Internationale ontwikkelingen artillerie

[Harald]

US Army selects Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman and Raytheon to develop LRMF Long Range Maneuverable Fires Missile

The U.S. Army?s Aviation and Missile Center has selected Lockheed Martin to develop an advanced propulsion Long Range Maneuverable Fires (LRMF) missile. The missile can be fired from existing Army launchers to defeat distant threats at ranges that significantly exceed those of the PrSM baseline.



?Lockheed Martin is partnering with the U.S. Army to give soldiers a decisive edge on the battlefield by extending their reach,? said Steven Botwinik, vice president of Advanced Programs Execution and Transition at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. ?With half a century of expertise integrating advanced propulsion systems and supporting the Army?s precision fires ecosystem, we are ready to develop a solution that significantly extends PrSM?s range.?

Phase 1 focuses on design and risk-reduction activities, with optional follow-on phases leading to flight test demonstration. Following flight tests, LRMF will transition to the U.S. Army?s Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) project office to inform the design of an extended-range Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment (Inc.) 4.

To reach a significantly extended range with launcher volume constraints, Lockheed Martin?s solution will employ unique design elements and key technologies to address size and endurance challenges.

Let us remind that the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a surface-to-surface missile currently under development by the United States Army. It is intended to replace the aging Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and provide the Army with a longer-range and more precise missile capability.

Technical data and specifications of the PrSM missile

* Range: over 499 km (310 miles)
* Warhead: The missile is designed to carry a variety of warheads, including a high-explosive, fragmentation, and thermobaric warhead.
* Guidance system: The missile uses an inertial navigation system with GPS and an anti-jamming capability to guide it to the target. It can also receive in-flight updates from a ground station.
* Speed: The missile can travel at speeds up to Mach 5 (around 6,174 km/h or 3,836 mph).
* Dimensions: The missile is about 4.2 meters (14 feet) long and has a diameter of 61 cm (24 inches).
* Weight: The missile weighs around 1,200 kg (2,600 lbs).
* Propulsion: The missile uses a solid rocket motor for propulsion.

Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman team down-selected for US Army?s Next-generation Precision Strike Missile

The U.S. Army selected Raytheon Technologies to advance its design for the Long Range Maneuverable Fires program, intended to become Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 4. Working collaboratively with Northrop Grumman, the team will mature its innovative design, featuring advanced propulsion technology as a key enabler for extending range, as well as enhancements for survivability and lethality.

During this phase of the program, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman will partner to co-design, build and test the propulsion subsystem for DeepStrike-ER, an advanced missile solution that will demonstrate the capability to achieve the Army?s desired range and effectiveness against next-generation threats.

?Our experience in developing the most sophisticated missile technologies in the world uniquely positions Raytheon to partner with the Army to address this high-priority modernization program,? said Tom Laliberty, president of land warfare & air defense, Raytheon. ?This legacy, coupled with our creative partnerships to bring together proven technologies, enables us to deliver a superior solution that meets or exceeds the requirements for the critical long-range precision fires mission.?

?Northrop Grumman?s ongoing investment in new propulsion technologies and infrastructure support the growing need for efficient and effective missile systems,? said Jim Kalberer, vice president of missile products at Northrop Grumman. ?Our mission-tailored solution will include advanced propulsion technology and key components designed to increase capacity within the launch system and achieve optimal range extension.?

Developed in collaboration with the Australian Defence Forces, this next-generation weapon is the U.S. Army?s future long-range precision strike missile, offering improved capabilities over the Army Tactical Missile System to engage a variety of threats with unparalleled range and accuracy. The missile, which is being procured and developed in four increments addressing specific operational requirements, is designed for integration into currently fielded Army platforms.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_march_2023_global_security_army_industry/us_army_selects_lockheed_martin_to_develop_lrmf_long_range_maneuverable_fires_missile.html

[Harald]

The @BritishArmy will receive 14 of our ARCHER heavy artillery mobile gun platforms from Sweden, replacing gun systems gifted to Ukraine. Our ARCHER can ?shoot and scoot? in 20 seconds.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/british-army-announces-new-artillery-deal-with-sweden?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=baesystemsinc&utm_content=0dd032a1-0417-42c9-a8ae-7c34188cb655&utm_campaign=PS2023

https://twitter.com/BAESystemsInc/status/1636403249233231873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1636403249233231873%7Ctwgr%5Ef58daaced527e02d0fa49b6e4d9a9fb09e3611c4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.snafu-solomon.com%2F

[Harald]

Dat is geen geld! 252 miljoen USD voor 19 ATMOS wiel howitzers + 8 PULS raketartillerie systemen. Levering Atmos binnen 2 jaar, Puls binnen 3 jaar waarbij de eerste Puls zelfs al deze zomer naar Denemarken komt.

