has ordered additional 155mm M109A7 self-propelled howitzers.

BAE Systems announced that it received an order for the production and delivery of 40 additional tracked self-propelled howitzers and the same number of M992 field artillery ammunition support vehicles.

The contract is worth $299 million.

The deal includes production and delivery of M109A7 and M992A3 field artillery ammunition support vehicles and spare parts for these vehicles.

The defense company emphasized that the M109A7 is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

BAE Systems received the initial contract for M109A7 production in 2017. The most recent order brings the total number of vehicle complexes to 310 and the total contract value to $1.9 billion. The order includes M109A7 howitzers, as well as M992A3 Carrier, Ammunition, and Tracked (CAT) vehicles.

The M109A7 self-propelled howitzer together with the M992A3 field artillery ammunition support vehicle provide main fire support for the U.S. Army battle groups.

The M109A7 is an upgraded version of the 2012 M109A6 Paladin. The design of the updated self-propelled howitzer includes a new chassis, engine, transmission, suspension, control system, new internal power architecture, and improved survivability.

The purpose of the upgrade is to improve combat and operational characteristics.

The M992A3 field artillery ammunition support vehicle is based on the same chassis as the M109A7.

This vehicle, also known as CAT (Carrier Ammunition Tracked), serves as a heavy armored ammunition carrier.

The U.S. military ordered the previous batch of M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 field artillery ammunition support vehicles in May.