Nexter and TDA are working on a 155 mm Metric Precision Munition which, as its name indicates, should provide a CEP of less than one meter. (Nexter)
In Russia KBP of Tula has been working on laser-guided artillery ammunition since the late 1970s. In the mid-1980s the Red Army adopted the Krasnopol, a 20 km range ammunition capable of reaching a target moving at a maximum speed of 36 km/h with a 70-80% hit probability. The 1,305 mm long 2K25 152 mm weighed 50 kg, with 20.5 kg accounted for by the HE-fragmentation warhead and its 6.4 kg of explosives. Midcourse inertial guidance directed the round over the target area, where the semiactive laser seeker was activated. A 155 mm version, the KM-1, is also available, with very similar physical characteristics. These ammunition required not only a designator but also radio sets and synchronisation aids, designation being effective at ranges of 7 km against static targets and 5 km on mobile targets. To make things simpler, an updated version has been developed for export, the 155 mm KM-1M. Slightly shorter at 1,200 mm and heavier at 54.3 kg with a 26.5 kg warhead and 11 kg of explosives, it has a maximum range of 25 km, with a hit probability against a moving tank increased to 80-90%. It is guided by the Malakhit artillery fire control system, which includes the laser designator. Norinco in China has developed its own version of the Krasnopol. I … GUIDED KITS…
Alliant Techsystems’ Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) is battle proven. Some 1,300 kits were been delivered to Afghanistan in the Summer of 2013 to US Army and US Marine Corps units. This led to the first export contract, Australia requesting over 4,000 kits, followed by 2,000 more in FY14. Self-powered, the PGK is screwed on the artillery shell in place of the fuse, the kit itself acting as proximity or point detonating fuse. Being 68.6 mm longer than US Multi-Option Fuze, Artillery (MOFA) the PGK is only compatible with deep intrusion projectiles. Starting from the back we find the MOFA booster, the M762 safe and arm device, then comes the thread
A few years ago, KBP developed a 155mm calibre version of the Krasnopol fitted with a French laser spot seeker. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)
ensuring the interface with the projectile. The first external part hosts the GPS (SAASM) aerial, followed by four canards and by the height of burst sensor of the proxy fuse. The gun crew screws the PGK on the shell, keeping the cover in place as this also doubles as the interface to the fuse setter. The Epiafs (Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter) is the same as the one used for the Raytheon Excalibur and comes with the platform integration kit that allows to plug it into a fire control system or into a DAGR GPS receiver. The setter is positioned above the PGK nose and allows to switch on power and to insert all necessary data such as gun-target location, trajectory information, GPS crypto keys, GPS information, exact time and fuse setting data. The cover is then removed before loading and ramming the shell and going through the standard firing procedures. The kit has a single moving part, the canard assembly, which can only rotate along the longitudinal axis, the wings having a fixed cant; two couples of opposite wings have the same direction and thus provide lift, while the two despin wings provide counterrotation. The assembly being coupled to an alternator, counter-rotation produces electrical power and initiates the battery. The system then acquires the GPS signal, and navigation is then established, thus starting the 2-D guidance with the GPS comparing the shell position to the reference ballistic trajectory. This is ensured by the despinning of the canard assembly, which starts producing lift; the signals coming from the guidance unit rotate the assembly in order to orient the lift vector for 2-D control, guidance continuing until the impact takes place within the required 50 metres CEP. Should the round lose the GPS link or get off course due to wind anomalies, the PGK would automatically make it inert, dramatically reducing collateral damages. ATK developed the final version of the PGK, which works with the new M795 round with insensitive munition fill. This version passed the performance and safety First Article Acceptance Tests at Yuma Proving Ground in January 2015; fired from M109A6 Paladin
and M777A2 howitzers, it easily passed the 30-metre CEP test, most of the rounds falling within 10 metres of the target. The PGK is now approved for low rate initial production and the company is expecting a production contract by mid-2015. To increase the potential users base, the PGK was fitted to German artillery shells in October 2014 and fired from a German PzH 2000, a first from a 52 calibre barrel, with some rounds fired in the multiple rounds simultaneous impact mode: many shells fell within five metres from the target, well under the forecast CEP. BAE Systems is developing its own 155 mm kit, the Silver Bullet. Guidance is based on GPS, the kit coming as a nose add-on with
The Norinco GP155A laser guided ammunition is derived from the Russian Krasnopol and has a range of between 6 and 25 km. (Armada/P. Valpolini)
ATK’s Precision Guidance Kit is here seen fitted on two different ammunition, a 105 mm artillery shell (left) and a 120 mm mortar round (right). (Armada/P. Valpolini)
Compendium Artillery 2015
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