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As the Ukraine war passes the 500-day mark, how are NATO’s factories meeting the artillery challenge? 

NATO is rapidly increasing its supply of equipment to Ukraine in a number of key areas including tube artillery and, crucially, its ammunition.

At the recent Future Artillery conference held in Munich, Germany, many insights were given into how members of NATO are stepping up to this challenge after years of industrial neglect.

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Despite the march of technological progress, field artillery (FA) is still the only source of firepower available on a 24/7 basis in all weather conditions, something close air support cannot accomplish.

While FA is traditionally used for suppressive fire, careful design of the 155mm projectile and fitting a precision guidance kit (PGK) can provide step-changes in accuracy. This means less projectiles are needed to neutralise a target, which reduces the logistics burden.

This capability is vital in the defence of Ukraine, and some members of NATO have provided ammunition from reserve or prepositioned stock to meet the immediate need. But now, production lines in NATO are basically on a war footing.

Some artillery systems deployed by Ukrainian forces are firing over 100 projectiles a day, and Russia itself could be expending anything from 30,000 to 100,000 rounds every 24 hours, plus numerous artillery rockets.

The largest supplier of ammunition in NATO is unsurprisingly the US with its major ammunition factories being government-owned and contractor-operated.

Until recently, the US produced around 10,000 high explosive (HE) rounds every month but this is being rapidly stepped up and now running at around 25,000 rounds a month, with a further step change due in mid FY2024 to 50,000 with the ultimate goal being 85,000 in the longer term.

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In addition to these quantities of basic HE projectiles, factories are also turning out modular charge systems and other specialist natures, guided and unguided.

By mid-2023 the US had supplied Ukraine with over two million rounds of 155mm plus more than 7,000 Raytheon M982-series Excalibur precision guided munitions.

The US has also been able to source ammunition for Russian artillery calibres used by Ukraine including 50,000 152mm, over 50,000 130mm and 40,000 122mm projectiles plus 60,000 122mm rockets.

Above: Germany is to provide Ukraine with 18 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann RCH 155 systems based on the ARTEC Boxer MRAV platform. (Photo: KMW)

Some European members of NATO are also stepping up their ammunition production with NAMMO of Norway deciding as early as 24 February 2022 to commit €50 million for raw materials such as explosives, energetics and steel without any firm orders in place.

NAMMO aims to double its artillery and missile production, and its investment is now over 15 times more than during a typical financial year before the war.

Stepping up production not only means obtaining raw materials but taking on more people to increase shift capacity, as well as ordering new machines which can have a lead time of 12 to 36 months, so this is no small undertaking.

While there is a NATO Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding for 155mm rounds with a 23-litre chamber, there is still a wide range of different projectiles and charges, let alone fuzes, manufactured in many NATO countries and the introduction of 155mm 58 and 60cal ordnance with larger chamber sizes could further complicate this picture.

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Until recently the main calibre of artillery weapons in Ukraine have been the Russian 122mm and 152mm, although Kyiv had made the decision to move to the 155mm standard before the invasion.

NATO members have rushed significant quantities of conventional 105mm and 155mm tube artillery systems to Ukraine as well as M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) and the more agile M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HMARS) which is still in production.

Tube artillery systems supplied to Ukraine are varied and this author has counted at least 13 different variations, covering tracked, wheeled and towed howitzers.

The crews for these have to be trained and vital spare parts secured. During peacetime training, these guns are used with care and fire very few rounds.

When deployed for extended periods wear and tear takes place which means that weapons must be withdrawn for repair. Gun barrels can easily wear out when used at maximum range with top charge.

While some weapons supplied to Ukraine were nearing the end of their lives, others are almost brand-new and will have to be replaced eventually by their donor armies.

Denmark, for example, will replace its 19 Nexter CAESAR 8x8 systems supplied to Ukraine with 19 Elbit ATMOS 155mm systems as well as placing a $305 million contract for 20 Precise & Universal Launching System (PULS) artillery rocket launchers which will be based on a Scania truck chassis.

Denmark did deploy the older M270 MLRS but these were phased out of service many years ago as they launched Phase 1 unguided rockets which contained 644 sub-munitions that did not meet the Ottawa convention.

