Denel/GDLS Canada LAV III/T7 (LAV III Light SP Howitzer)

     Notes: Though using the LAV III as a base, this version with a compact turreted 105mm howitzer was developed primarily by Denel.  (Users of the LAV III and Stryker are reportedly already interested in the design, and the South Africans are already advertising it as the LAV III Stryker T7.)  It is also known as the LSPH (Light Self-Propelled Howitzer). Denel approached GDLS Canada after the cancellation of the US NLOS-C, which South Africa was to be a major player in. GDLS is also a major player, and Rheinmetall is developing a new range of ammunition for the gun.  The Stryker Brigades are already putting the LAV III Stryker through heavy field testing, and the US Marines are reportedly also interested. Other possible future users include South Africa, Canada, Britain, and Australia.

     The T7 turret makes the LAV III a useful fire support platform, while keeping the advantages of the LAV III.  Key to the development of the T7 turret was the development of a new lightweight howitzer cannon, including the incorporation of new materials such as composite laminates in gun and mechanism as well as technology borrowed from the G6 1A3 Rhino heavy artillery vehicle, particularly the electronics.

     The LAV III/T7 relies greatly on automation; the crew is only three and one is the driver.  The commander also serves as the gunner and there is an assistant gunner.  The resulting vehicle is small, and can be airdropped from a C-130 aircraft. Virtually all rounds are autoloaded and autorammed.  The autoloading elements and fire control elements have a high degree of redundancy.  All functions are controlled from flat panels displayed around the turret; even the driver has a screen displaying vehicle state, fuel, and mapping information.  The 105mm howitzer does not require any sort of jacks or outriggers to be lowered.  The rear door doubles as an ammunition replenishment door.  The gun is much longer than most 105mm howitzers at L/52.  It is tipped with a multibaffle muzzle brake and a fume extractor, and in a pinch, may be used as a direct-fire vehicle. The gun is fed by two magazines in the hull below the turret – one 56-round projectile magazine, and one 42-charge magazine to the left.  The gun has a fully functional autoloader, but if necessary, the commander and assistant gunner may crawl through a tunnel to operate the turret manually.  The T7 Gun has even demonstrated the extreme-precision shooting of firing three rounds into the same hole in the target.

     As with the LAV III the LAV III/T7 has a Caterpillar 31236 turbocharged diesel developing 350 horsepower and coupled to an automatic transmission.  The driver is in the front left with conventional controls, and a night vision block. The drive is 8x8 and has a central tire inflation system, traction control, and antilock braking. The commander/gunner is on the right side of the turret, with the AG on the left; the commander/gunner has a manually-operated cupola with a weapon mount.  The AG can also operate as a gunner if needed.  However, in most cases, the turret is unmanned, with the commander, gunner, and driver in the front hull, operating the howitzer by remote control. The vehicle has a 10kW APU to run the systems while the vehicle’s engine is off.

     Add-on appliqué armor as well as MEXAS ceramic appliqué armor is available.  (In both cases, this includes an antimine panel on the floor.) The gun itself is actually a gun/howitzer, designed for both direct fire and indirect fire with equal aplomb.  It is meant to reduce fortifications as well as fire support missions, as well as the occasional engagement of enemy vehicles and personnel by direct fire. A new line of ammunition was developed to take advantage of this fact.  In recognition of the reduced crew, the ammunition is unitary, with combustible shell casings.

    Also in recognition of the reduced crew, computers reduce the workload as much as possible, though they allow the LAV III/T7 to act as its own FDC, it can also rapidly and digitally take data from FISTs and FDCs and send them directly to the gun, which at the push of a button will slew and elevate/depress itself to the correct coarse position, requiring only fine adjustments. A GPS and backup intentional navigation system is supplied, along with a mapping computer module.

     The LAV III Stryker is airportable via sling load from a heavy-lift helicopter, and internally in an aircraft at least the size of a C-130.  Though airdropping and LAPES delivery has not yet been tested, Denel asserts that these methods of delivery will be feasible for the LAV III Stryker.

     The T7 turret is also compatible with the Patria AMV and Rooikat, though these configurations have not yet been built.

*Floor AV is 5; Roof AV is 3.

**Floor AV is 5Sp, Roof AV is 4.

***Floor AV is 5Cp, Turret Roof AV is 4Cp, Hull Roof AV is 4.

Denel T5-52 Condor

     Notes: The T5-52 is sort of a counterpart to the French Caesar, but the similarities quickly end as the T5-52 is based on a larger, heavier truck, about a heavy truck. During development, the T5-52 was called the Condor and it still retains that name amongst many of its users and even the chain of command.  The T5-52 is offered for export, and has taken part in many Arms Expositions, but so far only India had bought more than evaluation versions.  However, SANDF is very interested in the design, and Pakistan has the Condor under consideration. SANDF does appear to be more interested in the L/45 version.

