The manufacturer is Slovakian, Dana may be called Czech because it was built when we were still Czechoslovakia.
Dana uses 152 mm shells which are not compatible with NATO standard guns.
Morana is just a prototype.
Zuzana is 155 mm NATO standard but it’s never been built in such quantities before.
​
EDIT: Caesar is also built by NEXTER, a French company which closely cooperates with Czech Tatra. Caesar is a French gun strapped to a Czech Tatra truck (other options are available tho), so the logistics make more sense.
Dana doesn’t have NATO caliber. That’s a big reason. And unlike Slovakia we did not proceed with Ondava to create Zuzana.
Bcs Dana beautiful design is too good, so we must buy some garbage truck with baguette stick in his ass. (Don’t know shit about it, just based on design).
Another reason is that local 155mm successors are mostly prototypes and demonstration vehicles, while Caesars have proven service record and are available right now.
10 years from now? We might get some.
Good thing about French artillery is that it has never been used
Protože potřebujeme něco, co dostřelí z Prahy do Bratislavy v případě, že by Ukrajina padla a Slováci se k nim chtěli přidat 😂
Probably ammo and spare parts play a big role since our current SPGs dont use NATO calibers
Idk, maybe they aren’t compatible with shells and spare parts that are common in other NATO military vehicles, thus being somewhat ineffective, however I am not sure.
But Morana is a badass name for anything regarding military, she is basically a slavic goddess of death and winter
DITA does not fullfill NATO standards, which were part of the tender requirements.
MORANA was not even unveiled when the tender was due, and still today has not finished even internal testing by the manufacturer ExcaliburArmy.
Because Czech made equipment is outdated and nobody wants to pay for future development
When the plans to buy new artillery were made, Morana wasn’t even a thing yet. Simple.
French are making them by dozens whereas Morana is at this point yet to hit serial production.
Capable system next year is better than great system next decade.
Because the Czech army specification for a new 155mm Howitzer explicitly said that new gun must be mass-produced which neither Morana (which is only prototype) nor Zuzana are.
While superior in personnel protection to the Caesar, Dana is a 152mm system. We need a 155mm system to comply with NATO unification and to extend the range of our artillery. Morana is a 155mm system, but it’s not battle-proven and has never been built at scale, as Caesar has.
Isn’t this part of the nato hand me downs in exchange for the Ukraine support?
Dana uses 152mm and we wanted to go for the NATO standard of 155mm.
As per army criteria (the first one being the most important):
* Caesar is **cheaper**, we are talking at least 50% more per unit if we chose any other systems (not only Zuzana). Our army already paid way more than they expected at the time. Please note that this is before most armies, including ours, got a huge funding increase due to UA situation. Our army had been underfunded for many years and honestly I though it was a miracle they even could pick a new system.
* It fulfilled the **range** criteria, the **rate of fire**, the ability to use not only 155mm shells, but also most of their modern versions (all the different timed and air burst etc), had all the needed mobility and several others, specified by our army.
* And like others said, it can use Tatra trucks, which means it will benefit domestic companies too.
I honestly think if we bought today, the choice might have been different (archer wink wink), but we aren’t.
DANA lacks NATO standard range, and morana is still not ready for serial production as i get it
Also, cesar 8×8 uses czech truck as a base, so i guess its also done to push further alredy deep french – czech military cooperation
These are just old guns on new, cool looking trucks.
To my knowledge you can buy 4-5 Caesars for one Morana (she isn’t even in the production phase thou)
The problem is that we need them now and in large quantities, not a few units due 2030
Caesars are trash in comparison to Morana and even to Zuzana, especially because they offer no protection to the crew and the setup takes more time, but they’re dirt cheap and available
Neither Morana nor Dita existed when the contract was signed (and there are still only prototypes today). DANA M2 is much worse than Caesar
CAESAR is a French gun on Czech Tatra chassis.
* That makes it about as much Czech as DANA, because DANA is Slovak gun on Czech Tatra chassis.
