Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1446249
bomblet protection system, along with massive ceramic modules. The armor consists of two layers - the first one comes in a form of a "floormat" with pro- truding rubber-ceramic rods that have a length of 4-5 cm (hedgehog bomblet protection system). These penetrate the exposed shaped charge conical lin- er when bomblets hit the armor. As the shaped charge liners are sensitive to the presence of any foreign objects when the jet is formed, the process is disrupted, thus the penetration capability becomes greatly diminished. Depending on the position of the spike, the shaped charge's effective pen- etration rating goes down from 180 to 200 mm of RHA to 3-25 mm. If that's not enough, below one can find an 18 mm steel-ceramic composite layer. The composite here includes properly selected ceramics, and steel layers, completely protecting the vehicle from the residual, disrupted shaped-charge jet, created by DPICM hitting the hedgehog armor, but also from large-caliber EFPs, capable of penetrating up to 100 mm of steel. PzH 2000 is thus well protected from the counter-battery fire. Encountering a rain of several DPICM would incapacitate the sph (or destroy it completely, if it took several EFP hits produced by Motiv-3M or SADARM munitions). However, some random hits taken when leaving the firing position would not be hurtful for the con- dition of PzH 2000. Following the cuts, the Bundeswehr decided to keep 153 howitzers in ser- vice. However, the A1 upgrade was implemented afterward. Unfortunately, more cuts were introduced between 2010 and 2012, reducing the number of actively used PzH 2000 systems to 81. The remaining ones were put into storage or sold, as surplus assets. The German systems were bought by Italy (70 license-assembled examples), Greece (24 examples), the Nether- lands (57 examples, 24 remaining in active service), Qatar (24 examples), and, most recently, Hungary (24 examples, deliveries are still in progress). Notably, the platforms above are brand new. The acquisition of almost 200 examples through export sales made it possible to keep the manufacturing line active. 21 surplus PzH 2000 have been received by Lithuania, and 12 surplus examples have been bought by Croatia. Apart from the quantitative cuts influencing the PzH 2000 systems, some reduction also happened in the case of the MRAS rocket artillery solution (derived from the US-made MLRS system). Germany operated 158 systems as such in 1993. After the cuts introduced in 2013, only 22 modernized MARS II systems remained active. This led to an increase in the importance of the tube artillery assets. As the 2014 "awakening" became a fact, the Bundeswehr concluded that the cuts have been too deep, in the light of the Russian aggression. A long-term quantitative expansion program has been created, with its timeline reaching the year 2031. The aforesaid program also covers the artillery assets. Apart from another 18 MARS II launchers (40 examples in total), the German ar- tillery component would also receive modernized, and restored PzH 2000 systems. The plan is to have 108 self-propelled howitzers in service, by 2031. It is planned that another 108 wheeled self-propelled howitzers are procured by then. The PzH 2000 systems would also undergo a series of upgrades. As the vectronics, including the latest ADLER system variants, are still among the leading solutions in the field, most of the upgrades would be focused on new ammunition or gun. The goal is to extend the range to 75 kilometers for conventional projectiles, and up to 100 kilometers for PGMs. Why is it, that the Bundeswehr wants to double the range, with the rate of fire remaining unchanged? This is caused by the evolution of the battlefield, towards the so-called spatial/stand-off defense. The main assumption is to get rid of a clear distinction of frontline units, or elements tasked with defending clearly defined positions. Furthermore, the assets would be temporarily withdrawn, and/or force the enemy to focus or go around points where resistance is www.fragoutmag.com