SP, MLRS and SPAA Developments

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

Denmarks real contribution in hardware will be the Caesar 8x8 which has the FCS of the newer Caesar 6x6 NG. Both will feature new redesigned armored cabs with the 8x8 having much better mobility AND carry more onboard ammo (Off the top I believe that to be 46 to 48 Rds. to include BONUS.)

Denmark had 8 or 10 and as I’ve already posted, France is fulfilling the order of a total of 18 units Denmark wanted and ship them to the Ukraine when completed.

With the improvements on the Caesar NG, as of last reporting Denmark will probably buy them as they are “cheaper” and can buy a few more of that version.

Denmark is/was the ONLY operator of the 8x8 version prior to the donation to the Ukraine.

The NG will also be more mobile than the original Caesar from the lessons learned from all the other user countries.

Since I’m at it, the UK testing of the Archer is going very well to include the very recent live fire tests that were conducted. My impression is they are definitely “fast tracking” it. With that in mind I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t reach FOC by JUL or early Fall. We’ll see.

Since I’m on the UK, AJAX just recently completed Winter Ops testing in SWEDEN. However, as already posted from MOD and Parliament sources; there are no changes to IOC and FOC status of which both are after 2025.

At least for UK RL this bodes well for the Army overall thus far.

And since we’re on SWEDEN welcome to NATO!

For the “Other Guy” all he gets will be a mean !

Back to vacation mode since we saw them Sunday they’re undefeated (They lost the opener on Saturday.) and hope they keep it up for our last game later today. I’m happy to have had such an influence on the team!?!

Regards,
Pat

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

I should've asked all the questions from the previous page.

First Denmark has ONLY USA imported HIMARS and the afore mentioned CAESAR 8x8 with 19 UNITS.

This will include their entire stock of ammo of unknown quantity.

Also, regarding further ammo resupply the Czech Republic has a ready stock of 800,000 rounds of artillery shells made up of 500,000 155mm and 300,000 122mm. All they need is for someone to pay for it and then they can have them all delivered within a few weeks.
https://www.businessinsider.com/denm...sia-war-2024-2
https://www.defensemagazine.com/arti...ster-announces

Germany as part of its most recent arms package will send 14,000 155mm rounds and 4 WINSENT 1 MCV's etc.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...o_ukraine.html

Netherlands has approved 100 million Euros for several 100,000's worth of artillery shells.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...r_ukraine.html

And they're NOT done; it's not the DANA or DANA 2 it is a new system of SPA called the DITA. It has a 2-man crew with a fully automated turret/ROF 5 Rds. PM/Onboard 155mm Ammo 40 Rds./TATRA 8x8 w/ Tatra T3C-928-90 engine with 300 kW output, giving it a maximum speed of 90 km/h on roads and 25 km/h off-road, with a range of 600 kilometers. /Armored Cab and Turret etc. etc.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...r_ukraine.html

Seems like we need a few more Female Prime Ministers and maybe a President here as they've been more aggressive in doing what's necessary to support the Ukraine to avoid a wider war which Germany and a couple of others think will happen by 2025/or 2026.

I hope they're wrong. I'm more about the old 1942 song written in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor; "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" to include Tanks/Tubes and everything else.

Concerning my Mets ball club, well they stayed undefeated while there and today when we left to head home yesterday morning. I guess we just have this "Aura" around us from today on we just wish them luck until the first "Subway Series" in the regular season, you see CINCLANTHOME is a true Yankee Fan!?!

Regards,
Pat

[MarkSheppard]

Hope nobody did any serious thought as to a icon/OOB slot for ERCA in the US OBAT.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/202...totype-effort/

The U.S. Army is changing its approach to acquiring a long-range artillery capability and scrapping its 58-caliber Extended Range Cannon Artillery prototyping effort, according to the service’s acquisition chief.

“We concluded the prototyping activity last fall,” Doug Bush told reporters at a March 8 briefing on the fiscal 2025 budget request. “Unfortunately, [it was] not successful enough to go straight into production.”

The new plan — following an “exhaustive” tactical fires study meant to revalidate elements of the extended-range cannon requirement led by Army Futures Command — is to evaluate existing options from industry this summer “to get a sense of the maturity of those systems.”

Of the 24 new Army systems slated to make it into the hands of soldiers by the end of 2023, only the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program missed that goal. The ERCA system uses a service-developed, 58-caliber gun tube mounted on the chassis of a BAE Systems-made Paladin Integrated Management howitzer.

The Army was building 20 prototypes of the ERCA system: two for destructive testing and the remaining 18 for a battalion.

The operational evaluation of ERCA revealed “engineering challenges,” Bush said a year ago. Observations in early testing of prototypes showed excessive wear on the gun tube after firing a relatively low number of rounds.

Army Futures Command leader Gen. James Rainey told Defense News last summer the service was working on a new conventional fires strategy expected by the end of the calendar year. The strategy would determine both capability and capacity of what exists and what the Army may need, Rainey said.

The strategy considered new technology to enhance conventional fires on the battlefield, such as advances in propellant that make it possible for midrange cannons to shoot as far as longer-range systems.

Depending on the artillery strategy’s conclusions, there are a variety of options the service could consider in order to fulfill the Army’s requirement for an extended-range cannon, Bush said.

The Army was able to conduct a variety of successful tests with ERCA prototypes, including hitting a target on the nose 70 kilometers (43 miles) away at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in December 2020 using an Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell.