     The Condor is based on the Tatra WN 8x8 truck chassis, but the South Africans actually get the trucks from India, where they are manufactured under license. This chassis has a turbocharged diesel engine, developing 355 horsepower.  The truck chassis has automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, antilock brakes, traction control, and run-flat tires which are also puncture resistant and have central tire inflation regulation. The cab is enlarged to fit the four crewmembers that normally ride in the cab, as well as their personal gear and a 30-liter chilled drinking water tank. The cab has air conditioning and heating, as well as a Vehicular NBC system.  The truck can ford 1.4 meters and cross a 2-meter trench.  Suspension is 8x8.  The Condor is fitted with a 30kW APU to provide complete power for the complete gun mechanisms and electronics of the host vehicle and up to two more Condors or 2-5 other types of vehicles such as FDC or command sections.

     Before firing, three stabilizers are lowered; two of these have steps in them to enter the fighting compartment, while the rear jack has a ladder.  In testing, the Condor was to have an L/45 gun, but production versions have an L/52 gun. The gun has a compact muzzle brake and a fume extractor.  The gun is fed by a magazine; the autoloader takes the projectile from the magazine and a power rammer pushes the projectile into the breech, where manually-loaded charges are added.  Fuze affixing is semiautomatic. The gun has the G5-2000 top carriage of the ground-mounted G5.  The gun turntable may rotate 360 degrees for travel, but may normally be fired in a 40-degree deflection from the centerline to the rear (Emergency shots may be taken outside of that 80-degree arc, but it is possible that the vehicle will become overbalanced if the gun is fired very far outside that arc.)  The gun also has a direct fire capability, with a maximum depression of -3 degrees and a maximum elevation of 75 degrees. The T4-52 has considerable computer power to calculate position of the gun given fire control coordinates; among these is an enhanced artillery ballistic computer allowing the gun to execute MRSI fire and may use any sort of Western or Chinese 155mm ammunition.  The gun includes a second autoloader which lifts rounds from the ground and lifts them as a three-round autoloader cassette, from which the round can be loaded into the breech and rammed into position.

     The normal crew for the Condor is eight, but only four travel with the Condor, and are in the cab when traveling.  Four others are transported on ammunition or supply trucks. No commander’s weapon is normally fitted, though the armored versions sometimes mount a light machinegun.

     Fire Control and truck electronics include an inertial navigation system with mapping module, generation of fire coordinates, and automatic gun elevation and turning to get the proper shot.  Though the onboard system can normally generate accurate fire coordinates, targeting will be more accurate if an FDC is used.  The systems may be run off vehicle power or be provided by another vehicle or an external generator.  The vehicle’s engine has a Power Take-Off for this purpose.

     The truck chassis has a 355 horsepower turbocharged diesel engine.  Normally, the truck has no armor protection; however, a kit of light armor able to stop assault rifle rounds and shell splinters may be added.  Despite this, the crew, when working on the gun, has no armor protection.

*The AV value listed is primarily for the cab; however, the underside of the vehicle also benefits from the armor kit.

LIW G6 Rhino

     Notes:  This is the standard South African self-propelled howitzer, and is also in service with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It is essentially a mobile version of the G5 howitzer.  Chile briefly produced the G6 under license as the CC-SP-45, though the vehicle had a short service life in Chile and production was very limited.  The New Iraqi Army also uses a version of the G6.  The Iraqis called their version of the G6 the Al-Manjoon, The Al-Fao version of the Al-Manjoon’s main modification allows for the storage and use of chemical-warhead munitions, something the Al-Manjoon lacks.

     The electronics are just short of being able to act as it’s own FDC – The G6 still requires an FDC for proper firing information, but once the coordinates are transmitted, the G6’s own electronics calculate the fire solution.  These are collected into the indirect fire computer, and the gunner must then only push one button for the gun and turret to automatically lay itself.  The gun also has a telescopic sight for direct fire out to 3 kilometers, plus the gunner’s night vision gear.  Both L/45 and L/52 systems are in service with South Africa, who is in the process changing to L/52; most other countries that use the G6 use the L/52 barrel.  In addition there is the G6/52, which has more advanced systems. The commander has a heavy machinegun on his manually-operated cupola.  Eight smoke grenades launchers round out the armament; these are four per side. The ammunition bins have blow-off panels.  The gun is capable of firing any Western or Chinese 155mm ammunition. The gun has a large muzzle brake and a fume extractor made of glass fiber; this is the subject of some controversy, as an few fume extractors have been discovered with cracks in them. The turret has a rear door on the right for ammunition replenishment. The gun has a maximum elevation of +75 and a maximum depression of -5 degrees.

