Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1446249
met. At the same time, the defense would be continuous, and the effects of fire/electronic warfare would need to be overcome. The defense would have an active profile, while the enemy would be at- tacked deep behind his front line, but also during the penetration of the defensive line, at numerous locations, with multiple directions of attack. One may assume that the artillery's role would become even more relevant. It can shortly deliver support to multiple locations, hence the higher range requirements. The German companies (or partners) currently focus on three PzH 2000 upgrade proposals. The simplest option assumes that the existing gun would be used, but new propelling charges would be developed, to push the gun to the limits. The strongest possible propelling charge would increase the range by around 17% - up to 35 kilometers for conventional rounds, and 47 kilometers for base-bleed rounds, and up to 66.9 kilometers for the V-LAP rocket-assisted munitions. Unfortunately, the accu- racy of the latter is not that great, with the warhead carrying only 4 kilograms of explosives. To comply with the range requirements that the Bundeswehr ultimately defined, an entirely new gun-ammo combo is needed. Furthermore, to keep the groupings tight, and acceptable at a range so-long, the so-called adjustment fuses are required. These combine GPS/INS modules with control surfaces changing the trajectory of the projectile or fixed, yet controllable control surfaces. Swedish/British ECF (European Correcting Fuse) is following the former concept. Interestingly, it would be tailored to be used in standard fuse sockets of 155 mm ammunition. The second concept is the US-made PGK (Precision Guidance Kit). When used with the 155MM M549A1 HE-RAP projectiles, CEP at 30 kilo- meters is reduced from 265 to 50 meters. Ultimately, 30 meters is the expected target value. The main disadvantage here is the range reduction of 10%. This is the value of range increase required by the Bundeswehr (above the 75/100 km figures). Rheinmetall suggests that the only way to go is the new L60 gun, with a 1.3 m longer barrel and 29-liter chamber (instead of a 23 liter one). This would enable conventional ammunition to have a range of 48 kilometers. Base- bleed rounds range would be extended to 64 kilometers, while V-LAP rounds could reach targets at a distance exceeding 83 kilometers. For new solutions - such as projectiles equipped with a ram-jet, the range would be as high as 155 kilometers. Future: Autonomous Wheeled System Apart from upgrading and restoring the PzH 2000s, the Bunde- swehr is also willing to procure up to 108 self-propelled howitzers using a wheeled platform. The German military finds itself in a quite comfortable situation. The German defense industry has a ready, tailor-made solution that perfectly matches Bundeswehr's require- ments. The only discussion now concerns the carrier platform. The first solution came in a form of an AGS autonomous turret module developed in 2004, based on the PzH 2000 technology. The emergence of this system has been a logical consequence of works on the predecessor. The module is completely unmanned, weighs 12.5 tonnes, and features guns identical to the legacy PzH 2000 systems. 30 projectiles are stored within the turret (half of what was available for PzH), along with 144 modular propelling charges. The system can attain a maximum rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds per minute. The whole system can work flawlessly, with a crew of two. The engagement times are on par with the performance of the PzH ARTILLERY