Attempt to Select a New Self-Propelled Artillery System: US Army Announces Requirements

The US Army has announced the official requirements for the tender to purchase a new self-propelled artillery system.

Breaking Defense, which received exclusive access to the requirements, disclosed them.

Among other things, the document includes a provision requiring domestic production of the selected self-propelled artillery system in the United States.

In addition, one requirement is that the new howitzer must have the same armor as the current M109A7 self-propelled artillery system, while providing increased “mobility and transportability.”

The publication notes that the mention of armor may indicate that the army prefers a tracked system or a modernized version of the M109A7.

Of the currently known competitors, only the South Korean K9 self-propelled gun from Hanwha has a tracked chassis, while BAE continues to produce M109A7 self-propelled howitzers in the US.

The new self-propelled gun for the US Army is capable of firing all modern 155 mm artillery ammunition manufactured in the US. It also has a firing range of up to 58 km with conventional shells and 70 km with guided ammunition.

The artillery system must provide a sustained rate of fire of at least six rounds per minute without aiming and three rounds per minute with aiming.

In addition, it must be capable of carrying more than three high-precision shells (e.g., Excalibur) and moving on roads and off-road at the level of the M142 HIMARS.

It must also be easily transportable by air, sea, rail, and road, and be reliable and maintainable to ensure continuous combat operations and minimize logistical burden.

What preceded the issue

After the cancellation of the development of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) long-range artillery system in the US last year, army officials embarked on a world tour in search of existing self-propelled howitzers. After reviewing proposals from five companies — BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, Hanwha, and Rheinmetall — the Army announced plans to launch a competition to select an existing platform, rather than starting development of an entirely new weapon.

However, this competition was temporarily suspended as part of the Army Transformation Initiative. Then, at the end of September, the military moved on to the next phase and published a request for information (RFI) regarding the possible testing of existing self-propelled artillery models from various manufacturers by US Armed Forces units.