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| Home Front: Tech |
| New American Self-Propelled Artillery |
| 2005-04-26 |
| EFL: April 24, 2005: The prototype of the new American self-propelled artillery system, the 155mm NLOS-C (Non-Line of Sight- Cannon), has been undergoing tests for the last 18 months, and has fired a thousand rounds so far. The system was cobbled together in six months, after the new Crusader SP artillery system was cancelled. The current self-propelled system, the M-109, is a fifty year old design. Although the M-109 has been updated, the NLOS-C incorporates many new technologies. This includes an auto-loader (from the Crusader) and a more modern 155mm gun (the M-777, a towed, British designed system) and an APC chassis with a hybrid-electric engine (to reduce fuel consumption.) This all weighs 23 tons, about the same as the M-109. But the NLOS only has a two man crew, compared to five in the M-109. The final version of the NLOS-C is supposed to have a lighter, composite material that will bring the weight down to under 20 tons. There is some doubt if that will happen, but NLOS-C is part of the army's FCS (Future Combat System) family of combat vehicles, and being under twenty tons is part of that. But in the meantime, a new self-propelled artillery weapon is needed, and NLOS-C could fill the bill if they would just finish the development and get it into production. Congress demanded that this happen by 2008. But Congress has made other demands about FCS and NLOS-C which conflict with this date. It all may be moot, as the new Excalibur GPS guided shell, entering service next year, could change everything. If Excalibur works in combat, the way it has in testing, it could radically change the way artillery operates. Excalibur would mean 80-90 percent less ammo would be fired, meaning less wear and tear on existing M-109s, and a few more years for the army to figure out what the M-109 replacement will be. April 11, 2005: The U.S. Army continues to try developing an artillery shell that can hit with precision accuracy. Two new such shells are about to enter service: Excalibur and PGK. The Excalibur shell, which will be issued to artillery units within the next year, uses GPS guidance. It's expected to cost about $50,000 each, and land a shell within 30 feet of the target. Actual tests have shown the shells will land within half that distance. The army wants this kind of accuracy for fighting in urban areas, and to reduce the number of shells needed to destroy a target. Accuracy in urban areas reduces civilian casualties, and allows friendly troops to be closer to the target. Both of these factors make a big difference. Fewer civilian casualties, saves lives, keeps the media off your back, and creates good will among civilians in the combat zone. Having your troops closer to the target allows the infantry to rush in after the shell hits and quickly mop up the surviving enemy troops. This reduces your casualties, and puts the fear of Excalibur into the enemy troops. Both are good things. Right now, the Excalibur will be competing with the new U.S. Air Force "small diameter bomb" (SDB). This 250 pound device, which looks like a missile, but is an unguided smart bomb, weighs twice as much as Excalibur, and thus produces a bigger bang. But you need an air force bomber overhead to get a SDB, while army artillery is always there. You also need an air force FAC (Forward Air Controller) nearby to call in the bomb, while there are many more army personnel who can call for artillery. The SDB costs about as much as Excalibur. Another competitor is the GPS guided MLRS rocket. But because rockets are less accurate than artillery shells to begin with, GPS guided MLRS cannot hit targets as accurately as SDB or Excalibur. The third generation smart shell is also in development. This is the Projectile Guidance Kit (PGK), which is actually a large fuze, that screws into the front of a 155mm or 105mm shell. This longer "fuze" contains a GPS and small fins to guide the shell to a precision hit equal to an Excalibur shell. The army doesn't expect to be passing these out to the troops for another five years. But if development goes smoothly, and Excalibur proves useful and popular, then the PGK might show up earlier. The PGK will cost less than half what each Excalibur does and, more importantly, can turn any shell into a smart shell. This is important for artillerymen, who don't like to carry around a lot of special shells, "just in case." Artillery units already carry several different types of fuzes for their shells, so one more is not seen as a burden. The pinnacle of artillery operations has always been, "one shot, one kill." But achieving this has always been like a golfer getting a hole in one. It can be done, but it's rare. Smart shells make "one shot, one kill" commonplace, and mean artillerymen will spend less time constantly replenishing their ammunition supplies. Firing the cannon less often is also nice, as those beasts are a bitch to keep clean. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 you've never seen my Driver's License photo, huh?...dunno about that smart bomb part, tho... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-26 8:57:12 PM |
| #1 This 250 pound device, which looks like a missile, but is an unguided smart bomb How's that work? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-26 8:52:24 PM |