British Army: integrated review funds artillery modernisation

By Ian Kemp

Developed in the 1980s, the AS90 self-propelled howitzer was never upgraded and still retains its original 155mm/39 cal ordnance, the British Army aiming now at replacing it with a 52 cal barrel artillery system. © UK Crown copyright

The past 25 years has seen the development of a bewildering number of force structure models for the British Army driven by a combination of future threat analysis, the urgency of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the promise, sometimes elusive, of new technology, and the harsh reality that there never has been enough funds available to support the aspirations of the three services. The sad saga of the Army’s armoured vehicle projects over this period is well documented. Several key projects intended to modernise the Royal Artillery have also collapsed – the acquisition of smart 155 mm ammunition, the modernisation of the AS90 155 mm/39 cal self-propelled artillery system to a 52 calibre weapon, and the Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System (LIMAWS) project which was intended to deliver a 155 mm LIMAWS-Gun and a LIMAWS-Rocket system, compact enough to be transported by a C-130 Hercules aircraft.

The British Army has grouped its M270B1 MLRS launchers into a single precision fires regiment to improve the army’s divisional warfighting capability. © UK Crown copyright

On 22 March 2021, a week following the government’s release of Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, the Ministry of Defence published a Defence Command Paper (DCP), Defence in a Competitive Age. “The Integrated Review has set the Army on a course for the most radical transformation in two decades. Under ‘Future Soldier’ we will become a modern Army that is more agile, more integrated and more expeditionary – ready for the next challenge, not the last,” stated the Army. “The future battlefield will be different. It will be harder to hide and weapons will destroy with greater accuracy, range and precision.”

To provide a divisional-level warfighting capability, the Army will be reorganised into five new ‘brigade combat teams’ for ground manoeuvre: • “A new Deep Recce Strike BCT will give the

Army a formidable find and strike capability, connecting longer range artillery, electronic attack and attack helicopters with the reconnaissance capabilities of Ajax and uncrewed aerial systems.” • “Two Heavy BCTs formed from the modernisation of two Armoured Infantry Brigades. Over the next decade these will be equipped with Ajax armoured reconnaissance, Challenger 3 Main

Battle Tanks and Boxer mechanised infantry vehicles.” • “One Light BCT consisting of light cavalry in Jackal and light mechanised infantry in

Foxhound.” • “One Light BCT consisting of light cavalry and light infantry.” • A rapid reaction capability will be provided by an air manoeuvre BCT, based on 16 Air Assault

Brigade, and a combat aviation BCT grouping the Army’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and the CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters of the Royal Air Force.

Although the details of the new structure are still being developed, and will not be announced until later this year, the broad strokes of the equipment plan are clear including three artillery projects designed to shift the focus from the close to the deep battle: “We plan to invest over £ 250 million over ten years in the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) which will provide an upgraded long-range rocket artillery platform with new missiles that travel further and are more accurate. In addition, the Army is spending over £800m over the next ten years on a new automated Mobile Fires Platform that will deliver enhanced close support artillery systems and greater operational mobility. In the short term, the Army will invest to sustain the Exactor missile system. Over the longer-term this capability will be upgraded to provide enhanced lethality against emerging threats.”

Long range missiles

The UK has allocated £250 million to modernise 44 M270B1 launchers with work scheduled to begin in the USA in March 2022. © UK Crown copyright

the initial four from Lockheed Martin and the remainder from the European production line, from 1989 to equip three regiments and 16 newly delivered launchers participated in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. Launchers, upgraded to the M270B1 British Army standard, which is comparable to the US Army M270A1 configuration and able to launch Guided MLRS rockets, were deployed in 2007 to support coalition operations in Afghanistan.

From 2014 until 2019, three close support/ offensive support regiments included MLRS, AS90 and Exactor batteries. In 2018-19, 26th Regiment Royal Artillery was rerolled to become the Army’s Divisional Fires Regiment, grouping all the precision fires (PF) batteries into one regular regiment in support of 3 Division. The regiment has three PF batteries which each operate nine MLRS launchers and one PF battery equipped with eight Exactor 2 launchers. The MLRS also equips the Army Reserve’s 101st Regiment RA which is paired with 26 Regiment. The only MLRS munition currently in UK service is the M31A1FA GMLRS-Unitary rocket which carries a single high explosive warhead.

On 31 March, the Army announced that the MOD had reached an agreement with the US Department of Defense for a five-year programme to modernise 44 M270 launchers with the framework of the established partnership between Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and the US Army Red River Army Depot in Texas to refurbish and upgrade US Army M270A1 launchers to the M270A2 standard.

