The AS-90 is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by
the British Army. The AS-90 was first deployed by the
British Army in 1993. 179 AS-90s were acquired to re-equip six of the eight
self-propelled field artillery regiments in the 1 Corps, replacing the 105 mm
FV433 Abbot SPG and older M109 155 mm Self Propelled Gun. It remains in UK
service and will equip three field regiments supporting armoured infantry
brigades for the foreseeable future. 134 in service in 2008, 117 in 2015.
AS-90 was designed and built by the Armaments division of Vickers
Shipbuilding and Engineering, whose parent company became BAE Systems in
1999. VSEL provided 179 vehicles between 1992 and 1995 at a cost of £300 million.
The AS-90 underwent a capability enhancement program in 2008 and 2009,
primarily relating to upgrades of the AS-90's electronic system.
In 1999, Marconi Electronic Systems was contracted to upgrade British Army
AS-90s to include a 52 calibre gun in order to increase the range of the
artillery. Critical to the program was a bi-modular charge system from Somchem of
South Africa, which offered greatly reduced barrel wear. However, this
ammunition failed to meet the requirement for insensitive munitions
and the project was terminated. Development
AS-90 started in the mid-1980s as a private venture on the 'gamble' that the
tri-national SP70 would fail. When this duly occurred, the Ministry of Defence
issued a cardinal point specification on one page for a new 155 mm SPG. Four
tenders were submitted, and AS-90 was the only offer that was not
'brochureware'. The MoD was also required to consider the US "Paladin",
an upgraded M109 howitzer. The MoD has undertaken studies in
2006-09 to "up gun" the Royal Navy's main shipboard gun armament, the 4.5
inch Mark 8 naval gun, to accept 155 mm ammunition from the AS-90. This would
introduce a common gun calibre for the British Army and Royal Navy, helping
with ammunition logistics, and encouraging joint Army-Navy development
of extended range and precision guided shells.
Design In 1963 certain NATO nations, including
the UK, agreed a Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding for a 155 mm 39 calibre
ordnance and a baseline projectile with the shape used for the US M549
rocket-assisted shell. The AS-90 uses a conforming 39 calibre barrel which fires
the L15 unassisted projectile out to a range of 24.7 km. However, this was a
new design of ordnance using a split sliding block breech with Crossley
obturation, instead of the more usual screw breech, to permit bagged charges.
The breech mechanism has a primer magazine holding 18 primers. The
standard ammunition is that designed for FH-70 although in training the less
effective but cheaper M107 with Green and White propelling charges is used.
It is fitted with an auxiliary power unit to eliminate the need to run the
main engine to keep the batteries charged while stationary; electrical
servos drive the automated elevation, traverse, magazine, shell transfer arm
and loader as well as power for electronics and communications.
The vehicle is fitted with an autonomous navigation and gun laying dynamic
reference unit mounted on the trunnion. All main turret functions are controlled
by a Turret Control Computer with control and display units for the No 1,
No 2 and No 3. The combination of the DRU, TCC and powered laying controls
provide autolaying. Every gun is fitted with a radar Muzzle Velocity Measuring
Device. Reversionary mode laying uses deflection laying via the direct fire
sight. The gun can be brought into action fully
closed down, the barrel can be clamped and unclamped from within the vehicle.
Into and out of action times are less than 1 minute.
Characteristics Crew: 5, on board when moving, full gun
detachment 10 including driver, 4 detachment members in the turret.
Length: 9.07 m Width: 3.3 m
Height: 3.0 m Armour: 17 mm
Weight: 45 tons Calibre: 155 mm
Range: 24.9 km, 30 km standard charges Rate of fire: 3 rounds in 10 seconds, 6
rounds per minute for 3 minutes, 2 rounds per minute for 60 minutes
Secondary armament: 7.62 mm L7 GPMG Ammunition carried: 48 projectiles and
charges, 1000 MG rounds Main Engine: Cummins VTA903T 660 bhp 90
degree, v8, 4 stroke, liquid cooled, turbo diesel,
Max Speed: 55 km/h Range: 370 km or 231 mi
Ground clearance: 0.41 m; Gradient: 60°; Vertical obstacle: 0.75 m; Trench
crossing: 2.8 m; Fording depth: 1.5 m Variants
AS-90D - Modified for desert use. Thermal protection for crew and extra
cooling for engine and machinery. Tracks adapted for reduced wear in sandy
conditions. AS-90 "Braveheart" - Basically the
AS-90, but fitted with the 52 calibre length gun. This project was terminated
due to non-compliant propellant charges. Haubicoarmata "Krab" - Licensed
"Braveheart" turret on a K9 Thunder chassis, with modern "Azalia" BMS.
Designed and integrated in Poland, by Huta Stalowa Wola and WB Electronics.
Two Krab prototypes were built in 2001, and successfully completed all required
evaluations and state acceptance trials. Initial serial production started in
2008, with eight units delivered to Polish Land Forces for testing. In 2014
production of Krab chassis was forwarded to Korean Samsung Techwin, which will
provide 120 units, replacing Polish build UPG chassis in serial vehicles.
Operators United Kingdom
British Army - Royal Artillery 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.
19th Regiment Royal Artillery. 26th Regiment Royal Artillery.
See also PzH 2000 - Panzerhaubitze 2000, German
155mm artillery from Rheinmetall in service since 1998
M109 howitzer AHS Krab - the Polish variant using the
AS-90 turret G6 howitzer - A South African 155mm
self-propelled howitzer from Denel land systems
References