M777 vs M119 vs M198 vs M109: A Plain-English Guide to Towed and Self-Propelled Howitzers

"Howitzer" covers a lot of ground in the U.S. inventory. Here's how the four you'll see most often actually differ — and why the Army and Marine Corps still run more than one.

M119 — 105mm, towed, lightweight. The M119 is the small end of the family: a 105mm towed howitzer light enough to be air-dropped or slung under a helicopter, which makes it the standard choice for airborne and light infantry units that need indirect fire support without the weight of a 155mm system. With a rocket-assisted projectile, it can reach out to roughly 19,500 meters — respectable range for a gun this light.

M198 — 155mm, towed, the outgoing standard. For decades the M198 was the Army and Marine Corps' standard towed 155mm piece, firing the M107 family of projectiles out to roughly 18.5 kilometers. It did the job for a long time, but at over 7 tons it was heavy for a towed gun — slow to displace and hard to move by air, which is exactly the problem its replacement was built to solve.

M777 — 155mm, towed, ultralight. The M777 replaced the M198 starting in 2005, built around one design goal: keep the 155mm punch, cut the weight. It's roughly 41% lighter than the M198 it replaced, thanks to extensive use of titanium in the carriage, and it's built to be moved by helicopter sling-load in a way the M198 never could be. It typically runs an 8-person crew and gives light and airborne-adjacent units genuine 155mm range and lethality without a 155mm system's usual weight penalty.

M109 Paladin — 155mm, self-propelled, armored. The M109 is a different animal entirely: a tracked, armored, self-propelled howitzer that carries its 155mm gun on its own chassis rather than needing a truck to tow it. At around 38 tons with a smaller 4-person crew, it trades the M777's air-transportability for speed, protection, and the ability to shoot-and-scoot without waiting on a prime mover. It's the backbone of mechanized artillery battalions that move with armor and mechanized infantry rather than light forces.

The short version: caliber decides how much damage a round does, and chassis decides how fast the gun gets there and how protected the crew is while it does. Light units take the M119 or M777 because they can move them by air. Mechanized units take the M109 because it keeps pace with tracks. The M198 is the one slowly aging out — a good gun that got replaced by a lighter one that could do the same job for less weight.

See the M119 on a Death Card in our Airborne Artillery design, and the M109 in our Paladin Death Card.

Made it to the bottom? That's redleg discipline. Take 10% off for reading the whole fire mission — use code FIREMISSION10 at checkout (one use per customer). Shop everything →