Hell the world and his oyster could be delivered by then.
whereas the G _6 Rhino of SPH of which only 150 ever built would currently obliterate the K9 and pZH 2000 till about 2030...
The K9 with its auto loading side kick which will double its weight , length and cost is just not feasible and laughable.
This from a country supposedly an ally, yet maligned by institutions and countries it helped save countless lives with its IP, mainly through its MRAP technology is sickening.
3 more warning points, for poor behaviour. Let me share 4 points below, to help you rethink your current mode of engagement.
One, I agree that South Africa developed innovative TTPs, along with interesting artillery concepts during the Rhodesian Bush War (1965–1979); and the South African Border War (1966–1989), from which the modern MRAP concept took root. When deployed in 1978, the Buffel (Afrikaans for Buffalo) was really innovative for its time; and by Operation Moduler in Aug 1987, the G5’s superior range was used with great effect in battle.
Two, it does not mean the forum’s senior members have to approve of your unsolicited thrash talking about Korean weapon designs, like the K-9A1 (and the K10 AARV) when trying to illogically compare it to G-6, which is mounted on a chassis made by Alvis OMC (part of BAE). The G6 is in service with the South African Army (43 – GV6 Rhino) and exported to the UAE (78 – G6 M1A3) and Oman (24). The volume of responsive fire that can be delivered by the K-9A1 and K10 as a system, can’t be matched by the G-6. Hanwha has delivered an estimated 1,300 of these tracked systems since 1999.
Project LAND 8116 - Mobile Protected Fires, has since been re-raised by the current Government under the new Defence ‘smart buyer’ procurement policies, as a sole-source selection.
G-6 was never shortlisted for Australia. Bid yes, but not short-listed. PZH-2000 and K9 were.
It is so far away from being a realistic prospect for Australia it is laughable.
(a) As ADMk2 said, it is understandable why the G-6 was never shortlisted for Australia. South Africa’s G-5 (1981) and G-6 (1987) 155mm artillery guns were innovative when developed; but these are no longer as competitive, as China’s Norinco, Korea’s Hanwha or France’s Nexter Caesar 155mm offerings, that eat Denel’s lunch, in the ultra light towed howitzer, tracked SPH, and wheeled SPH, market segments. While Denel have known niches in howitzers and specialised 155mm ammo (through their JV Rheinmetall Denel Munition), they are no longer seen as cutting edge, when we examine what is available in the market.
(i) For Australia, Rheinmetall’s 155mm Assegai rounds that comprises of insensitive munitions, conventional HE rounds, smoke/obscurant, illumination, infrared/illumination and other projectiles —meets their needs. In ballistic terms, all members of the Assegai family are identical. This assures that they are all able to attain their full range of around 40km. Standard Assegai rounds feature a conventional boat tail assembly. To boost their range, the customer can replace this assembly with a base bleed module, even under field conditions. With a barrel length of 39 calibres, an Assegai BB projectile attains a range of over 30 kilometres. Fired from a 52-calibre barrel, the range can exceed 40 kilometres.
(ii) In the low end 155mm ammo segment, India’s OFB has emerged as a low cost supplier, winning an order of 50,000 artillery shells from UAE. In the high end 155mm ammo segment:
- the M982 Excalibur (with a CEP of 3.8m, at any range, that costs an incredible US$68k per round); or
- the cheaper M1156 Precision Guidance Kit (with a CEP of 10 m) by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (formerly known as Orbital ATK); or
- the Bundeswehr’s DM702 (also known as the SMArt®155 sensor-fuse munition),
— all these can be fired from any 155mm gun, and winning most of the orders by value. Even the Indians placed an order of 1,200 M982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery shells from the US. In Dec 2018, the US Army placed a $70.7 million order for Increment Ib projectiles; and in 2020 a $85.7 million order.
(iii) The late Gerald Bull’s sale of 30,000 artillery shells, and plans for the GC-45 howitzer to Armscor of Pretoria, South Africa made the country famous.
