AS90 Braveheart 155mm, United Kingdom

Tag : angle fitting

In July 2004, the UK Ministry of Defence announced plans to reducethe number of AS90 artillery batteries by six. Three batteries willbe drawn down and one AS90 regiment of three batteries will bere-roled to a light gun regiment, to support a new light brigade.The changes were effected in 2007.
An enhanced version of the Howitzer, the Desert AS90, has beenbuilt to provide high capability in arduous desert conditions.
The Desert AS90 underwent successful trials in the Arizona Desertin 1994 and in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1996. This version, withthe 52-calibre barrel is called the AS90 Braveheart.
BAE Systems signed a license manufacturing agreement with HSW (HutaStalowa Wola) of Poland for the production of the AS90 Braveheart.Two AS90 turrets were fitted to vehicles built by OBRUM of Poland.
The crew consists of the driver plus four or three operators in thecupola, a commander, a gun layer and an ammunition loader. AS90 BRAVEHEART UPGRADE PROGRAMME
BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to upgrade 96 of theBritish Army AS90s with a 155mm/52-calibre Extended Range Ordnance/ Modular Charge System (ERO/MCS). The Royal Ordnance division ofBAE Systems will manufacture the new 52-calibre barrel which willgive an increased range of 40km, and Somchem division of Denel willbe responsible for the modular charge system which will bemanufactured in South Africa.
The upgraded AS90s were expected to enter service in 2003, but theprogramme has been halted while a system study is conducted.
AS90 has also test fired the new Denel Assegai family of 155mmammunition which has completed development and includes aVelocity-enhanced Long-range Artillery Projectile (VLAP).
In November 2007, the UK MoD awarded a contract to Gesellschaft furIntelligente Wirksysteme GmbH (GIWS) of Germany for the BallisticSensor Fused Munition (BSFM) to equip the AS90. BSFM is a precisionattack weapon with a range of 22.5km. Each BSFM contains two SFMwhich deploy on parachutes with infrared and/or radar sensors toseek armoured targets. BRAVEHEART ARMAMENT
The AS90 is fitted with a 155mm, 39 or 52-calibre gun barrel. Intrials, two AS90 howitzers were able to deliver a total payload of261kg onto a single target in less than ten seconds. An automatedloading system enables the gun to fire with a burst rate of threerounds in under ten seconds, an intense rate of six rounds a minutefor three minutes and a sustained rate of two rounds a minute.