British AS90: Awesome weapon enhanced for the desert

icNewcastle ^ | March 21 2003

[knighthawk]

The AS90 - used last night in Iraq - is one of the most awesome battlefield artillery guns in the world.

When the self-propelled howitzer was introduced in 1993, the first new field gun for three decades, military experts said it would revolutionise the use of artillery in the theatre of war.

With a 155mm gun and an automated loading system, the AS90 Braveheart can deliver a payload of a quarter of a ton on to a single target in less than 10 seconds. Resembling a tank, the gun is engine-driven and can be positioned anywhere on the battlefield and has a 360 degree field-of-fire.

Its flexibility means several can work independently, avoiding the risk of presenting the enemy with a large, single target.

The weapon has its own navigation and sighting systems and has a range of just over 15 miles. Some versions of the AS90 are fitted with the a larger 52 calibre gun that has a range of nearly 25 miles.

However, during Saif Sareea II exercises in Oman in 2001, the plastic air filters on the AS90 melted in the heat and movements had to be restricted to night time.

An enhanced version of the howitzer, the Desert AS90 underwent successful trials in the Arizona Desert in 1994 and in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1996 and provides high capability in the desert conditions.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[ladtx]

[geedee]

Yikes! Thank God them bad boys are on our side.

[jigsaw]

I want one!

[OregonRancher]

Now that's what I call a righteous RV!

[fporretto]

Sheesh. And I already bought my wife her birthday gift!

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason:
http://palaceofreason.com

[katana]

Britain has a history of superb weapons engineering. A recent exception has been the SA-80 rifle (maybe the problems are manufacturing - the gun looks like something out of Starship Troopers), but during WWII both the Spitfire and Hurricane were fine aircraft and the P51 Mustang didn't reach it's potential until it was fitted with the Rolls Royce engines.

This 155 mm howitzer sounds great, but one question I have is the weight and size. Can they be transported by anything but ocean vessel?

[knighthawk]

The SA90 weight is 42 tons. The Challenger 2 weight is 62 tons, the M1A2 more than 68 tons. So it can be transported by either a road-transport or trian. Or an C-5 Galaxy.

[SpinyNorman]

The best part is: it is going up against cheesy French made artillery (and maybe some Chinese crap).

How will the PRC and the PRF (figure it out!) convince terrorists to invest in their poorly made weapons now?

[katana]

Thanks.

[Noumenon]

Q. Where do you park one of those bad boys?

A. Anywhere you want to.

[decimon]

Some versions of the AS90 are fitted with the a larger 52 calibre gun that has a range of nearly 25 miles.

Smith and Wesson?

[holdmuhbeer]

AS90 braveheart, now thats a cool name.

[Turk2]

Actually the best 155mm self-propelled howitzers on the market are the German PzH-2000

and the South African G6