MAKING THE SHELL FIT THE JOB

Artillery ammunition developments are driven by greater flexibity of round, the need for more range and increased accuracy.

- Christopher F Foss

The fielding of new conventional tube artillery systems, be they towed or self-propelled (SP), is only one part of a total artillery capability that also takes into account the key roles of artillery fire control, target acquisition and ammunition.

While 105mm artillery is still used by air assault and commando-type artillery units, 155mm is the most widely deployed calibre and that is the main area where investment is taking place.

For many years the standard 105mm high-explosive (HE) projectile was the United States developed M1 which, when fired from the Oto Melara (today Leonardo) 105mm Model 56 Pack Howitzer, achieved a maximum range of 10.5 kilometres.

New 105mm artillery systems had a longer barrel and fired a new generation of ammunition. The Royal Ordnance (now BAE Systems) 105mm L118 Light Gun fired an L31A4 HE projectile to a maximum range of 17.2km Other types of the round include the L52A2 smoke. Still under development is the XL32E1 HE base-bleed (BB) with a range of over 20km. This uses a gas generator to reduce the vacuum at the bottom of the shell which reduces the drag.

For training, the barrel of the 105mm L118 Light Gun could be changed for a shorter barrel to enable the older and cheaper 105mm M1 ammunition to be used; this version referred to as the L119 Light Gun.

The only competitor for the 105mm L118 Light Gun is the more recently developed Nexter Systems 105mm Light Gun which, although not adopted by the French Army, has had major success on the export market with sales made to Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Singapore (no longer deployed) and Thailand.