The first tranche of British launchers will be shipped to the USA for work to begin in March 2022 with production expected to continue over a four-year period. Like US Army launchers, British systems will be refurbished to ‘zero time’ standard with new engines, transmissions, Launcher-

The UK will acquire Lockheed Martin’s new Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) which increases the range of the GMLRS from 84km to 150km. © Lockheed Martin

Loader Modules, and Improved Armored Cabs. The UK is also developing UK-specific systems including a vehicle camera, radar system, and Composite Rubber Tracks (CRT), which will provide better fuel economy.

“The upgrades will ensure that the Army’s land deep fires capability remains strong for the next three decades and that the British Army has the technological capability to quickly meet the threats of today and tomorrow,” said the Army statement. “The upgrades will keep the equipment in service until 2050.”

Under a separate, yet to be awarded contract, the UK expects to field in 2025 the Extended Range GMLRS (ER-GMLRS) now under development by Lockheed Martin which will extend the range of the GMLRS from 84 to 150 km. The updated launchers will also be able to fire the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which has a range of 499 km and is expected to be in US Army service from 2024. “These weapons will place the British Army at the cutting edge of global deep fires capability, ready to respond to long range air defence and missile threats presented by hostile actors,” said the Army.

Lockheed Martin announced on 12 May 2021 that the PrSM had successfully completed its fourth consecutive flight test with the US Army achieving a range of 400 km at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The flight was the first of three demonstrations that will take place this year as part of the Enhanced Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (ETMRR) phase of the development program including a maximum range flight test planned for the autumn.

Short range missiles

A short-range precision fires capability is provided by the Exactor 2 launcher and Exactor missiles, the UK designation for the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile system. The Exactor was acquired discretely through the urgent operational requirement process for use in Iraq. The UK initially received 14 M113 launcher vehicles from Israel Defence Forces stock and an unspecified number of Mk2 missiles equipped with a daylight camera and Mk4 missiles fitted with a thermal imaging system for night operations. The Exactor was first deployed to Iraq in 2007 and two years later to Afghanistan where it was used to “devastating effect” according to the Royal Artillery.

Building on feedback from these deployments, and with development funding from the UK, Rafael developed the towed Exactor 2 launcher and the Mk5 missile equipped with a dual-mode electro-optical sensor, a combination which was first displayed in 2010. Each Exactor 2 fire unit is armed with four missiles, fitted with either high explosive anti-tank or fragmentation warheads, capable of engaging targets out to a range of 24 km. The compact Exactor 2 can be underslung by helicopter enabling the weapon to support the Army’s rapid reaction 16 Air Assault Brigade, a capability that was demonstrated earlier this year when Exactors were grouped with the 105 mm L118 Light Guns of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery during Exercise Cypher Strike.

In development for the US Army, Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile will be able strike targets to a maximum range of 499km. © US Army

In service since 1992, the Royal Artillery’s AS90 still retains its original 155 mm/39 cal ordnance. © UK Crown copyright The DCP states that in “the short term, the Army will invest to sustain the Exactor missile system. Over the longer-term this capability will be upgraded to provide enhanced lethality against emerging threats.” Rafael has sold elements of the Spike family to 35 countries, including 19 NATO nations, and has demonstrated how the Spike NLOS can easily be integrated into a wide variety of wheeled and tracked platforms. This broader customer base ensures that the company continues to invest in developing the Spike family. BAE Systems Bofors is expected to offer its International Archer 155 mm/52 cal artillery system, shown here integrated on a Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles HX2 8x8 truck, for the Mobile Fires Platform requirement. © BAE Systems

Mobile Fires Platform

The AS90 155 mm/39 cal tracked system was designed and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (acquired by BAE Systems in 1999) to meet the requirements of the British Army and the company delivered 179 weapons between 1992 and 1995. Fitted with an L31 39 cal barrel, the AS90 can achieve a range of 24.7 km firing a standard projectile. Operated by a crew of five, the 45 tonnes AS90 is equipped with an autonomous navigation and gun-laying system based on the vehicle’s inertial navigation system. The AS90 can fire three rounds in a 10 second burst, achieve an intense rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute for 3 minute and maintain as sustained rate of 2 rounds per minutes for 60 minutes. The vehicle carries 48 projectiles and charges. Plans announced by the MOD in 1998, to equip the AS90 with the BAE Systems Land Systems UK 155 mm/52 cal Extended Range Ordnance were abandoned. The company developed an AS90 155 mm/52 cal turret for the export market and this is manufactured under license for the Polish Krab tracked self-propelled howitzer system. The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) procurement agency issued a key user requirements (KUR) document for the MFP on 27 January 2020 following a previous request for information (RFI). The document specified a threshold requirement for a weapon able to fire a future family of 155 mm/52 cal ammunition, including a Tactical Guided Munition (Indirect) (TGM[I]) and High Explosive Base Bleed (HEBB) munitions, which will be procured through a separate Close Support Fires Programme. The