ATMOS und PULS fur Danemark - Elbit liefert Raketen- und Rohrartilleriesysteme im Wert von mehr als 250 Millionen US-Dollar
https://soldat-und-technik.de/2023/03/bewaffnung/34131/atmos-und-puls-fuer-daenemark-elbit-liefert-raketen-und-rohrartilleriesysteme-im-wert-von-mehr-als-250-millionen-us-dollar/

ik had ook verwacht dat NL PULS zou aanschaffen ipv het HIMARS systeem, omdat PULS sneller leverbaar was dan HIMARS.

[Mourning]

Denemarken dan dus de partij waar we mee aan het babbelen (en op het wachten) waren op het vlak van raketartillerie?

[Parera]

Dat is geen geld! 252 miljoen USD voor 19 ATMOS wiel howitzers + 8 PULS raketartillerie systemen. Levering Atmos binnen 2 jaar, Puls binnen 3 jaar waarbij de eerste Puls zelfs al deze zomer naar Denemarken komt.

ATMOS und PULS fur Danemark - Elbit liefert Raketen- und Rohrartilleriesysteme im Wert von mehr als 250 Millionen US-Dollar
https://soldat-und-technik.de/2023/03/bewaffnung/34131/atmos-und-puls-fuer-daenemark-elbit-liefert-raketen-und-rohrartilleriesysteme-im-wert-von-mehr-als-250-millionen-us-dollar/

[Harald]

Radhaubitze ? Bundeswehr unternimmt ersten Schritt zur Beschaffung der RCH155 von KMW   ( Duitsland gaat zeer waarschijnlijk voor de Boxer RCH155 )

Die Bundeswehr hat einen dringenden Bedarf f?r eine Radhaubitze und hat sich offenbar dazu entschieden, m?glichst ein marktreifes System einzuf?hren. Im Blick waren seit geraumer Zeit die in Entwicklung befindlichen Radhaubitzen von Rheinmetall und Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).

( rest achter betaalmuur)

https://soldat-und-technik.de/2023/02/bewaffnung/33916/radhaubitze-bundeswehr-rch155-kmw/

[Huzaar1]

Interessant

[Parera]

Zochten wij nog een partner voor MLRS aankoop? 
Ik zeg 3 Atmos batterijen voor 13 licht + 2 (of 3) Puls batterijen voor zowel 43 als 13. Artillerie voor 11 LMB en Korps Mariniers zullen we wel op een andere manier kunnen invullen die beter bij beide brigades past.

Denmark negotiates the purchase of ATMOS and PULS systems from Elbit

The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) has started negotiations with Israeli defence industry company Elbit Systems regarding the purchase of 8x8 ATMOS 155 mm self-propelled howitzers and PULS Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS). By purchasing the Israeli weapons systems, the Danish Ministry of Defence intends to fill the gap in artillery systems after the decision to donate the CAESAR howitzers to Ukraine.

In January, the Danish government decided to transfer to Ukraine all 19 CAESAR 155 mm self-propelled howitzers purchased from French company Nexter. In 2017 Denmark ordered from Nexter fifteen CAESAR howitzers, and in 2019 it placed an order for another four. Deliveries of these artillery systems have not yet been completed.

Following the government?s decision to send all CEASER to Ukraine, the Danish defence procurement agency DALO has conducted market research to find a supplier of artillery systems that could quickly deliver weapons to the Danish Armed Forces and thus fill the gap in capabilities of the land forces.

According to DALO, the negotiations with Israeli defence industry company Elbit Systems aim to provide the Danish Armed Forces with ATMOS and PULS systems ?as soon as possible?. DALO explains that in addition to ATMOS self-propelled howitzers, it is interested also in MLRS systems because ?it is initially not possible to get sufficient artillery delivered quickly enough to meet the defence operational needs?.

Denmark intends to purchase 19 ATMOS 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and 8 PULS MLRS systems. DALO has yet to reveal any further details about a possible future contract.

https://defence-industry.eu/denmark-negotiates-the-purchase-of-atmos-and-puls-systems-from-elbit/

[Parera]

En dan ... te lang getalm of zelfs een Nein van vooral SPD politici die in de jaren 80 demonstreerden tegen de wapenwedloop.  De pacifistische inborst die ontstond door WO 2.  De Ost-politik die een relatie predikte met de Sovjet-Unie.  En nog steeds in vele Duitse hoofden voortleeft, maar nu de relatie met Rusland aan wil houden.  Maar het huidige Rusland is een geheel ander land dan de voormalige Sovjet-Unie.
Een recent opinie onderzoek in Duitsland: circa de helft vind dat DU genoeg steun aan Oekraine geeft.  Circa een kwart vindt dat er te weinig steun wordt gegeven.  Het andere kwart vindt dat Oekraine juist teveel steun vanuit Duitsland krijgt.

