Guns and ammo: Tanks seek to become more lethal [Content preview Subscribe to Jane s International Defence Review for full article] Recent lethality improvements for armoured fighting vehicles have for the most part been focused on ammunition rather than ordnance; however, emerging survivability technology is leading a number of countries to develop new tank guns that will offer enhanced firepower. Christopher F Foss explores programmes underway A main battle tank's (MBT's) primary role is to engage an adversary's armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), but the secondary role of providing fire support for mounted and dismounted infantry persists and indeed has been prevalent of late. Recent and extant operations have emphasised this secondary role and this has led to the development and fielding of more specialised ammunition. The German Army's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2A6 MBT is armed with a Rheinmetall 120 mm L55 smoothbore gun, with Rheinmetall also providing a complete suite of ammunition. (Christopher F Foss) 1403760 Meanwhile, the advent of better protection for tanks has caused a number of countries, including Germany and Russia, to begin developing larger calibre tank guns made of stronger steel that can fire new-generation kinetic energy ammunition with a higher muzzle velocity. Page 1 of 8
Traditionally, the principal MBT round has been of the armour piecing, fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) type that can also feature a tracer element. This is used to neutralise other MBTs and has a long-rod penetrator for maximum effect. These penetrators can be made of a conventional hard material or depleted uranium (DU), the latter favoured by users such as the United Kingdom and United States. The United States is, however, shifting away from DU rounds as they cannot be used for training purposes and can potentially contaminate a battlefield. Chinese evolution Chinese industry has evolved from its initial approach of building local versions of largely Russian designs to a position where is has developed a number of indigenous weapon systems and ammunition types. A locally produced version of the Russian 100 mm D10 series rifled gun has equipped the China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) Type 59 MBT - based on the T-54 - and Chinese industry has also manufactured a 105 mm rifled gun and associated ammunition based on Western design. That 105 mm rifled gun has been retrofitted to the Type 59 MBT and is being installed in other Chinese MBTs, including the Type 69 and Type 80. Subsequently a 125 mm smoothbore gun was introduced - fed by an automatic loader mounted under the turret, similar to those installed on Russian MBTs. This gun is fitted to the Chinese MBT 3000 (also referred to as the VT4), Type 98/99, MBT 2000, VT2, and Type 85 MBTs. The Chinese MBT3000 (VT4) is being offered on the export market and is armed with 125 mm smoothbore gun fed by an automatic loader. (NORINCO) 1517399 Page 2 of 8
Germany in the lead In Western Europe, Germany leads the MBT armament field and Rheinmetall has plans in place to grow its existing ordnance and ammunition offerings, as well as to introduce new types. The German Army's Leopard 2 MBT is armed with a Rheinmetall 120 mm L44 smoothbore gun, the two main rounds for which are an APFSDS with a conventional penetrator and a HEAT-MP round. Rheinmetall has continuously developed APFSDS ammunition and the latest - the DM63/DM63A1 - increases armour penetration and, like all of the company's APFSDS rounds, has a conventional penetrator rather than a DU variant. Aside from Leopard 2, Rheinmetall's L44 is also used on the US General Dynamics Land Systems M1A1/M1A2 Abrams, although this version has a number of modifications such as a different breech mechanism. The US version is designated the M256 and is manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal. Meanwhile, the company's L55 tank gun has been developed as a longer-barrel replacement for the L44 with better range when using the kinetic energy round. The gun and its ammunition have some stretch potential but there will eventually be no room for further improvements. Using internal research and development funding, Rheinmetall has developed a new 130 mm smoothbore gun that was shown for the first time in June 2016 with mock ups of its new 130 mm APFSDS round compared with the current 120 mm DM63. (Rheinmetall) 1682540 Accordingly the company is developing a 130 mm smoothbore gun and an associated 130 mm APFSDS round that were both shown for the first time at Eurosatory in June 2016. The company is now starting firing trials for both. Development of the gun commenced in 2015, with the company using internal funding for the project. The first technical demonstrator (TD) was completed in May 2016. The new 130 mm smoothbore gun is an L51 weapon and has a vertical sliding breech mechanism, increased chamber volume, and is chrome lined. However, it is not fitted with a muzzle brake. Few details of the gun have been released, but the company is quoting an all-up weight of 3,000 kg, which includes the recoil system - the barrel alone is stated as weighing 1,400 kg. Page 3 of 8
