Amazing Munitions About to Put on a Show

The US has just delivered 18 M198 or M777 towed 155 mm artillery pieces to Ukraine, along with 40,000 rounds for the same.  

More to come, but let's take a look at those rounds. They sort out into several possible types (from Wikipedia):

• High Explosive (HE): Explosive Composition B material packed into a thick, internally scored shell which causes a large blast and sends razor-sharp fragments at extreme velocities (5,000–6,000 meters per second). The kill zone is approximately a radius of 50 meters and casualty radius is 100 meters. The Marine Corps and US Army also uses the M795 High Explosive round.
  
  
• Rocket Assisted Projectile (RAP):  A rocket-assisted HE (also known as H.E.R.A.) M549 round that adds to the maximum range of the normal HE. For the 155 mm RAP round, max range is 30.1 kilometres (18.7 mi).
  
  

• White Phosphorus (WP):  A base-ejecting projectile which can come in two versions: felt-wedge and standard. White phosphorus smoke is used to start fires, burn a target, or to create smoke which is useful in concealing the movements of friendly units.
  
  

• Illumination:  Illumination projectiles are base-ejecting rounds which deploy a bright parachute flare ideally 600 meters above the ground and illuminates an area of approximately 1 grid square (1,000 square meters). Illumination rounds are often used in conjunction with HE rounds, to illuminate the target area so that HE rounds can be fired more effectively. Illumination rounds can also be used during the daytime to mark targets for aircraft. The M485 Illumination round burns for 120 seconds.
  
  

• Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM): A base-ejecting projectile that drops 88 bomblets above a target. Each bomblet has a shaped-charge munition capable of penetrating two inches of solid steel as well as a fragmentation casing which is effective against infantry in the open. The DPICM round is effective against armored vehicles, even tanks (since the deck armor is usually the thinnest on the vehicle), and is also extremely useful against entrenched infantry in positions with overhead cover.

• Area Denial Artillery Munition System (ADAMS):  An artillery round that releases anti-personnel mines. These mines eject tripwires to act as booby traps, and when triggered are launched upward before exploding. They are designed to self-destruct after a pre-determined period of time.Remote Anti Armor Mine System (RAAMS)An artillery round that releases anti-armor mines, usually used along with ADAMS rounds to prevent the antitank mines from being removed. Designed to self-destruct after a pre-determined period of time.

• Copperhead:  An artillery launched guided high-explosive munition used for very precise targeting of high-value targets such as tanks and fortifications. It required the target be designated with a laser designator system and is no longer produced or used by the US military.

• Sense and Destroy ARMor (SADARM): An experimental munition that is fired in the general direction of an enemy vehicle. The shell activates at a certain point in time ejecting a parachute and then guides itself to the nearest vehicle.

I know nothing about 155 mm munitions, but it strikes me that these shells are far more sophisticated from whatever it was we used in WWII, and are likely to be a wakeup call for the Russians.

But we'll see. 

One thing is for certain:  more shells and more artillery pieces are going to be needed, as the Russians are, at this point, pushing to an end game of their own choosing that will only be resolved by their total military destruction.  The Ukrainians can do that, if they are provided the tools.  We have those tools; let's help.