Another contender for the UK’s Mobile Fire Platform, the Elbit Systems ATMOS 155 mm/52 cal system can be mounted on various 6x6 and 8x8 platforms. © Elbit Systems

objective requirement is for a system that can fire a future Armour Seeking Area Effects Munition (ASAEM) and rocket-assisted projectiles.

The initial Request for Information stipulated that the system must achieve a minimum range of 30 km using unassisted ammunition with an objective range of 40 km and be capable of firing a five-round multiple round simultaneous impact (MRSI) engagement at 25 km and a sustained suppressive fire rate of 20 rounds/minute for up to 10 minutes. The KUR simply asks for a high cyclic rate of fire and the ability to generate intense and sustained engagements better than the AS90 at all ranges, as well as an MRSI mission. The objective requirement is for burst engagements at all ranges.

The threshold requirement is for system that whether moving or stationary can come into action and be ready to fire no more than 60 seconds from the receipt of a fire mission while the objective requirement is within 30 seconds. It anticipates that a high level of automation will be needed to achieve these response times. The MFP must be able to redeploy within 30 seconds after completing the fire mission. The MFP must provide a high level of protection from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and kinetic energy threats.

The threshold requirement is for a system that can be carried by Royal Air Force C-17 strategic transport aircraft with an objective requirement of transport by the service’s A400M. The KUR does not specify a preference for a tracked or wheeled weapon, but a high level of tactical mobility is required once the MFP is in theatre; the system must be able to travel 520 km in 24 hours, with 200 km on unbounded roads and 30 km off-road. All MFP platforms must be fully operational at the end of a road march. The objective requirement is for 750 km of travel in 24 hours.

The original requirement was for 135 MFPs to equip four close support regiments although it remains to be seen if this will remain the number required for the new force structure. At present only two regiments, 19 Regiment RA and 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, are equipped with AS90.

The Defence and Security Equipment International 2021 exhibition in London in September should provide a clear indication of which companies intend to complete for the MFP project; these are expected to include BAE Systems (Archer), Elbit UK (ATMOS), Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (RCH 155), and Nexter (CAESAR) offering wheeled systems and Hanwha Defense proposing its tracked K9.

At DSEI 2019, BAE Systems Bofors unveiled its International Archer 155 mm/52 cal artillery system integrated on a Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles HX2 8x8 truck, designed to ensure commonality with the British Army’s RMMV tactical truck fleet. The original Archer, developed to meet the requirement of the Swedish Army, is mounted on a Volvo A30 6x6 articulated hauler;

A recent picture of KMW’s RCH 155 in its LRIP 1 configuration; a redesigned AGM module is integrated on the ARTEC 8x8 Boxer chassis, which recently entered production for the British Army’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle project. © KMW

Nexter CAESAR. The Danish Army is the launch customer for the Nexter Systems CAESAR 8x8 155mm/52 cal SPH which builds on the success of the CAESAR 6x6. © Nexter Systems

Sweden has 48 Archers, including 24 originally built for Norway before it left the programme, and the 2021-25 Defence Plan includes funding for the acquisition of another 24 systems. The Archer features a high degree of automation enabling a crew of three or four to operate the weapon from the protection of an armoured cab. Ammunition is fed into the breach by a 21-round autoloader, which enables a rate of fire of up to nine rounds per minute. Ranges of 30 km with standard ammunition, 40 km with base-bleed ammunition and 50 km with the M982 Excalibur precisionguided munition can be achieved. As well as the British Army, BAE Systems Bofors believes that basing Archer on the HX2, or another, 8×8 platform will appeal to a wider potential export market.

