Artillery

M119

Also known as
  • M119A1
  • M119A2
  • M119A3
  • M119 105mm Lightweight Towed Howitzer
  • M119 105 mm lightweight towed howitzer
  • 105 mm M119

The M119 is the U.S. 105 mm lightweight towed howitzer derived from the British L119 light gun and built around air-mobile infantry fire support. The M119A3 variant adds digital fire control, self-location, and communications upgrades while retaining a light carriage that can be moved by trucks, cargo aircraft, or helicopter. U.S. Army sources place the type in Gulf War, Iraq War, and Afghanistan service, and Ukrainian forces later received American 105 mm howitzers during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.

M119, 105 mm lightweight towed howitzer, Artillery
Image source: M119 howitzer.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States; licensed development of the British L119 light gun
Type
105 mm lightweight towed howitzer
Service note
Entered U.S. service in 1989; M119A3 digitized variant type-classified in 2012
Designer
Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment; U.S. adaptation by Rock Island Arsenal
Designed
British L119 evaluated by the U.S. Army in 1985; M119 revised in 1986
Produced
1991-1997 for early M119 and M119A1 production at Rock Island Arsenal; later U.S. upgrades created M119A2/A3 configurations
Number built
521 M119 and M119A1 howitzers manufactured at Rock Island Arsenal from 1991 to 1997

Specifications

Caliber
105 mm
Maximum range
14 km with unassisted ammunition; 19.5 km with rocket-assisted munitions
Rate of fire
Six rounds per minute
Weight
About 4,700 lb
Mobility
Air assault and airborne-drop capable; approved for UH-60, CH-47, C-130, C-17, and C-5 transport
Fire control
M119A3 digital fire control system with GPS-aided inertial navigation and digital gunner's display
A-Series Designations

Army sources use the M119 page as a family-level designation rather than separate public records for every U.S. A-series update. The A1, A2, and A3 names therefore stay as search aliases and are summarized here.

DesignationDocumented changeCatalog treatment
M119A1Fire-control and maintenance-system update.Covered by this M119 family record.
M119A2Updated sights.Covered by this M119 family record.
M119A3Digital fire-control system with internal navigation/self-location capability integrated onto existing M119A2 guns.Covered by this M119 family record and emphasized in the specifications and conflict-use notes.

Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun; Fort Bragg first to receive upgraded M119 howitzers.

Air-Mobile Fire-Support Profile

The M119's catalog role is shaped by portability rather than heavy-caliber reach. Army sources describe a 105 mm howitzer light enough for helicopter sling-load, air-drop, and tactical truck movement, with the A3 update adding self-location and digital fire-control tools for faster occupation and displacement.

Design featureReader takeawaySource-backed context
Light carriageSupports airborne and air-assault artillery missions.Army product and Rock Island Arsenal material describe helicopter, aircraft, and HMMWV movement options.
105 mm ammunitionTrades projectile size for a lighter weapon and ammunition set.Army material lists high-explosive, illuminating, smoke, and long-range ammunition classes for the system.
M119A3 digital packageShortens setup and firing-data workflow for dispersed crews.Fort Bragg fielding coverage describes GPS-aided inertial navigation and digital fire-control integration.

Sources: M119A3 Howitzer (105mm); RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun; Fort Bragg first to receive upgraded M119 howitzers.

Variants

U.S. Army sources treat the M119 as an American adaptation of the British L119 light gun; the linked family row points readers to the broader British light-gun lineage.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
L118 Light Gun, 105 mm towed light howitzer, ArtilleryL118 Light GunBritish light-gun family

The M119 is based on the British L119 branch of the L118 light-gun family and was revised by Rock Island Arsenal for U.S. service.

Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun

Ammunition Fired

The M119 page is a firing-weapon record. Public Army sources identify the howitzer as a 105 mm system and identify at least one cataloged illumination cartridge as an M119-series round.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
Cartridge, 105 mm, Illuminating, M314, 105 mm howitzer-fired illuminating cartridge with parachute-retarded canister, MunitionsCartridge, 105 mm, Illuminating, M314105 mm illumination cartridge

Army PEO Ammunition portfolio material identifies the M314A3 visible-light cartridge as a 105 mm M119-series howitzer round.

Sources: PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017

Compatibility limit

General M119 sources also describe high-explosive, smoke, illuminating, and long-range 105 mm ammunition classes, but this section only links cartridge records where the source trail supports the exact M119-series relationship.

Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun, PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017

Timeline

M119 Key Events

  1. British L119 evaluated by U.S. Army

    The U.S. Army leased 14 British L119 light guns for evaluation before adapting the design.

    Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun

  2. Rock Island Arsenal revises the design

    Rock Island Arsenal revised the L119 into the M119 lightweight towed howitzer for U.S. requirements.

    Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun

  3. Gulf War combat debut

    The Army equipment summary identifies Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as the M119's first combat use.

    Sources: Army 250th Birthday Parade Equipment

  4. Early U.S. production begins

    Rock Island Arsenal manufactured M119 and M119A1 howitzers from 1991 through 1997.

    Sources: RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light Gun

  5. First digitized M119A3 fielding

    Fort Bragg artillerymen became the Army's first unit to receive digitized M119A3 howitzers.

    Sources: Fort Bragg first to receive upgraded M119 howitzers

  6. M119A3 reported in Afghanistan

    U.S. Army reporting identified Alpha Battery crews as the first M119A3 operators in Afghanistan, using the guns for fire support and force protection.

    Sources: Strike's "Top Guns" fire the first M119A3 in Afghanistan

  7. U.S. 105 mm howitzers announced for Ukraine

    The Department of Defense announced an assistance package with 16 105 mm howitzers and 36,000 105 mm rounds for Ukraine.