Germany has placed contracts with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for 12 PzH 2000 155mm/52cal systems to replace those supplied to Ukraine – luckily the production line is still alive as 24 have recently been completed for Hungary. There is an option on an additional 18 in three lots of six for Germany.

Above: The Royal Netherlands Army will get 20 Elbit Precise & Universal Launching Systems (PULS) for installation on a Scania truck. This is shown here deployed with two pods each of four missiles. (Photo: Elbit Systems)

The Netherlands also ordered a batch of ten Elbit PULS as its 22 M270 MLRS were phased out many years ago.

There was a State Department possible Foreign Military Sale to the Netherlands worth $670 million for 20 M142 HIMARS but this was not taken up.

Some European countries are also enhancing their artillery capability. Sweden for several years was without any artillery and the joint procurement of 48 BAE Systems Archer systems on a Volvo 6x6 all-terrain platform with Norway collapsed.

In the end Sweden took delivery of all 48 Archers as well as placing an order for an additional 24 based on a Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles HX chassis, bringing the fleet up to 72 units.

In the short term 14 Archers on the Volvo chassis are being transferred to the UK to plug an AS90 capability gap. Sweden is also expected to order artillery rocket systems.

When the dust of this conflict eventually settles, many rounds will have been produced, delivered and fired, and the artillery capabilities of most European armies will look radically different. 

How new fuze technology is pushing flexibility to the limit

SIMMEL Difesa, the Italian subsidiary of the KNDS Group, has revealed that it has completed development of a new Fuze with multi-Option of NeXter (tenuously abbreviated to FOX), which has been designed for use with 105mm and 155mm NATO standard artillery projectiles.

According to SIMMEL industrial qualification is ongoing and will be completed within 2023.

Above: The FOX fuze will add new options for militaries fielding 155mm artillery systems. (Photo: US Army)

Trials of the FOX fuze have been carried out on a number of projectiles including 105mm M1 high explosive (HE), 155mm M107 HE and 155mm HE Extended Range Boat Tail (HE ER BT) using low to high propelling charges and from -40 to +63°C.

Its design is such that it can also be used with other projectiles including 155mm Base Bleed (BB) projectiles which have a higher muzzle velocity when fired from 39 and 52cal weapons at maximum charge.

While marketed as FOX, the fuze is formally designated the Mod FB375 Mk 2 IM (Insensitive Munition) and according to SIMMEL ‘is designed and successfully tested to be compliant with the highest insensitivity levels as per NATO IM standards in order to assure the maximum safety during the complete logistics and operative life of the fuze’.

The new FOX is an inductively programmable multi-option fuze with four operating modes for greater operational flexibility.

These are proximity with three height of burst (HOB) options (low, medium and high); point detonating (PD) in super quick (SQ) mode; delay with up to 60ms in 1ms increments; and time from 1-199 seconds in 0.1 second increments.

Each of these operating and mission parameters can be inductively set by device that is compliant with STANAG 4369/AOP 22 standards such as the SIMMEL Difesa FB.22.

The reinforced fuze body enhances post-impact reliability because it protects the electronics and pyro elements in case of penetration of hard targets in delay mode.

In addition, FOX has a radar proximity sensor with Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar technology to provide the best HOB accuracy as well as affording a high counter-measure resistance.

Chain Guns take on drones in Ukraine as M-ACE programme evolves

Northrop Grumman has confirmed that its 30mm M230 LF Chain Gun is fitted to the gun trucks based on a Ford 250 4x4 pickup platform being supplied to Ukraine as part of the Northrop Grumman Mobile Acquisition Cueing and Effector (M-ACE) programme.

Above: The Northrop Grumman Mobile Acquisition Cueing and Effector (M-ACE) consists of the 30mm M230 LF Chain Gun (left) and sensor package (retracted) on the right. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

A total of nine systems have been provided to Kyiv as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), with first deliveries being made late in 2022 and completion by mid-2023.

In a statement, Rob Menti, counter-unmanned strategy business development lead at Northrop Grumman, said: ‘Our M-ACE provides the ability to detect, identify, track and defeat Class 1 and Class 2 unmanned aerial threats. Additionally, by fielding the M-ACE and gun trucks, military organisations are increasing their ability to provide all domain force protection on today’s battlefield where these same gun trucks can provide the firepower necessary to defeat a variety of threats – not just countering enemy drones.’