* CAESAR *hilariously* outclasses the the 40 year old DANA.
* More than double the range
* Nearly triple the range is using rocket-assist ammo
* 50% higher rate of fire
* 25% higher vehicle speed
* Does not use an obsolete caliber that is not used by NATO
So, to answer the first part of your question, why DANA is not used: DANA is not being used, because it is the vehicle being *replaced*.
MORANA does not exist. It is a marketing demonstrator that was first shown last year. Allegedly, only single vehicle exists to show to *potential* buyers. Nobody has bought one yet and serial production is not planned to be ready till 2027. That’s half a decade from now.
It is an untested vehicle that, even if it was as good as they claim, they are way too late to the party. The purchase process and evaluation has been going on for years.
Not to mention that if Internet is to be believed, then on paper it is still worse system overall than CAESAR *and* has shorter driving range by 100km.
Less than 30 older Zuzana were built. And less than 50 new Zuzana 2. It is not exactly a well-tested system. Zuzana 2 matches CAESAR in fire range, but shoots 25% slower. It is also 50% longer and wider. In fact, it is longer and wider than common rail cars, giving doubts how easy it would be transport via rail. And it also cannot be transported by any common NATO plane, such as the C-130.
That, and the fact that people are not exactly lining up to buy it, despite being a third cheaper than CAESAR, gives some doubts to its IRL quality vs what is said on paper.
​
Jokes aside, I suspect the purchase came down to factors that we will never know about, such as how much of the system will be manufactured in Czech Republic under license, rather than the other country. Given the fact that Tatra is not exactly promoting the Zuzana 2, I suspect the cooperation with Slovaks is not as close as we may think.
u/IsThis_True
A lot of wrong answers here, while it is extremely simple:
24 comments
I am not military advisor so i cant answer
The manufacturer is Slovakian, Dana may be called Czech because it was built when we were still Czechoslovakia.
Dana uses 152 mm shells which are not compatible with NATO standard guns.
Morana is just a prototype.
Zuzana is 155 mm NATO standard but it’s never been built in such quantities before.
​
EDIT: Caesar is also built by NEXTER, a French company which closely cooperates with Czech Tatra. Caesar is a French gun strapped to a Czech Tatra truck (other options are available tho), so the logistics make more sense.
Dana doesn’t have NATO caliber. That’s a big reason. And unlike Slovakia we did not proceed with Ondava to create Zuzana.
Bcs Dana beautiful design is too good, so we must buy some garbage truck with baguette stick in his ass. (Don’t know shit about it, just based on design).
Another reason is that local 155mm successors are mostly prototypes and demonstration vehicles, while Caesars have proven service record and are available right now.
10 years from now? We might get some.
Good thing about French artillery is that it has never been used
Protože potřebujeme něco, co dostřelí z Prahy do Bratislavy v případě, že by Ukrajina padla a Slováci se k nim chtěli přidat 😂
Probably ammo and spare parts play a big role since our current SPGs dont use NATO calibers
Idk, maybe they aren’t compatible with shells and spare parts that are common in other NATO military vehicles, thus being somewhat ineffective, however I am not sure.
But Morana is a badass name for anything regarding military, she is basically a slavic goddess of death and winter
DITA does not fullfill NATO standards, which were part of the tender requirements.
MORANA was not even unveiled when the tender was due, and still today has not finished even internal testing by the manufacturer ExcaliburArmy.
Because Czech made equipment is outdated and nobody wants to pay for future development
When the plans to buy new artillery were made, Morana wasn’t even a thing yet. Simple.
French are making them by dozens whereas Morana is at this point yet to hit serial production.
Capable system next year is better than great system next decade.
Because the Czech army specification for a new 155mm Howitzer explicitly said that new gun must be mass-produced which neither Morana (which is only prototype) nor Zuzana are.
While superior in personnel protection to the Caesar, Dana is a 152mm system. We need a 155mm system to comply with NATO unification and to extend the range of our artillery. Morana is a 155mm system, but it’s not battle-proven and has never been built at scale, as Caesar has.
