Notes: This was designed to replace all of the 105mm and 155mm self-propelled howitzers then in French service, and entered service in 1979. Before that, the first ones produced were actually bought by Saudi Arabia in 1977. Later production included vehicles for Iraq and Kuwait. The French designation for the GCT is actually the AUF-1. In 1988, production was switched to the AUF-1 T, with a 52-caliber length barrel. The AUF-1 T also has a 40 kW APU (as opposed to the 10kW APU on the standard GCT), a better automatic loading system, and better fire control and gun laying; the AUF-1 T can fire within 6 phases of a halt, and accurately fire at any target within range without help from an FDC if the target location is known. The chassis is a modified form of that of the AMX-30 tank. The driver is at the front of the vehicle on the left. The turret is large and stretched from the center to the rear of the hull, with hatches on the roof for the commander and the rest of the gun crew. The weapon mount is at the crew hatch and is normally operated by the loader. In the rear of the turret are two large doors for ammunition resupply, and there is a small hatch on each side of the turret for crew entry. The turret was also mounted on a T-72 chassis for entry into the Indian howitzer competition; this vehicle did not win the competition, but the Indians used the two such vehicles produced in their conflicts with Pakistan.

Notes: Caesar is a 52-caliber barrel 155mm howitzer mounted on a lightly armored Unimog 2450L truck chassis. The vehicle is highly mobile and air-portable and droppable inside C-130 aircraft and larger. This vehicle was deployed as a demonstration for the French Army and Abu Dhabi, and is not yet in production except as required for field testing. The driver and commander sit at the front in the cab, the crew to the rear of them in a split cab, and the howitzer is in the rear of the vehicle. Before firing, the howitzer must be raised and spades lowered at the rear (6 phases). Once per 10 minutes, the Caesar may increase fire rate to one per phase for 3 phases. Normal fire rate is one round per two phases. Traverse for the gun is 15 degrees to either side of center; larger changes in deflection require repositioning of the vehicle.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This vehicle was placed into limited production in 1995 for use by French Forces.

Merc 2000 Notes: This vehicle was viewed by some countries as an inexpensive alternative to heavier tracked guns.

Notes: This French vehicle is based on the AMX-13 light tank chassis, and looks like a smaller version of the US M-107 and M-110 howitzers. As with those vehicles, the crew of the Mk F3 ride inside the vehicle or in other vehicles for transport, but when operating the howitzer, stand on the deck around the weapon and have no armor or NBC protection during this time. There is a driver’s hatch on the front left deck, with a hatch for the commander behind that. The other crewmembers ride in other vehicles (normally AMX VCAs) for transport. If necessary, 4 members of the crew can ride on the outside of the vehicle. Separate vehicles must also carry almost all of the ammunition for the gun. By 2000, almost all French Mk F3’s had been replaced by the AMX-GCT, and most of the Mk F3’s in the service of other countries had been upgraded to an L/39 gun barrel. Some of these had also been fitted with diesel engines instead of gasoline engines; in addition to being more economical, the diesel engine used is more powerful than the gasoline engine.