Joseph Luns zei het vele decennia geleden al: houdt afstand van Duitsland en Frankrijk.  Een les ook die vele generaties Nederlandse politici voor hem, met schade, schande en bloed hadden geleerd.

Ik gok dat de focus van Rheinmetall en KMW voornamelijk zal liggen op de Europese verkopen van HIMARS maar ook de Duitse defensie is opzoek naar een nieuwe raket artillerie dit is natuurlijk ook een kans die beide partijen gaan aangrijpen.

[Poleme]

Waar KMW de samenwerking met Israel aangaat zoekt Rheinmetall het bij Lockheed Martin. Een slimme keuze, ook voor de Europese orders mogelijk nu versnelde levering als dit een beetje snel opgezet kan worden. Ongetwijfeld zullen ze de HIMARS aanbieden op hun eigen HX3 chassis in de 6x6 versie wat daarmee dus een doorontwikkeling gaat worden van de LARS-2 (Leichtes Artillerie Raketen System).

Rheinmetall eyes boost in munitions output, HIMARS production in Germany

En dan ... te lang getalm of zelfs een Nein van vooral SPD politici die in de jaren 80 demonstreerden tegen de wapenwedloop.  De pacifistische inborst die ontstond door WO 2.  De Ost-politik die een relatie predikte met de Sovjet-Unie.  En nog steeds in vele Duitse hoofden voortleeft, maar nu de relatie met Rusland aan wil houden.  Maar het huidige Rusland is een geheel ander land dan de voormalige Sovjet-Unie.
Een recent opinie onderzoek in Duitsland: circa de helft vind dat DU genoeg steun aan Oekraine geeft.  Circa een kwart vindt dat er te weinig steun wordt gegeven.  Het andere kwart vindt dat Oekraine juist teveel steun vanuit Duitsland krijgt.

Joseph Luns zei het vele decennia geleden al: houdt afstand van Duitsland en Frankrijk.  Een les ook die vele generaties Nederlandse politici voor hem, met schade, schande en bloed hadden geleerd.

[Parera]

Waar KMW de samenwerking met Israel aangaat zoekt Rheinmetall het bij Lockheed Martin. Een slimme keuze, ook voor de Europese orders mogelijk nu versnelde levering als dit een beetje snel opgezet kan worden. Ongetwijfeld zullen ze de HIMARS aanbieden op hun eigen HX3 chassis in de 6x6 versie wat daarmee dus een doorontwikkeling gaat worden van de LARS-2 (Leichtes Artillerie Raketen System).

Rheinmetall eyes boost in munitions output, HIMARS production in Germany

DUESSELDORF, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German arms-maker Rheinmetall is ready to greatly boost the output of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West, and may start producing HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in Germany, CEO Armin Papperger told Reuters.

He spoke days before Germany's defence industry bosses are due to meet new defence minister Boris Pistorius for the first time, though the exact date has yet to be announced.

With the meeting, Pistorius aims to kick off talks on how to speed up weapons procurement and boost ammunitions supplies in the long term after almost a year of arms donations to Ukraine has depleted the German military's stocks.

Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) makes a range of defence products but is probably most famous for manufacturing the 120mm gun of the Leopard 2 tank.

"We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120mm) per year, which is more than the entire world needs," Papperger said in an interview with Reuters.

The capacity for the production of 155mm artillery rounds can be ramped up to 450,000 to 500,000 per year, he added, which would make Rheinmetall the biggest producer for both kinds of ammunition.

In 2022, Rheinmetall made some 60,000 to 70,000 rounds each of tank and artillery shells, according to Papperger, who said production could be boosted immediately.

Demand for these munitions has soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, not only due to their massive use on the battlefield but also as Western militaries backfill their own stocks, bracing for what they see as a heightened threat from Moscow.

Papperger said a new production line for medium calibre ammunition, used by German-built Gepard anti-aircraft tanks in Ukraine for example, would go live by mid-year.

Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard that its own military had decomissioned in 2010.

HIMARS PRODUCTION LINE IN GERMANY?
At the same time, Rheinmetall is in talks with Lockheed Martin(LMT.N), the U.S. company manufacturing the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) multiple rocket launchers in heavy use with Ukrainian troops, Papperger said.

"At the Munich Security Conference, we aim to strike an agreement with Lockheed Martin to kick off a HIMARS production (in Germany)," he said, referring to an annual gathering of political and defence leaders in mid-February.

