AS-90 Self-Propelled Gun (Army)

[RetroSicotte]

Somewhere between 42 and 50, depending on your source and classification.

[abc123]

It seems to me that I saw somewhere that UK had 79 old, non-modernised launchers?

[Wrekin762]

Doubtful since UK never had enough MLRS to begin with for there to be 79 vehicles to leave at MLRS standard while 50+ were converted to GMLRS. There were only 62 vehicles on the CFE report back in 2004; a year before the UK's GMLRS contract was signed.

~2006/2007 when the work was being carried out, 59 vehicles were available and 54 were in an operational state. Now the 2015 CFE report states 50 GMLRS are currently held in the UK, Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... E_2015.pdf
It may be the other 4 were the ones later converted to recovery vehicles - IIRC they used the vehicles with damaged launcher units for those. But I always thought the RRVs were converted from the 5 vehicles that were not "operational" amongst the 59 at the start.

[marktigger]

any gate guards?

there's an AS90 at larkhill as a gate guard

[Wrekin762]

I know there's one MLRS on display at DCC Shrivenham. Don't know about any others.

[ArmChairCivvy]

AS90 lives on... at least its suspension and the Braveheart (improved) turret:

The suspension got integrated into the K9 chassis:
"Hydrogas suspension units and licence production of these in South Korea. This is similar to that used on the now BAE Systems Land Systems (previously RO Defence) 155 mm AS90 self-propelled artillery in service with the Royal Artillery. Air Log is no longer in existence and production is now undertaken by Horstman Defence Limited.

The K9 Thunder is also fitted with an NBC system, heater, internal and external communications system and a manual fire suppression system.

K9 enhancements
The company is already studying a number of enhancements for the K9 Thunder for other export customers in Asia and elsewhere, such as the installation of an air conditioning system.

Additionally, December 16 2014 was awarded the contract for the supply of 120 chassis K9 Thunder self-propelled guns to Poland company Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW)."

...and those chasses then will get a Braveheart turret (though with a Nexter gun and Polish systems installed).
- all previous reporting was talking about the chassis being of Polish origin

[Gabriele]

all previous reporting was talking about the chassis being of Polish origin

That was the original plan. They have produced a few, but results evidently were not satisfactory and they went with the korean base.

[The Armchair Soldier]

UK to Test Precision Rounds on AS90

The UK Ministry of Defence will begin testing precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds with the AS90 self-propelled gun later this year.

An MoD official confirmed to Shephard that the testing will take place at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in the second half of 2016.

Read More: https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/land ... unds-as90/ (paywalled)

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

Interesting. Not entirely unexpected you'd think as something like this is massively overdue but a step in the right direction nonetheless, finally.

Wonder what round(s) they intend to trial?

[shark bait]

it has to be this, I believe its the only option that exists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M982_Excalibur

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

Yes i suppose you are probably right. Either way, about time the RA saw some love.

[ArmChairCivvy]

not satisfactory and they went with the korean base

Thanks to that we know that chassis with all the mechanics in place costs $2m. then add the turret, gun, electronics and all the whizz-bang extras (one day they will claim that active defences will defeat counter-battery fire?).

[ArmChairCivvy]

I believe its the only option that exists.

The other one is from BAE, developed for navy use, and the US army (may have been the Marines) have already trialled it in a form where it is "saboted" and thereby does not require any modification to the 155mm howitzer.

[ArmChairCivvy]

about time the RA saw some love.

I've shared that feeling for many years, precision fires becoming ever more dependant on rocketry and air
... but it may have been worth the wait!

If this goes ahead, time to get the AW for MLRS (are the G in it and the use of the unitary warhead synonymous?)

[RetroSicotte]

http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/pr ... excalibur/

According to Raytheon themselves, the AS90's gun would go up to 40km with the Excalibur round, compared to the honestly quite embarrassing 24.9km it currently has. If we'd gotten that new gun on it, it woulda been 50+km too with Excalibur.

Still, 40km is a bit more respectable. Brings us closer to our peers (GCT AUF2 has around 42km, Caesar has demonstrated over 50, PzH2000 has demonstrated 60!) but that 39 cal gun is a complete bottleneck on operational ceilings.

As a note, did anything of the SMArt 155 shell come to pass at all? Never heard of it, we apparently ordered them:

http://www.article36.org/wp-content/upl ... ersion.pdf

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 0561003086

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMArt_155

[marktigger]

yes but because AS90 wasn't deployed in Afghan, can't be dropped from a hercules or be lifted by a chinook its been seen as irrelevant.

[arfah]

---------------

[marktigger]

Aefah I totally agree they didn't become relevant till russia started annexing bits of ukraine and shook the British defence establishment out of its Afghan centric counter insurgency operations mentality.

[arfah]

-<>-<>-<>-

[ArmChairCivvy]

Mark, defence establishment is a broad term, but the army itself was fighting to retain a "real" warfighting capability, in the midst of all the cutting. "2012 vintage for evidence:

[Gabriele]

Several options available:

- Excalibur is one (already validated for general compatibility back in 2010)
- BAE SPG
- Oto Melara VULCANO in the 155mm variant

A guided round by 2018 has long been a Royal Artillery aspiration. Part of that Indirect Fire Precision Attack programme which so far has produced almost only cancellations and abortions. Hope this is the right time...

[Gabriele]

I come back because i should not post late at night: the article specifically mentions that the trial is about a Orbital ATK product, so this programme is not about purchasing a guided round (which remains anyway one of the IFPA workstreams) but another plan. Specifically, it almost certainly is about buying the advanced course-correction fuze that makes standard artillery shells into accurate, small CEP rounds.

I think this is it: https://www.orbitalatk.com/defense-syst ... stems/pgk/

[RetroSicotte]

So effectively if that comes to pass the bean counters can say "But it's advanced and upgraded and precise now!"

And stay strangely silent when someone asks why it's got a third of the range of its peers.

[ArmChairCivvy]

No, they will write it down and say "I'll have to go and ask the boss if that should also be a parameter"

[Gabriele]

IFPA includes (included?) both a guided round (ala Exalibur or similar) AND increased accuracy for normal shells. Both aiming for a 2018 introduction.

So, hopefully, both in good time.

Although still having a 39 calibre barrel is frustrating, yes. It definitely should have the 52 cal.