     Armor is fairly decent for its type of vehicle, able to usually stop 20mm hits from the front, and 7.62mm and grenade and artillery shell splinters all around the vehicle.  The G6 has an MRAP hull, and is capable of surviving a blast from a TM-46 antitank mine (though it may roll the vehicle over).  Power is provided by a 525-horsepower turbocharged diesel, with an automatic transmission and conventional controls.  The engine is located behind the driver. Originally, the G6 had 4x6 suspension, with the front axle not being powered; however, this was quickly upgraded to a 6x6 configuration. The crew is protected by an NBC overpressure system and an automatic fire detection and suppression system. Navigation is by GPS.  One striking feature of the G6 is a powerful 22kW APU, and the G6 is capable of conducting a fire mission on only the APU as power or of powering several vehicles and command-post-type shelters at once..

     The G6 has an interesting driver’s position: it is at the front center, self-contained, with unusually large (for an armored vehicle) armored windows, giving the driver excellent visibility.  He has a swing-down night vision scope.  The driver benefits from an automatic transmission; the driver may also select manual or semiautomatic modes as desired.  He has conventional driving controls.  The large ballistic glass windows can be protected by swing-down armored panels with vision slits in them.  In front of the driver is a wedge-shaped bin that normally stows extra ammunition and doubles as a brush cutter. The driver has no direct access to the fighting compartment; should he wish to go back there, he has to climb out of his compartment, climb up on the turret, and enter through one of the hatches there. The commander is on the top of the right side of the turret, with a manually-operating cupola and all-around vision blocks.  One of these blocks has a night channel.  The second hatch is essentially for everyone else in the crew.  The crew has an air conditioning and heating system, as well as three chilled drinking water tanks, a 10-liter one in the driver’s compartment, a 60-liter one in the turret, and a 60-liter one near the rear door.  The vehicle commander has a limited ability to drive the G6 from his position should the driver become a casualty.

    The G6 is powered by a German-manufactured Magirus Deutz BF12L513 FC V12 turbocharged diesel engine developing 525 horsepower.  Instead of being up front like most armored vehicles, the engine is in between the driver and the crew compartments.  The G6 has large 21x25 run-flat puncture resistant tires.

G6/52

     In addition to having a longer barrel, the G6/52 has additional electronics, self-surveying capability, and the ability to generate its own fire coordinates, thus being able to act as its own FDC.  The G6/52 has been successfully tested with the US M982 Excalibur round.  The G6/52 mounts a more powerful 34 kW APU mounted outside the turret.

Al-Manjoon and Al-Fao

    The Al-Manjoon version of the G6/52 has a crew reduced to five (one less loader), can support sustained fire rates of 8 rounds per minute, has a more powerful version of the standard G6/52 engine which develops 575 horsepower, and is capable of MRSI fire and burst rates of six rounds per minute for 3 minutes.  The Al-Manjoon has additional computer power and software, primarily in the area of processing fire requests and passing them on to the fire control computer more efficiently. The Al-Fao version of the Al-Manjoon is capable of firing and storing properly up to six chemical-warhead rounds, but fire rate is reduced to 6 rounds per minute in a sustained bombardment, or a burst rate of 3 rounds per minute when firing chemical rounds. Armor protection is slightly increased. The Al-Fao also has a special FC computer mode for the firing of chemical projectiles. (The Al-Manjoon does not have the storage racks, gun breech, charges, or special FC settings necessary to fire chemical rounds.)

     Iraq is considering replacing the commander’s M2HB with a CROWS-type station, but details on this have not yet been released, and this version has not been included below.

G6 1A3

     In addition to the improvements of the G6/52, the G6 1A3 features a steel fume extractor instead of the glass fiber fume extractor.  Additional safety interlocks are installed; for example, it is no longer possible to double-load the gun.  The power rammer has been improved, allowing sustained fire rates of six per minute, or a burst rate of about 3 minutes firing at the rate every phase.  This pace puts an additional level of fatigue on the crew (except for the driver).  The vehicle state is monitored; the driver has a Windows-based touch screen which allows him to monitor all aspects of the vehicle’s operation.  The commander’s touch screen functions integrally with the GPS and mapping module. The gunner has a digital rangefinder and display, meaning he can aim without having to look into eyepieces.  The G6 1A3 is capable of MRSI firing.  The driver has a simple screen which allows him to drive in the correct route and range, and monitor systems such as the fuel, engine, and transmission.  The only user of the G6 1A3 is the UAE; it was specifically designed for their use, but is also available on the export market.

*The Al-Manjoon, Al-Fao, and G6 1A3 have a Hull Floor of 5Sp in addition to their normal MRAP hull.