An example shown at Eurosatory was fitted with a thermal sleeve and muzzle reference system (MRS), both of which will be fitted for the upcoming firing trials. The MRS enables the weapon to be bore sighted on a more regular basis and without the crew needing to leave the platform. The new generation APFSDS round will feature a semi-combustible cartridge case, new propellant, and a new advanced long-rod tungsten penetrator. This is set to be followed by a highexplosive air-bursting munition (HE ABM) that will have a number of fuze options. This HE ABM round will leverage technology from the 120 mm DM11 HE ABM, currently in production for use with the L44 and L55 guns. The APFSDS and HE ABM rounds will be insensitive munition (IM)-compliant - a requirement coming from an increasing number of customers - and all that will remain after firing is the stub cartridge case. Nexter Systems' Leclerc MBT is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun that fires bar-coded ammunition. (Nexter Systems) 0501255 Rheinmetall is positioning the new gun and ammunition as a potential armament for future MBTs or direct-fire platforms, and it could potentially be retrofitted to existing MBTs. As well as equipping conventional three-person turrets, the armament may have the ability to be integrated on a two-person turret - commander and gunner - fitted with an automatic loader, which would make the turret smaller and more compact. Page 4 of 8
The US Army's General Dynamics Land Systems M1A1 Abrams uses a 120 mm M256 smoothbore gun that is a further development of the German Rheinmetall 120 L44. (GDLS) 1459957 Italian options In the guise of Oto Melara, Leonardo has been producing 105 mm rifled and 120 mm smoothbore tank guns for many years, and the company has also developed low recoil 105 mm rifled guns that have been installed on the Centauro 8x8 Mobile Gun System (MGS), currently in service with Italy, Spain, and Jordan. Most recently, a 120/45-calibre high-pressure smoothbore gun has been developed and equips the Centauro II MGS. This is fitted with a muzzle brake, thermal sleeve, fume extractor, and MRS, and can fire all standard 120 mm rounds. As an option a 120 mm L52 LRF could be an alternative that would potentially give a longer range when firing kinetic-energy ammunition. Belgium's CMI Defence has established a niche in armoured vehicle armaments and alongside its range of turrets produces two 90 mm rifled guns - the Mk 8 and the Mk 3 - and the 105 mm CV, which is also rifled. Page 5 of 8
The Mk 8 is installed in the company's LCTS 90MP (Medium Pressure) two-person turret, while the Mk 3 equips the CSE 90LP (Low Pressure) two-person turret. The 105 mm CV gun was originally installed in the two-person CT-CV turret fitted with a bustlemounted automatic loader that reduced the turret crew requirement to a commander and gunner. The CT-CV completed development but no production contracts are known to have been placed. One potential application for the 105 mm CV is CMI Defence's Cockerill 3000 Series Modular Turret System that is in production for an undisclosed export customer - understood to be Saudi Arabia - and is thought to include installation on some of Saudi Arabia's latest General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada 8x8 Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs). General Dynamics European Land Systems - MOWAG Desert Piranha is shown fitted with the CMI Defence Cockerill 3105 turret and armed with the CMI Defence 105 mm CT rifled gun. (CMI Defence) 1630229 Israeli ammo Israeli industry is working to improve lethality through enhancements to the ammunition types employed by the Israel Defense Force's (IDF's) MBTs. The locally developed, but now out of service, Merkava Mk 1 and Mk 2 were armed with an IMI 105 mm rifled gun, while the more recent Merkava Mk 3 and Mk 4 are equipped with IMI's 120 mm MG251/MG253 smoothbore guns respectively - the latter also equips Turkey's M60T Sabra platforms. Page 6 of 8
In addition to developing new generations of APFSDS ammunition, IMI has increased its emphasis on developing and producing 120 mm tank rounds optimised for urban operations, with the latter including an anti-personnel/anti-materiel round. IMI has also developed 105 mm rifled and 120 mm smoothbore low recoil guns, but these are not known to have entered production and are aimed mainly at the export market. Russian expansion Russia has generally fielded larger calibre tank guns than NATO members, and the T-72, T-80, T- 90, and latest T-14 Armata MBTs are all armed with 125 mm smoothbore guns developed by Artillery Plant No 9. These can fire guided projectiles as well as a range of conventional ammunition. While at first the focus for guided projectiles was placed on a radio-guided round in the form of the Kobra (the complete system for which was designated 9K112), Russia shifted emphasis to LGPs that have been produced in 100 mm, 115 mm, and 125 mm calibres - 100 mm for the BMP-3 IFV and the T-12 towed anti-tank gun (ATG); and 125 mm for the Sprut ATG. The latest 125 mm LGPs have a maximum range of 5,000 m and are fitted with a tandem HEAT warhead. US efforts The main anti-armour round employed by the US Army and US Marine Corps M1A1/M1A2 MBTs is the M829 APFSDS-T, which has a DU penetrator for enhanced penetration characteristics. This has been continuously developed with longer penetrators and improved effects; the latest version being the M829A3 which has a muzzle velocity of 1,552 m/s and an effective target engagement range of 3,000 m. Page 7 of 8
The Turkish Altay MBT is armed with a chrome-lined 120 mm smoothbore gun. (Otokar) 1684899 Ammunition for the 120 mm M256 smoothbore gun is manufactured by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and Orbital ATK Armament Systems, and for the export market both contractors offer a 120 mm APFSDS-T round with a non-du penetrator. The 120 mm HEAT- MP-T is designated the M830A1 and other specialised rounds include the 120 mm M1028 antipersonnel cluster cartridge. For the full version and more content: IHS Jane's Military & Security Assessments Intelligence Centre This analysis is taken from IHS Jane s Military & Security Assessments Intelligence Centre, which delivers comprehensive and reliable country risk and military capabilities information, analysis and daily insight. IHS country risk and military capabilities news and analysis is also available within IHS Jane s Intelligence Review. To learn more and to subscribe to IHS Jane s Intelligence Review online, offline or print visit http://magazines.ihs.com/ For advertising solutions contact the IHS Jane s Advertising team Page 8 of 8