Each M-ACE consists of two key parts, weapon and sensor. The former is a pedestal mounted Chain Gun with electric power traverse and elevation.

The sensor package is mounted on the top of an extendable tower at the rear of the pickup and according to Northrop Grumman takes only two minutes to be deployed to a maximum height of 30ft for extended-range coverage.

The sensor pack consists of a three-dimensional radar to provide coverage through 360 degrees, radio frequency sensors and an electro optical/infra-red camera suite to provide almost an all-weather capability.

In addition it has a global positioning system (GPS) and command and control (C2) system which can receive target information from other sources.

When a UAV is confirmed as hostile and within range the Chain Gun is slewed onto the target to carry out the actual engagement.

The normal round used would be the US 30x113mm M799 high-explosive incendiary (HEI) which for this application is percussion primed with electrical priming being an option. The practice round used is the M788 but the gun can fire all standard ADEN and DEFA rounds.

It is understood that the M-ACE has also been demonstrated with 30mm XM1211 proximity fuze round for enhanced capability.

The M230 LF is the linkless feed version of the combat-proven M230 cannon which is standard equipment for the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

Above: M-ACE has so far only been integrated on a Ford 250 chassis but installation on similar vehicle types is possible. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

According to Northrop Grumman there is considerable flexibility at the sub-system level so that M-ACE can be tailored to meet the specific end user’s operational need.

While the current production M-ACE uses a Ford 250 the system can be integrated on a variety of chassis with a truck bed of 8ft or more. Other effectors may be installed such as non-kinetic and directed energy weapons.

Prior to M-ACE the only known application for the M230 LF was in the Remote Multipurpose Turret System fitted to a batch of Desert Chameleon 6x6 internal security vehicles supplied to the Kuwait Ministry of the Interior.

M10 Booker (US)

This month’s featured programme entry from Shephard Defence Insight

Part of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) modernisation project, Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) is a US Army programme to acquire a light tank armed with a 105mm gun.

In December 2018, both General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and BAE Systems were awarded development contracts for this programme, worth up to $335 million and $376 million, respectively.

The programme transitioned into the LRIP phase in July 2022 as the US military awarded a $1.14 billion contract to GDLS. The initial low-rate production contract, valued at $257.6 million, includes 96 units, and a full-rate production decision is due in Q3 FY2025.

The US Army’s total acquisition objective is 504 vehicles.

The MPF has now been officially re-named as the M10 Booker as it enters service within the US military.

Programme Background

Inception & NGCV

The US Army launched the MPF programme in 2015 when it unveiled its Combat Vehicle Modernization Strategy. This new platform will provide IBCTs with a highly mobile direct fire support platform that can enable combined arms and expeditionary operations. In 2018, the MPF programme was incorporated into the US Army's overarching Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) programme, an umbrella project to modernise key armoured vehicle capabilities.

Bids & Suppliers

Prototypes

An RfP for the MPF programme was released in October 2017. BAE Systems offered an updated variant of the M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), while GDLS developed a new platform based upon components from its Austro-Spanish Cooperative Development (ASCOD) IFV family and the M1 Abrams MBT.

This led to both BAE Systems and GDLS being downselected to each produce 12 prototypes and two sets of turrets and hulls for ballistic testing under the development phase of the programme. GDLS and BAE Systems were subsequently awarded contracts worth up to $335 million and $376 million respectively in December 2018.

Both companies were required to deliver all 12 prototypes within 14 months of the contract award to allow for the Soldier Vehicle Assessment (SVA) to commence in January 2021. However, teething troubles with integration and disruption caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic delayed plans to deliver the vehicles between March and August 2020.

Instead, GDLS had delivered two prototypes by August 2020, which had been joined by a third by the beginning of October 2020. Ten had been delivered by early December 2020 and the two remaining prototypes were delivered by the end of the month. Meanwhile, BAE Systems failed to deliver any prototypes in 2020, though it did hand over the two turret and hull sets for ballistic testing. The company handed over its prototype in February 2022, one and a half years later than anticipated.

According to reports, BAE Systems has been disqualified from the programme due to noncompliance issues. Neither BAE, GDLS nor the US Army have confirmed this information until Q2 FY2022. After the signing of an initial production contract in July 2022, GDLS remains the sole competitor for the programme award. 

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