BEIRUT: The $25 million weapons donation from the United States to Lebanon will provide the Lebanese Armed Forces with a new strategic advantage in fighting rebel groups on the Lebanese border, experts say. “The weapons that the Army received will raise their standards and take them to another level,” said Brig. Gen. Naji Malaab, editor-in-chief of Defense and Security Arabia magazine. “The short and long range of the weapons will help in pushing jihadi groups [that the Army is fighting on the border] back.”

The shipment arrived onboard a vessel that docked at Beirut Port and the contents were presented for the media to see Sunday morning. The shipment contained 70 M198 Howitzers and 26 million rounds of ammunition. These came in addition to a fleet of bulletproof Humvees that arrived last month.

The M198 Howitzers will be of the most use to the Army. Howitzers are cannon-like artillery weapons that propel munitions at medium and long distances.

The M198 is a lightweight replacement to the World War II-era M114 Howitzer and is a lot more mobile than its predecessor. It is air-transportable and can also be parachuted into battle zones.

According to Mario Abou Zeid, an analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Army currently has M114 Howitzers in its arsenal and the upgrade to M198s will be extremely useful in the mountainous terrain on the borders of Lebanon.

“The advantage that [the M198s] can give [the Army] is that they are very mobile, they can really be deployed easily,” he told The Daily Star. “The Army will need [this on] ... the outskirts of Arsal [and] the outskirts of Ras Baalbek. These are very mountainous areas that they need such midsized cannons.”

Militants affiliated with ISIS and the Nusra Front in Syria have repeatedly carried out incursions into northeast Lebanon, namely in the outskirts of the villages of Arsal and Ras Baalbek.

In August 2014, militants briefly took over the village of Arsal and kidnapped 37 soldiers and policemen, 25 of whom remain in custody.

A U.S. Embassy source, who oversaw the weapons shipment and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the M198s have a range of 30 to 40 kilometers and their main use is to assist ground troops that are engaged in battle.

Abou Zeid added that the M198s would give the Army a strategic advantage as their 155mm munitions provide “surgical” accuracy. He said using ammunition that exceeds 155 mm, such as 230mm and 260mm, sacrifices accuracy and leads to total destruction, which puts engaged ground troops at risk.

During clashes between the Army and Fatah al-Islam militants in the north Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in 2007, the Army ran out of 155mm ammunition very quickly due to the intensity of the battles and was forced to resort to 230mm rounds, Abou Zeid said.

A similar scenario, which took place in Arsal during the clashes between the Army and extremist groups that attempted to overrun the town in August, has forced the Army to ration its 155mm ammunition, he added.

Therefore, the 26 million rounds of small, medium and heavy artillery will be of immediate assistance to the military.

“When [the Army has] such a tremendous amount of ammunition, they will not really be thinking about whether they run out of ammo,” Abou Zeid said. “The artillery officers will not have to think twice about using the ammunition.”

The M198s can also be loaded with illumination rounds that can help light up dark areas and smoke rounds that can help conceal troops during operations.

The embassy source said the fact that the Army already has experience using Howitzers will also expedite there usage as there will be no need to train the troops.

“Each [weapon] has a logistical trail [the time needed to train soldiers on using and maintaining them],” the source said. “Once you have guys that know how to use these, know how to fix them, it’s better sometimes to get more of that.”

The source added that half of the shipment had been used by the U.S. Army and Marines in the past and were considered excess defense articles – i.e. weapons that are no longer in use due to downsizing or because they have been retired.

The M198 is now being replaced by the M777 Howitzer in the U.S. armed services.

While these weapons will provide immediate assistance to the Lebanese Army’s fight on the border, Abou Zeid said they are not a long-term solution to the Army’s deficiencies.

“These Howitzers. and the ammunition they have for these Howitzers, they could serve the Army in this fight temporarily,” he explained. “It’s not something really sustainable. It’s exactly what the Army needs at a precise time and not a long-term scale.”

“The only thing that could change that is the support from the late Saudi King Abdullah, the $3 billion through the French firms.”

Riyadh pledged $3 billion to fund the purchase of the French weapons, to include helicopter gunships, armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery and surveillance drones.

The first deliveries of Saudi-funded French weapons to help Lebanon combat jihadis will begin in April, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday.

The military aid, which will allow the Lebanese Army to modernize, will be supplied over the next three years, the spokesman said.

Abou Zeid said the shipment would include equipment to boost Lebanon’s border control and intelligence services as well as military gear.

“When the Lebanese Army receives the French weapons they will be able to carry out operations like the world’s most advanced armies,” Malaab said.