Artillery in the 21st century remains the "god of war", being the main weapon of fire for ground forces, which can be used equally effectively both in defense and in offensive. At the same time, progress does not stand still, artillery systems and ammunition are constantly developing and are still able to surprise. Recently, the publication defenceweb published material about the tests carried out in South Africa, which set new records for barreled ground artillery. During the shooting at the Alcantpan range in South Africa, it was possible to achieve the maximum firing range of an active-rocket projectile - 76,280 meters.
Rheinmetall Denel Munition breaks records
Tests of new artillery ammunition using artillery systems in service took place at the Alcantpan test site, located in the North Cape province of South Africa, on November 6, 2019. The tests in South Africa were attended by representatives of many Western weapons manufacturers, as well as representatives of potential customers. The main goal of the tests carried out in early November in the South African edition of Defense Web is called the need to test in practice the capabilities of modern artillery, new shells, propellants, fuses and detonators.
The tests were organized by Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) in conjunction with subsidiaries Rheinmetall Waffe Munition (RWM), Rheinmetall Norway and Nitrochemie. It is worth noting that RDM is a joint venture, 51 percent of which is owned by German Rheinmetall and 49 percent by South African Denel. Currently, this company specializes in the design, development and production of families of medium and large caliber artillery ammunition and is one of the world leaders in the creation of mortar, artillery and infantry combat systems.
RDM CEO Jan-Patrick Helmsen, welcoming all participants in the tests, noted that, as a former military officer, he perfectly understands the importance of developing modern artillery, increasing the accuracy, safety and efficiency of its shooting. Jan-Patrick Helmsen noted that artillery remains an important support weapon for ground forces, both offensively and defensively. At the same time, artillery shells and the installations themselves are cheaper than missile weapons or air support for troops. An important advantage of artillery is that it can be easily deployed on the ground and used 24 hours a day, ensuring the destruction of enemy targets and objects outside the line of sight within the effective firing range. At the same time, the general director of RDM noted that in recent years, the demand for weapons capable of hitting enemy targets at a great distance has been growing, and the capabilities of modern barrel artillery are limited. Therefore, it is so important to develop barrel systems in terms of increasing the firing range, which was demonstrated during the tests carried out at the Alcantpan test site.
Test results of new 155-mm ammunition
In addition to new artillery ammunition, the RDM representatives involved the following artillery systems for testing: a South African-made 155-mm Denel G6 wheeled self-propelled howitzer with a 52-caliber barrel, a towed Denel G5 155-mm howitzer with a 39-caliber barrel, also made in South Africa, and a 155-caliber test carriage. -mm German self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000 with a barrel length of 52 caliber. An important difference between these systems of the same caliber, in addition to the barrel length, is the size of the charging chamber. So for the Denel G5 towed howitzer it is 18 liters, for the German PzH 2000 self-propelled guns - 23 liters, and for the South African Denel G6 wheeled self-propelled guns - 25 liters. Also, the tests used the 120-mm mortar system MWS120 Ragnarok Norwegian production of the company Rheinmetall Norway. This installation is designed to be placed on the chassis of various armored vehicles. The results of the firing of this system have not been made public.
When firing, ammunition manufactured by Rheinmetall Denel Munition and Rheinmetall Waffe Munition was used. The first to be tested was a 155-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a narrowed bottom RWM DM121 BT (Boat Tail). The Denel G5 towed howitzer showed a result of 29,171 meters, and the German PzH 2000 fire monitor - 35,882 meters. Both systems used the same total charge. It is worth noting that the Alkantpan landfill is equipped with a developed telemetry system, and a tracking radar is also responsible for the accuracy of determining the distances reached by ammunition. At the same time, control over the progress of the tests was provided by local and international military observers and representatives of the defense industry, the official website of the RDM company notes. The PzH 2000 range carriage was also used for firing a serial projectile with a bottom gas generator Assegai M0121 IHE BB, which provided a maximum target hitting range of 47374 meters.