Isn’t this part of the nato hand me downs in exchange for the Ukraine support?
Dana uses 152mm and we wanted to go for the NATO standard of 155mm.
As per army criteria (the first one being the most important):
* Caesar is **cheaper**, we are talking at least 50% more per unit if we chose any other systems (not only Zuzana). Our army already paid way more than they expected at the time. Please note that this is before most armies, including ours, got a huge funding increase due to UA situation. Our army had been underfunded for many years and honestly I though it was a miracle they even could pick a new system.
* It fulfilled the **range** criteria, the **rate of fire**, the ability to use not only 155mm shells, but also most of their modern versions (all the different timed and air burst etc), had all the needed mobility and several others, specified by our army.
* And like others said, it can use Tatra trucks, which means it will benefit domestic companies too.
I honestly think if we bought today, the choice might have been different (archer wink wink), but we aren’t.
DANA lacks NATO standard range, and morana is still not ready for serial production as i get it
Also, cesar 8×8 uses czech truck as a base, so i guess its also done to push further alredy deep french – czech military cooperation
These are just old guns on new, cool looking trucks.
To my knowledge you can buy 4-5 Caesars for one Morana (she isn’t even in the production phase thou)
The problem is that we need them now and in large quantities, not a few units due 2030
Caesars are trash in comparison to Morana and even to Zuzana, especially because they offer no protection to the crew and the setup takes more time, but they’re dirt cheap and available
Neither Morana nor Dita existed when the contract was signed (and there are still only prototypes today). DANA M2 is much worse than Caesar
CAESAR is a French gun on Czech Tatra chassis.
* That makes it about as much Czech as DANA, because DANA is Slovak gun on Czech Tatra chassis.
* CAESAR *hilariously* outclasses the the 40 year old DANA.
* More than double the range
* Nearly triple the range is using rocket-assist ammo
* 50% higher rate of fire
* 25% higher vehicle speed
* Does not use an obsolete caliber that is not used by NATO
So, to answer the first part of your question, why DANA is not used: DANA is not being used, because it is the vehicle being *replaced*.
MORANA does not exist. It is a marketing demonstrator that was first shown last year. Allegedly, only single vehicle exists to show to *potential* buyers. Nobody has bought one yet and serial production is not planned to be ready till 2027. That’s half a decade from now.
It is an untested vehicle that, even if it was as good as they claim, they are way too late to the party. The purchase process and evaluation has been going on for years.
Not to mention that if Internet is to be believed, then on paper it is still worse system overall than CAESAR *and* has shorter driving range by 100km.
Less than 30 older Zuzana were built. And less than 50 new Zuzana 2. It is not exactly a well-tested system. Zuzana 2 matches CAESAR in fire range, but shoots 25% slower. It is also 50% longer and wider. In fact, it is longer and wider than common rail cars, giving doubts how easy it would be transport via rail. And it also cannot be transported by any common NATO plane, such as the C-130.
That, and the fact that people are not exactly lining up to buy it, despite being a third cheaper than CAESAR, gives some doubts to its IRL quality vs what is said on paper.
​
Jokes aside, I suspect the purchase came down to factors that we will never know about, such as how much of the system will be manufactured in Czech Republic under license, rather than the other country. Given the fact that Tatra is not exactly promoting the Zuzana 2, I suspect the cooperation with Slovaks is not as close as we may think.
u/IsThis_True
A lot of wrong answers here, while it is extremely simple:
The order for Caesar was signed in 2020.
[Dita 155mm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/152_mm_SpGH_DANA) was introduced in 2021.
Morana 155mm was introduced in 2022.
(Dana is 152mm, i.e. not suitable)
Caesars for CZ army will be made mostly in the Czech Republic (apart from a few innitial ones made in France)
Je vůnec Morana ve výzbroji? Dana je ráže 152mm. Standard NATO je 155.