Elbit System UK is expected to offer the Israeli parent company’s 155mm/52 cal Autonomous Truck Mounted howitzer System (ATMOS) which can be mounted on any suitable 6x6 or 8x8 truck such as the RMMV HX2. Operated by a crew of four to six personnel the ATMOS incorporates an embedded electronic suite, automatic laying system and automatic loading system. The crew travel in an armoured cab and dismount to operate the weapon. The system can fire the first round within 30 seconds of the receipt of a fire mission, fire up to eight rounds per minute and fire up to five rounds to achieve an MRSI. On 21 January 2021 Elbit Systems UK announced that it had received a £102 million Ministry of Defence contract to supply its Dismounted Joint Fires Integrators (D-JFI) for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and Fire Support Teams over a five-year period so the company should have a clear understanding if it can meet the MFP requirement.

KMW markets the RCH 155 (Remote Control Howitzer 155mm) as combining the firepower of its Artillery Gun Module (AGM), first unveiled in 2004, with the mobility of the ARTEC 8x8 Boxer. The company developed the AGM to provide a lighter weapon system, from 38-42 tonnes when integrated on a Boxer depending upon the armour configuration, with the same firepower as the German Army’s 55 tonnes tracked 155 mm/52 cal PzH 2000. The AGM can be mounted on various wheeled and tracked chassis, on a trailer or on the ground in locations such as a forward operating base. The original AGM design has been reviewed, a new version dubbed LRIP 1 being now tested; the turret has been considerably lowered to bring the Boxer-AGM combination within the 4 meters height limit for road/rail transport. The module weighs 14t and carries 30 fused 155mm projectiles and 144 modular charges. The unmanned AGM provides automated navigation and fire control, and features fully automated gun laying, projectile and charge loading, most of those systems having also been

totally redeveloped in the LRIP 1. It is manned by a crew of two, driver/operator and commander, who are seated in the Boxer’s crew compartment. During trials, the RCH 155 has demonstrated that it can come into action, conduct an eight-round fire mission, and then redeploy in less than 90 seconds. The company developed the RCH 155 with an eye toward a German Army requirement to complement its PzH 2000s but the selection of the Boxer for the British Army’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle project has undoubtedly boosted the competitiveness of the RCG 155 as an MFP solution. The UK’s £2.8 billion Boxer contract, awarded in November 2019, covers a first batch of 523 vehicles and the Army has indicated that more will be required.

The British Army is familiar with Nexter’s CAESAR (CAmion Equipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie) 155mm/52 cal SPHs as the CAESAR 6x6 was one of two systems evaluated for the LIMAWS (G) requirement. Nexter unveiled the CAESAR 8x8 at Eurosatory 2016 building on the success of the CAESAR 6x6, which has been sold to the French Army and four export customers. The launch customer for the new model was Denmark, which chose a Tatra platform, but the system can be integrated on any suitable 8x8 chassis such as the RMMV HX2. The CAESAR 8x8 weighs between 28 and 32 tonnes depending on configuration. While the crew travel in an armoured cab they must dismount to operate the weapon.

The Hanwha Defense K9 Thunder 155 mm/52 cal SPH might be the only tracked system offered for the MFP; it was developed to meet a Republic of Korea Army requirement for a system that would provide greater firing range, faster firing rate, and better mobility than the locally produced variant of the US M109 155 mm system. Typically operated by a crew of five - commander, driver, gunner, and two loaders – the K9 can fire a three-round burst within 15 seconds and fire six to eight rounds for three minutes. Hanwha delivered 1,136 K9s to the RoKA and these are now being upgraded to the K9A1 standard, which includes an auxiliary propulsion unit, a navigation system, driver’s thermal periscope, rear surveillance camera, and an improved fire control system, in a project expected to be completed 2030. Under advanced development is a K9A2 variant equipped with an autoloader, which will increase the rate of fire and reduce the crew to three.

The K9 has been sold to Turkey, India, Finland, Norway, Estonia and most recently Australia. On 2 June 2021 the Korean company announced that it is looking for UK industrial partners to offer a ‘Made in the UK’ variant for the MFP requirement and said, “talks are already underway with Lockheed Martin UK, Pearson Engineering, Horstman Defence Systems and Soucy Defense, along with other UK defence industry partners.” The proposed UK version will be fitted with an unmanned turret, enhanced mine / IED protection kits, composite rubber tracks and other advanced technology.

With the award of the GMLRS contract and commitments to acquire the MFP and modernise Exactor 2, momentum is building to enable the Royal Artillery to provide precision fires over extended range to support a war fighting division.

Norwegian K9. Hanwha Defense plans to offer a modernised version of its K9 Thunder, which has been sold to seven armies, for the Mobile Fires Platform competition. © Norwegian Army