But the most interesting for observers and experts were the new active-jet ammunition manufactured by Rheinmetall Denel Munition. To carry out these tests, the representatives of the landfill had to negotiate with local farmers, since the borders of the landfill are limited, and the flight range of new projectiles goes far beyond its limits. At the same time, demonstration firing with new active-rocket projectiles was carried out only with the use of training (inert) ammunition.
Among others, they tested the serially produced 155-mm active-rocket projectile with a bottom gas generator RDM М2005 Velocity Enhanced Artillery Projectile (V-LAP), which the manufacturing company calls today the most long-range among all the projectiles produced on the planet. Even when used with the G5 towed howitzer with not the largest barrel of 39 calibers, the projectile's firing range is very significant - 53 917 meters. New shells were tested with more advanced artillery systems. For example, the Assegai M2005 V-LAP projectile fired from the monitor installation of the 155-mm PzH 2000 howitzer covered 66,943 meters. And the new RDM M9703 V-LAP ammunition, which is a further development of the previous Assegai M2005 projectile and built according to the same scheme, when firing from the G6-52 installation with a chamber volume of 25 liters and the maximum possible powder charge, demonstrated an absolute record of the firing range - 76,280 meters.
Based on the results of the demonstration firing conducted on November 6, 2019, the head of the development department of the RDM company, Rod Keizer, expressed great pleasure, noting that even more impressive performance could be achieved at the Alcantpan test site if the testers were lucky with the speed of the headwind and crosswind. According to an RDM spokesman, under favorable weather conditions, one could count on the fact that the new M9703 V-LAP active-rocket projectile could be sent to a range of about 80 kilometers. In the meantime, it can be stated that the combination of German industrial and financial capabilities with South African technologies has allowed the companies to achieve a significant increase in the range, efficiency and accuracy of fire using classic barreled artillery.
Used artillery systems
During the tests, both the Denel G5 towed howitzer, the closest domestic analogue of which is the MSTA-B 152-mm howitzer, and the most modern examples of self-propelled artillery equipment, the Denel G6 and PzH 2000, were involved. They should not compete with the Soviet / Russian 152-mm Msta-S self-propelled guns with a barrel length of 47 calibers, but the more advanced Russian system “Coalition-SV”, which received a new 152-mm 2A88 gun with a 52 caliber barrel length and an updated mechanism loading, which provides the installation with a maximum rate of fire - up to 16 rounds per minute.
South African ACS G6 "Rhino" (Rhino) is one of the best weapons that are produced in South Africa today, and one of the best artillery systems in the world. The self-propelled howitzer is in service with South Africa, and is also exported. The operators of this artillery system are the armies of the UAE and Oman. Built on the basis of a 6x6 wheeled armored chassis, the ACS has been serially produced by the South African defense industry since 1988. One of the latest upgrades to the G6-52 howitzer, first shown in 2003, was used in field tests of new ammunition. This installation features a new gun with a barrel length of 52 caliber (previously 45 calibers). At the same time, versions with two charging chambers are available: the “JBMOU” version - 23 liters and “Extended Range” - 25 liters, which differ in different firing ranges for basic ammunition.
The German self-propelled gun PzH 2000 also belongs to the best representatives of its class and is actively exported to different countries of the world. The artillery mount, created in 1998, like the latest Denel G6-52 model, is distinguished by the presence of a 52-caliber barrel and an automatic loading system, which provides the installation with a high rate of fire and the ability to suppress targets in the "barrage" mode with one gun, sending one target up to 5 shells flying along different trajectories. In addition to the German army, this self-propelled howitzer is in service with the armies of Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Qatar. The closest operator of these howitzers to Russia is the Lithuanian army, which in 2015 acquired 21 PzH 2000 self-propelled guns from the Bundeswehr. 16 howitzers are used by the Lithuanian army as linear, two as training vehicles, and three more as a source of spare parts.
