M777 howitzers entered service with the American army in 2005 and were modernized several times. The howitzer was developed by the British company BAE Systems and is in service with US armies (more than 1000 units), Canada (37 units), Australia (35 units) and India (ordered 145 units). In the US, these howitzers entered service in the 2005 year and replaced the M198 artillery systems. Due to the use of aluminum and titanium alloys, the developers managed to reduce the weight of the artillery system to 4,2 t, which made the M777 the lightest howitzer in its class. For comparison, the Russian 2A65 “Msta-B” weighs 7 t, and the M198 weighs 7,1 t. The M777A2 modification is the latest production version of the implement. In addition, an M777ER tool with an extended barrel is currently being developed. Last year, the US Marine Corps first tested the "three sevens", equipped with a new chrome barrel. Then the military command highly appreciated the capabilities of the gun, in particular, the increased barrel life (increased by 50%), as well as the ease of cleaning it after firing.
Today it became known that the first batch of chrome-plated barrels was ordered for the US Army and Marine Corps, which will be supplied to the troops in 2019. In this case, the company Watervliet Arsenal indicate that this is a test order, which should be further increased, since the US armed forces have in their composition more than a thousand M777 guns, reports "Warspot".