Ukraine is testing a Humvee with a howitzer bolted to its back. That sounds ridiculous but the engineering that make it possible are rewriting what artillery can be.

Well I noticed, but I am a weirdo.

This technology while obscure represents one of the most fundamental advances in cannon artillery in decades and it is already being fielded. India has developed a similar technology/licenses the same technology for high altitude highly maneuverable 4x4 mounted 105mm howitzers.

The frustrating reality of covering experimental systems in Ukraine is that Ukraine doesn’t publish Google reviews of prototype artillery.

As of May 29, 2026, there are no major public battlefield reports declaring the Hawkeye either a war-winning breakthrough or a categorical failure. No public after-action reviews. No official Ukrainian statements rating the system against the Caesar or the M777. Operational silence.

That silence is probably a good sign.

Ukraine has a well-documented and unsentimental relationship with equipment that doesn’t perform.

Systems that fail in combat at the tactical level become known. Social media footage surfaces. Milbloggers talk. Ukrainian units share feedback through channels that eventually reach open-source analysts.

If the Hawkeye had been failing catastrophically, three deployments of drone footage and an angry Telegram thread would have surfaced by now.

What we do know: AM General described the system as “combat proven” at AUSA 2024. Ukraine apparently continued using it after initial evaluation. And AM General unveiled a next-generation version at AUSA 2025, upgraded and built around the standard M119 105mm gun, directly citing the Ukraine experience as part of the development process.

Companies don’t build second generations of systems that embarrassed them in their first combat trial.

edit 1 I should have noted that Kosovo has been the first country to officially order the Hawkeye 105mm systems.

https://www.amgeneral.com/am-general-sells-first-humvee-hawkeye-105mm-mobile-howitzer-systems-as-part-of-three-year-contract-award/

edit 2 It is also worth noting India has been producing a very similar vehicle known as the Garuda 105mm referred to as the “Go Anywhere Garuda” perhaps through the same companies or shared contracts I don’t know? The Garuda was made for the Himalayas and getting artillery into otherwise unreachable places.

https://idrw.org/brazil-expresses-interest-in-kalyanis-garuda-105_v2-4x4-go-anywhere-gun/