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According to a well-known magazine, in the section The war zoneIn the competition for the reinforcement of American brigades are companies producing self-propelled howitzers from Israel, Serbia, Sweden (a branch of the British BAE systems) and the United States.
The US military announced in July that it was looking for new howitzers and that they only wanted products that were already in series production or ready to go into series production. It was noted that the howitzers must be long-range and have good mobility to replace the existing M777. Who qualifies?
“Iron Saber” is an Israeli trump card
The Israeli “Elbit” offered the ATMOS system, also known as the “iron sword”. It is a truck-mounted 155mm howitzer.
“Soltam Systems”, which is a department of “Elbit”, started with the development of ATMOS at the end of the last century. The current version of the “iron saber” has a computerized fire control system. This means that they are automatically addressed using the desired set of coordinates, although their manual entry is required.
It can be fitted with an “autoloader”, as the “Elbit” calls it, which allows the crew to simply put ammunition in the holder, which is then inserted into the barrel without the need for manual loading.
Thanks to that, the four-member crew of the “iron saber” managed to set up the howitzer and fire the first grenades in 30 seconds. Five more series can be fired, and then the crew can prepare to move to another location, all in a total of 110 seconds. This is very important because it reduces the vulnerability to a possible counterattack.
“Sagittarius” from Sweden
The Swedish “Bofors”, which is a division of the British company “BAE Systems”, offers “archer” (marksman). It’s another truck-mounted 155mm howitzer. The weapons were also developed in the late 1990s.
Its main advantage is the real autoloading, and it also has a special slot filled with modular ammunition.
The crew can consist of only two people and the firing system is computerized. It is possible to select the desired amount of ammunition and shoot it at the target.
The great advantage is that the howitzer can be brought into firing position in as little as 14 seconds, without exiting, so that the crew remains protected by armor. The first series fires in 23 seconds.
The system fires four grenades simultaneously at the same target and can be on the move again in 74 seconds. It is so fast that, depending on how far away the target is, some grenades may not even hit it while the vehicle is already moving to another position.
In the Swedish army, the “archer” is mounted on a modified “Volvo a30d” truck with all-wheel drive. On the official website of the company “BAE sistems”, there is also an artistic concept of “archer” on the eight-wheel drive “man” truck, which leads to the conclusion that it can be mounted on other vehicles, according to customers’ wishes.
“Nora” or “Alexander” come from Serbia
The Serbian “Jugoimport”, through the American partner GMP, sends a variant of the “nora” B-52 howitzer, also 155 mm, to fire. A magazine Drive remember that the system began to develop at the beginning of this century.
As that has become a trend, the latest version of “nora” also has a computerized fire control system. There is also an autoloader, as well as additional space for another 24 grenades in the truck.
The latest version, known as “Alexander”, was introduced in 2017. and the system has been completely redesigned. All versions of the “loco” are mounted on a FAP truck with 8×8 traction.
Compared to the “hole”, the “Alexander” has a higher rate of fire of six grenades per minute.
The new howitzer comes complete with a command and reconnaissance vehicle, has a high degree of automation, and leaves position quickly.
There is also the American “brutus” but …
Americans also have guns that will work at home. The companies “AM General” and “Mandus Group” will operate with “Brutus”, a small 155 mm howitzer.
It is mounted on a 6×6 wheel drive truck and the US battalions are already experimenting with these weapons.
The “brutus” configurations seen so far do not include automatic loading. The 105 mm “Mandus Group” howitzer, which is mounted on a “hamvia”, is also under investigation.
However, foreign manufacturers are expected to gain an advantage over brutus.
Although it has not yet been confirmed, the French company “Nexter” with “Caesar” has also shown interest in participating.
Punctuation Drive states that the lack of American solutions is the result of the fact that throughout history, the American military has shown very little interest in self-propelled howitzers.
