Soltam M-71

The M-71 is a 155 mm 39 caliber towed howitzer manufactured by Israeli company Soltam Systems.

Soltam M-71
A deployed M-71
Type	Howitzer
Place of origin	Israel
Service history
Used by	See users
Wars	Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War South African Border War 1982 Lebanon War Gaza War Myanmar Civil War 2025 Cambodia-Thailand border conflict
Production history
Designer	Soltam Systems
Designed	1971–1974
Manufacturer	Soltam
Produced	1975–[1]
Variants	Soltam M-68
Specifications
Mass	9,200 kg (20,300 lb)
Barrel length	6.045 m (19 ft 10 in) L/39
Crew	8
Caliber	155 mm NATO
Breech	Horizontal sliding block
Carriage	Split trail
Elevation	-3° to 52°[2]
Traverse	±37.5° from centerline[2]
Muzzle velocity	820 m/s (2,700 ft/s)
Effective firing range	21 km (13 mi) (NATO standard ammunition) [3] 23.5 km (14.6 mi) (Tampella standard ammunition)[3]
Maximum firing range	28.5 km (17.7 mi)[2]

Design

The weapon was based on the earlier Soltam M-68 and uses the same recoil system, breech and carriage but had a longer gun barrel (39 calibre versus 33 calibre of M-68). It is fitted with a compressed air-driven rammer to permit rapid and easy loading at all angles of elevation as well as having a rechargeable battery mounted on the right trail for auxiliary power.^[4] It can fire a 43.7 kilograms (96 lb) high-explosive shell up to a maximum range of 23.5 kilometers (14.6 mi) at a muzzle velocity of 820 meters per second (2,700 ft/s).

The Soltam M-71 in travel/towing configuration

Deployment

In addition to Israel, this weapon is in service with Chile,^[5] Singapore,^[6] Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, Slovenia and Myanmar. A version of this weapon was developed to mount on a modified Centurion chassis (M-72), but this vehicle never reached production.

Operators

Map of M-71 operators in blue

• Botswana^[7]
• Cameroon: 18^[8]
• Chile: 60 howitzers used by the Chilean Army, 36 Soltam M-68s acquired in the 1970s later upgraded to Soltam M-71 standard and 24 Soltam M-71 howitzers acquired in the 1980s.^[9] 24 designated G-4 howitzers acquired by the Chilean Marine Corps in South Africa in 1992.^[9][10]
• Israel^[1]
• Myanmar: 72^[11][12]
• Philippines:
  • Philippine Army: 20^[13][14][15]
  • Philippine Marine Corps: 6 ^[16][15]
• Singapore: 13^[11] or 38^[17] - modified to the M-71S standard using less crew + addition of APU.
• Slovenia: 18; M839 variant.^[11]
• South Africa: 32; designated G-4.^[18]
• Thailand: 32^[11]

See also

• 155 K 83 – (Finland)
• FH-88 – (Singapore)
• Soltam M-68 – (Israel)
• ATMOS 2000 – (Israel)
• M777 howitzer – (United Kingdom)