    Sources: Senior Defense Official Holds a Background Briefing

Media

M119 Images

M119, 105 mm lightweight towed howitzer, Artillery - view 1
Source: M119 howitzer.jpg
M119, 105 mm lightweight towed howitzer, Artillery - view 2
Source: M119 howitzer.jpg
Related Weapon Systems
L118 Light Gun, 105 mm towed light howitzer, ArtilleryArtilleryL118 Light Gun105 mm towed light howitzerThe L118 Light Gun is a British 105 mm towed howitzer built for airborne, commando, and light-force artillery. It can be towed by a medium-weight vehicle or carried underslung by a Chinook helicopter, and BAE Systems says its 105 mm ammunition family includes HE, illumination, target-marking, smoke, and propelling-charge options. This family record also covers the L119 branch, the NATO/M1-ammunition variant supplied to Ukraine, while the U.S. M119 derivative has its own linked entry.
M198 155 mm howitzer, 155 mm towed howitzer, ArtilleryArtilleryM198 155 mm howitzer155 mm towed howitzerThe M198 is a U.S.-designed 155 mm towed howitzer developed at Rock Island Arsenal to replace older M114-series guns. Its split-trail carriage, nine-person crew, air-transportable layout, and 22-30 km range made it a standard U.S. Army and Marine Corps fire-support weapon before the lighter M777 replaced it in U.S. service. Direct conflict sourcing now traces M198 fielding from Desert Storm through U.S. use in Afghanistan and Iraq, Islamic State capture and cross-border use in Iraq and Syria, Iraq-aligned militia firing, and coalition-backed Iraqi Army live-fire training.
M109, 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer family, ArtilleryArtilleryM109155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer familyThe M109 is a U.S.-origin 155 mm tracked self-propelled howitzer family built for mobile indirect fire with armored and mechanized forces. The family spans the original short-tube vehicle, M109A1 to M109A4 rebuild and export lines, the M109A5 M284-cannon upgrade, the digitally modernized M109A6 Paladin, current M109A7 production, and the longer-barrel M109-52 concept; catalog evidence here centers on direct conflict use by U.S., Ukrainian, U.S.-led coalition, and Israeli forces.

Sources

M119A3 Howitzer (105mm)Publisher: U.S. Army Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics | Note: Official product page supporting M119A3 range, rate of fire, transportability, weight, fire-control upgrades, and acquisition background. | Accessed: 2026-06-30M119 howitzer still plays critical role for ArmyPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Direct 2003 Iraq War source documenting extensive M119 use in Operation Iraqi Freedom; also supports system role, Rock Island Arsenal production background, modernization context, and Afghanistan/Operation Enduring Freedom service background. | Accessed: 2026-06-30RIA Self-Guided Tour: L119 105 MM Light GunPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports the L119 origin, Rock Island Arsenal revision into the M119, early U.S. production quantities, variant designation distinctions, movement context, and ammunition-class background. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Army 250th Birthday Parade EquipmentPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Direct 1990 Gulf War source documenting the M119's first use in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in 1991; also supports weight, range, and active Ukraine-use background. | Accessed: 2026-06-30PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017Publisher: U.S. Army PEO Ammunition | Note: Supports the M314A3 visible-light 105 mm M119-series cartridge relationship used in the ammunition-fired section. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Senior Defense Official Holds a Background BriefingPublisher: U.S. Department of Defense | Note: Direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War source documenting U.S. provision of 16 105 mm howitzers and 36,000 105 mm rounds to Ukraine in an August 2022 security-assistance package. | Accessed: 2026-06-30US to deliver M119A3 105mm digitalized light towed guns to UkrainePublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War source identifying Ukrainian soldiers training on American M119A3 105 mm light towed guns and linking the guns to the 2022 U.S. aid package. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Strike's "Top Guns" fire the first M119A3 in AfghanistanPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports 2001 War in Afghanistan used by U.S. Army Alpha Battery crews, including M119A3 guns fielded in northeast Afghanistan for counter-fire, observed fire, smoke, and illumination missions. | Accessed: 2026-06-301-6 FA completes first air assault mission in battalion's historyPublisher: DVIDS | Note: Supports 2001 War in Afghanistan used by U.S. Army Battery A, 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, whose M119 howitzers were airlifted to Khowst province for artillery support. | Accessed: 2026-06-30Picatinny engineers modify M119A3 HowitzerPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports 2001 War in Afghanistan fielded by U.S. Army units through official reporting that Afghanistan M119A2 maintenance-burden reports drove recoil-system redesign work. | Accessed: 2026-06-22Expanding Equipment Options for Ukraine: The Case of ArtilleryPublisher: Center for Strategic and International Studies | Note: Direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War source describing U.S. M119 provision to Ukraine and its light-unit artillery role and limitations compared with 155 mm systems. | Accessed: 2026-06-20M119 howitzer.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for a U.S. Army photo by Kevin Payne, marked public domain as U.S. military work. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Field artillery regiment completes first air assault mission in battalion's history imagePublisher: DVIDS | Note: Image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Army photo showing an M119 howitzer carried by CH-47 during a 2001 War in Afghanistan air assault mission in Khowst province. | Accessed: 2026-06-22Soldiers fire an M119 Howitzer as part of a training exercisePublisher: DVIDS | Note: Image provenance for a public-domain U.S. military photo of an M119 howitzer firing near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. | Accessed: 2026-06-22Fort Bragg first to receive upgraded M119 howitzersPublisher: U.S. Army | Note: Supports M119A3 digitization, GPS-aided inertial navigation, fire-control improvements, and in-government upgrade integration. | Accessed: 2026-06-30