"We have the technology for the production of the warheads as well as for the rocket motors - and we have the trucks to mount the launchers upon," Papperger said, adding a deal may prompt investments of several hundred million euros of which Rheinmetall would finance a major part.

Rheinmetall also eyes the operation of a new powder plant, possibly in the eastern German state of Saxony, but the investment of 700 to 800 million euros would have to be footed by the government in Berlin, he said.

"The state has to invest, and we contribute our technological know-how. In return, the state gets a share of the plant and the profits it makes," Papperger suggested.

"This is an investment that is not feasible for the industry on its own. It is an investment into national security, and therefore we need the federal state," he said.

The plant is needed as shortages in the production of special powders could turn out to be a bottleneck, hampering efforts to boost the output of tank and artillery shells, he noted.

A few days before the meeting with the new defence minister, Papperger pushed for an increase of Germany's defence budget.

"The 51 billion euros in the defence budget will not suffice to purchase everything that is needed. And the money in the 100 billion euro special funds has already been earmarked - and partially been eaten up by inflation," he said.

"100 billion euros sounds like a giant sum but we would actually need a 300 billion euro package to order everything that's needed," he added, noting that the 100 billion special fund does not include ammunitions purchases.

Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany was 20 billion euros short of reaching NATO's target for ammunitions stockpiling, according to a defence source.

To plug the munitions gap alone, Papperger estimates the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) would need to invest three to four billion euros per year.

In the talks with the minister, the defence boss hopes for a turn towards a more sustainable long-term planning in German procurement, stretching several years into the future, as the industry needed to be able to make its arrangements in time.

"What we are doing at the moment is actually war stocking: Last year, we prefinanced 600 to 700 million euros for goods," Papperger said. "We must move away from this crisis management - it is crisis management when you buy (raw materials and other things) without having a contract - and get into a regular routine."

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/rheinmetall-eyes-boost-munitions-output-himars-production-germany-ceo-2023-01-28/

[pz]

BAE Systems receives contract for 20 additional CV90 Mj?lner mortar systems for Swedish Army

This new order for 20 additional CV90 mortar systems for the Swedish Army brings the total fleet to 80 vehicles, planned to be in service by 2025

https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/article/bae-systems-receives-contract-for-20-additional-cv90-mjolner-mortar-systems-for-swedish-army



BAE Systems has received a contract modification from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to build 20 additional CV90 mortar vehicles. The approximately $30 million contract has been awarded to the BAE Systems Swedish joint venture HB Utveckling AB, which combines BAE Systems? H?gglunds and Bofors manufacturing capabilities. Production will be performed at BAE Systems H?gglunds in ?rnsk?ldsvik, Sweden.

?This new contract modification for additional mortar vehicles ensures that soldiers will benefit from this critical capability in the near future,? said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems H?gglunds. ?We look forward to continuing to support the Swedish Army?s efforts to modernize and increase its combat power.?

The original contract for 40 CV90 Mj?lner systems was awarded in 2016, and deliveries of the systems started in 2019 and were completed on time in 2020. In February 2022, FMV awarded the first follow-on contract for 20 additional systems, as well as the upgrade of the 40 systems already in service, to bring them all to the same standard by integrating the Swedish Army?s new C4I LSS Mark system. Both FMV and BAE Systems have heralded this program as a benchmark for collaborative development.

Once the contract modification deliveries are completed in 2025, the Swedish Army will operate 80 CV90 mortar vehicles in its fleet. The vehicles, known as Granatkastarpansarbandvagn 90, provide critical indirect firepower capabilities in the mechanized brigades.

There are approximately 1,300 CV90s, in multiple variants, in service with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The vehicle has a combat-proven track record and is designed to accommodate future growth to meet evolving missions. More recently, both Slovakia and the Czech Republic have selected CV90 to replace their legacy infantry fighting vehicle fleets.

[Parera]

Indirect fires: Rheinmetall details its latest solutions
https://www.edrmagazine.eu/indirect-fires-rheinmetall-details-its-latest-solutions

[Huzaar1]

Het is nooit genoeg, maar voor onze begrippen is het qua kwantiteit afdoendd wat we nu hebben.

[Parera]

Moeten wij er nog een aantal aankopen? Eventueel ook om de pzh's aante vullen die we hebben weg gegeven en eventueel een extra (reserve) capaciteit te hebben?

Oekraine heeft vorig jaar ook aangekondigd nog 100 pzh2000's te willen aankopen vanuit een nieuwe productie lijn. Het lijkt me dat er nog wel meer geintereseerde te vinden zijn in Europa binnen de huidige gebruikers groep om een kleine 150 a 200 stuks te kunnen produceren.