Have Guns, Will Upgrade: The M109A6 Paladin PIM Partnership
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Intent, Electronics - General, Spotlight articles, Tanks & Mechanized
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The USA’s M109 self-propelled 155mm howitzers were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 armored ammunition resupply vehicles have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade. Even with the Paladin’s computerization and fast, safe set-up and take-down, however, a noticeable capability gap between the M109 and newer self-propelled guns like Britain’s AS90 Braveheart Germany’s PzH-2000, or innovative long-range artillery systems like South Africa’s G6 remains.
An all-new replacement system called the XM2001 Crusader was ordered to replace the M109, featuring enhancements that included much higher rates of fire, longer range, fully automated ammunition reloads from the XM2002 companion vehicle, improved communications, and much higher land speeds. The $11 billion program was canceled as a relic of the Cold War in 2002, and will be replaced by the light NLOS-C component of the Army’s Future Combat Systems.
In the mean time, however, the Army is re-learning a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds not minutes, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and can deliver a volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require bombers worth hundreds of millions of dollars, carrying expensive precision weapons. Most combat casualties in the gunpowder age have come from artillery fire, and the US Army will need its mobile fleet for some time to come. So, too, will the many countries that have bought the M109 and still use it, unless BAE wishes to cede that market to Korea’s modern K9/K10 system, or new concept candidates like the KMW/GD DONAR. What to do? Enter the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program….
- M109 Limitations & the M109A6 Paladin
- PIM: A New M109A6 Paladin
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
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