Bull’s designs used in the G5 assured South Africa’s place as a leader in specialised 155mm ammo types, like the
extended range full bore rounds, or base bleed rounds (HE- ER-BB projectiles) but there are now too many me-too suppliers in this market. Today, it is Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), produces ammo for South Africa — and RDM is 51% owned by Rheinmetall.
(iv) In 2018, the Americans were able to double the range of a modified M777 by adding a supercharged propellant and the XM1113 rocket-assisted projectile, which takes a 155mm round and extends its range to 60 km by providing rocket-assist capability. In Mar 2020 at Yuma, the US Army fired — from a 155mm/58-caliber gun — an Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell and an XM1113 using supercharged propellant. The near-term objective on the American
ERCA program is to deliver 6 batteries of the ERCA towed howitzer in FY2023.
(iv) Concurrently, the Dutch and Americans are developing a ramjet-powered artillery round, called the XM1155 Extended-Range Artillery Projectile (ERAP). The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (known by the Dutch acronym, TNO), is responsible for developing the ramjet engine. Raytheon will then integrate the TNO ramjet into the rest of the projectile. ERAP will have a range greater than 100km. Likewise, Norway’s Nammo is also working on something similar.
(b) If you go to trade shows, Denel is promoting the dated G6 155 mm/45 calibre gun (the most common type of G-6) and not the longer range version. The G-6 in very limited numbers, has been further developed to a 155mm/52-calibre gun for South Africa.
(i) When talking about max range, fan boys tend to talk about ordinance fired from a special G6-52 extended range gun (25 litre chamber) but G6 155mm marketing is concentrated on the 23 litre chamber, which meets the NATO Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding (JBMoU).
(ii) The UAE deployed Denel G5 155 mm/45 calibre towed gun-howitzers to Yemen; but these were too heavy for some missions. The G5 weighs about 14 tonnes, while Norinco’s AH4 weighs 4.5 tonnes. Unlike the South African gun, the AH4 can be underslung by UAE’s CH-47Fs. Norinco has incorporated base bleed and rocket assistance into their 155mm shells.The UAE has also taken delivery of Norinco GP6 laser-guided 155 mm projectile, which the Chinese company says has a range of 6 km to 25 km (with a first round hit probability of at least 90%), before adding base bleed to replace the boat tail.
(iii) If we are looking at production run wheeled platforms, Japan’s Type 19 Wheeled SPH (based on a MAN HX77 military truck in 8x8 configuration) or Israel’s Elbit Soltam ATMOS 2000 (6x6 truck configuration) are both 155 mm/52-calibre guns that are automated and relatively trouble free. The Type 19 and ATMOS is under production for Japan and the Philippines, respectively. The commercially successful Nexter Caesar is sold in both 6x6 and 8x8 configuration, with:
- the Danish Army acquiring 19 units of 8x8 of Caesar self propelled howitzers; and
- the Czech Republic in negotiations to acquire 52 units of Caesar 8x8 self-propelled howitzers.
It is disingenuous to talk about how great the G-6 is when there are far more modern and trouble free designs that require less maintenance in the market.
(iv) The G-6 is a wheeled platform, whereas the Australian Land 8116 requirements is for a tracked 155mm/52-caliber weapon. The AS9 SPH is intended to meet the requirements of JBMoU.
Three, in Sep 2020, it was reported that the Request for Tender will be released to preferred supplier Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) to build and maintain 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles, and their supporting systems.
Four, for Land 8116, Hanwha has developed the Huntsman Family of Vehicles, comprising the K9 SPH and the K10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (AARV) to deliver a complete mission system. These will be designated as the AS9 SPH and the AS10 AARV respectively for the Australian market. The Huntsman AS9 155mm/52 calibre SPH is a 50 tonne platform that uses 155mm munitions under JBMoU. It has a crew of 4 or 5, with an ammunition capacity of up to 48 rounds and it’s modular charge systems.