The problems with the cannon were mostly related to the length of the gun tube and its ability to withstand a large number of projectiles without excessive wear to the gun tube.

The Army is racing to extend artillery ranges on the battlefield to take away advantages of high-end adversaries like Russia and China. The ERCA weapon was intended to be able to fire at and destroy targets from a position out of the range of enemy systems.

That requirement remains, Bush stressed last week.

The hope now is to find systems that currently exist and are capable. The Army would then choose one for production if it proves promising, Bush said.

“There [are] things people say, and then we need to actually do testing to make sure it’s true,” he explained.

“It’s a shift from developing something new to working with what is available both domestically and internationally to get the range,” he added, “because the fires study validated the range and volume are still needed, so we want to find a different way to get there.”

The Army is asking for $55 million in its FY25 budget to pursue the new effort to find an extended-range cannon capability.

The service also plans to continue developing new munitions it was already working on as part of the ERCA program, Bush noted.

[DRG]

Originally Posted by MarkSheppard

Hope nobody did any serious thought as to a icon/OOB slot for ERCA in the US OBAT.

Nope..........

[MarkSheppard]

US Army just deployed their new TYPHON system to the Philippines.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news...e-philippines/

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news...e-mrc-battery/

It's basically a containerized VLS system on trailers -- can fire either SM-6 Standard or Tomahawk Land Attack Missile.

Yes; that's not a typo; they basically took a USN shipboard SAM and made it into a land based SAM.

Currently, the US has two batteries -- one in the philippines now and one working up in CONUS.

I'm not sure whether to add it to the database because we don't know if the Army is going to double down, and get 8 batteries and keep it for the next 35 years or kill it in the next five years.

[DRG]

In many ways this is a weapon system that is beyond the scope of the game........at best borderline

[whdonnelly]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but soon we might have some data points on the effectiveness.

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2024/...s-middle-east/

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

It's good to see we can get it right, M-SHORAD is no more; the system is now officially called the Sgt. Stout as of Saturday 15 June 2024.

From Ref. 2
"The first two SGT STOUT battalions are in Germany and at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the Army recently fielded its third battalion at Fort Cavazos, Texas, in February. In April of 2024, six SGT STOUT vehicles and more than 40 Soldiers provided effective short-range air defense during live-fire exercises as part of DEFENDER 24's Saber Strike exercise in Poland, demonstrating the ability to protect Soldiers like its namesake."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ar...85886340&ei=48
https://www.army.mil/article/277291/...onor_recipient
https://crsreports.congress.gov/prod.../IF/IF12397/11
(I used this source as a primary reference dealing with TRICARE For Life.)

I had posted on this system early but quite frankly haven't tracked it for a while. I only knew the Army was fast tracking the system since it's using both an existing platform and weapons. What's new is the Radar and FCS.

As supported by Ref. 3
". In April 2021, the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment received the first four of its M-SHORAD systems, becoming fully equipped by late 2022."

If we go with the above and Ref. 2 using the word "fielded" that mean START JAN 2023.

But others are saying 2025 for full fielding. The refs. are in line that the only system out there is the Sgt. Stout increment 1 systems of which Ref. 3 goes into detail on that and more.

I think the safe bet here is to "split the difference" and use START JAN 2024.

Regards,
Pat

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

We have the Taiwanese CM-32 however it seems like we missed both the CM-33 and CM-34. along the way.

Not so much worried about the CM-33 but, the CM-34 though sharing the same chassis as its predecessors; comes in at 2 tons heavier part of that is due to the turret but the rest has to be I suspect due to some kind of applique armor upgrade as well.

They are in service as APC/IFV and 120mm mortar carrier in regard to the CM-34.

Track for 120mm/82mm mortar carrier for the CM-32 and likewise in regard the CM-34 also with the 81mm mortar carrier.

Starting with the CM-32 tests and a PROTOTYPE(s) were built for a "Fire Support" version with both a 105mm and 120mm.

This did not materialize for the CM-32. For the CM-34 PROTOTYPE testing should've been completed by the end of last year or very early this year.
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...v-for-delivery
"The vehicle is derived from the common 6.35 m long, 2.7 m wide, and 2.2 m high welded steel hull also used by the in-service CM-32 and CM-33 Cloud Leopard armoured personnel carriers (APCs), although the CM-34 has a combat weight of 24 tonnes as opposed to the 22 tonnes of the earlier variants."

What perplexes me is why there are no AT versions.

They have the following NOW for their helos they wouldn't to modify them much also they've been operating TOW for decades.
TAIPERS as noted is in the field and placing TOW in the process.
"Comprising four major sub-sections (seeker, propulsion, control mechanism, and battery) and the optical fibre cable at the rear, the missile has a smokeless solid-propellant rocket motor, which gives it a cruise speed of about 200 m/s and a maximum strike range of 8 km. Hanwha has said the missile can penetrate up to 1,000 mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA).

The DAPA spokesperson said the missile will arm the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and MUH-1 Marineon helicopters of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC) from 2024."
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...-tank-missiles

Yeah, just realized I got this in the wrong thread @^!-****!

Regards,
Pat

[DRG]

Methinks unit 39 should be the CM-34 with some further adjustments. We go with the data we have at the time and as usual things change. The first version of this went in 2 decades ago

Both need to be reworked and additional vehicles added.....on the list