Army developing new self-propelled Howitzer

The U.S. Army is developing a next-generation, 40-ton 155mm Howitzer

artillery canon called the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) able to fire

precision rounds, accommodate additional armor protections and power up more

on-board electrical systems, service officials said.

The new vehicle, slated to begin Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) by 2013,

features a 600-volt on-board power system designed to accommodate emerging

networking technologies as they become available.

"The PIM is the Army's modernization program for the 155mm Howitzer fleet.

The SWAP [size, weight and power] buy back that the PIM will provide is

huge. It allows us to add additional armor to the platform and it allows us

to add additional capabilities such as automation or electronic packages,"

said Lt. Col. Dan Furber, product manager, Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems.

The PIM's on-board power system harnesses technologies developed for the

Non-Line-of-Sight Canon (NLOS-C), a 155mm Howitzer formerly developed for

the Future Combat System Manned-Ground Vehicles program which was canceled

in 2009.

"We've also harnessed the electric drives from the NLOS-C, which are faster

than the hydraulic drives used in the existing fleet. With the electric

drives and rammer, we are finding more consistent ramming of the round which

allows for more consistent muzzle velocities and we are a little more

accurate and responsive with the electric drives,"Furber said.

Prototypes of the vehicle, built by BAE Systems, are now undergoing

government testing in preparation for an LRIP production decision; the PIM

vehicle's canon rests on a chassis built with Bradley common parts including

engine, transmission and tracks.

"Being common with Bradley decreases the logistics footprint that echelons

above brigades will have to manage. In the long term, it will decrease the

amount of money needed to sustain the Bradley and Self-Propelled Howitzer

fleets. We will only have to manage one engine, for example, in the supply

chain, so there are economies of scale that are beneficial to the Army,"

Furber explained.

The testing includes Reliability, Availability. Maintainability (RAM)

mission testing as well as Ballistic Hull & Turret testing -- both designed

to prepare the program for a Milestone C production decision by 2013.

Like other 155 artillery systems, the Paladin will be configured to fire

precision rounds such as Excalibur and Precision Guidance Kit (PGK). The PIM

is being designed to provide key fire support for a range of potential

combat operations to include conventional, hybrid, irregular and

counterinsurgency scenarios.

"While PIM is associated with the Heavy Brigade Combat Team, it is a

full-spectrum operational platform. For instance, it would allow the

artillery crew supporting light infantry on a Forward Operating Base to be

protected from indirect fires - something towed artillery pieces are not

able to do," Furber said.

The PIM includes a sustained rate of fire of two rounds a minute and a

maximum rate of fire of four rounds a minute, said Ed Murray, Department of

the Army Systems Coordinator - Artillery.

The Army plans to build 580 new Paladins in order to sustain the fleet

through 2060. The existing fleet of M109A6 Howitzers are nearing

obsolescence; they were originally designed in the 1950's and produced in

the 1960's, according to a July 25 Department of the Army report to Congress

on Paladin Integrated Management.

"The Army recognizes that the current fleet exceeds its weight and power

capacity and does not provide for growth in mobility and force protection,

thus emphasizing that the PIM program is necessary to address the existing

capability gaps for self-propelled artillery," the report states.