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The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions. The M109 has a crew of six: the section chief, the driver, the gunner, the assistant gunner and two ammunition handlers. The gunner aims the cannon left or right (deflection), the assistant gunner aims the cannon up and down (quadrant). The M109A6 Paladin needs only a crew of four: the commander, driver, gunner and an ammunition loader. The British Army replaced its M109s with the AS-90. Several European armed forces have or are currently replacing older M109s with the German PzH 2000. Upgrades to the M109 were introduced by the U.S. (see variants below) and by Switzerland (KAWEST). With the cancellation of the U.S. Crusader and Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon, the M109A6 ("Paladin") will remain the principal self-propelled howitzer for the U.S. for the foreseeable future. History The M109 was the medium variant of a U.S. program to adopt a common chassis for its self-propelled artillery units. The light version, the M108 Howitzer, was phased out during the Vietnam War, but many were rebuilt as M109s. The M109 saw its combat debut in Vietnam. Israel used the M109 against Egypt in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and in the 1982 and 2006 Lebanon Wars. Iran used the M109 in the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s. The M109 saw service with the British, Egyptian and Saudi Arabian Armies in the 1991 Gulf War. The M109 also saw service with the U.S. Army in the Gulf War, as well as in the Iraq War from 2003-2011. Upgrades to the cannon, ammunition, fire control, survivability, and other electronics systems over the design's lifespan have expanded the system's capabilities, including tactical nuclear projectiles, Cannon Launched Guided Projectiles (CLGP or Copperhead), Rocket Assisted Projectile (RAP), FAmily of SCAtterable Mines (FASCAM), and improved conventional munitions (the Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition, DPICM). Design The M109 was developed by the Ground System Division of United Defense LP (now BAE Systems Land and Armaments).[2] Armament Open breech of M109A5 howitzer Primary: M126 (or M126A1) 155 mm Howitzer (M109), M185 155 mm Howitzer (A1/A2/A3/A4), M284 155 mm Howitzer (A5/A6) Secondary: .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 machine gun, Mk 19 Mod 3 40 mm Automatic Grenade Launcher, or 7.62 mm M60, M240 machine gun or L4 machine gun Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP) In January 2016, the U.S. Army test-fired hypervelocity projectiles originally designed for use by U.S. Navy electromagnetic railguns and found that they significantly increased the gun's range. The Army is looking into using the M109 Paladin firing the HVP for ballistic missile defense, as traditional missile interceptors are expensive and gun-based missile defense used for point defense would use artillery at a much lower cost per round.[4][5] The HVP is capable of being fired out to 50 nautical miles (58 mi; 93 km) from a conventional cannon. It weighs 68 lb (31 kg) with a 46 lb (21 kg) flight body containing its guidance and warhead—less powerful, but more agile to hit small, high-speed targets. Modifications will be needed for the Paladin to effectively shoot the HVP, possibly including different propellant to achieve higher velocities, automated reloading systems to fire quickly enough to defeat salvo launches, improved barrel life, and a new fire control and sensor system.[6] Variants M109 An M109 entering South Vietnam First produced in 1963. It had a 23 caliber 155 mm M126 gun in an M127 Howitzer Mount, and carried 28 rounds of 155 mm ammunition. It was also armed with a .50cal M2HB machine gun with 500 rounds of ammunition. Easily identified by its short barrel and a double baffle muzzle brake with a large fume extractor just behind it. Maximum range of 14 600 m. M109A1 Replaced the M126 gun with a longer barreled, 39 caliber M185 gun, increasing maximum range to 18 100 m. M109A2 Incorporated 27 Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) mid-life improvements. Most notably, the long barreled 155 mm M185 cannon in the new M178 gun mount, ballistic protection for the panoramic telescope, counterbalanced travel lock, and the ability to mount the M140 alignment device. Stowage increased from 28 rounds of 155 mm, to 36 rounds; .50cal ammunition remained at 500 rounds. During M109A2 production, a slightly simplified version was also produced for export. This had minor internal changes and deleted the hull flotation feature. These were designated M109A1B.[7] M109A3 and M109A3B M109A1s and M109A1Bs rebuilt to M109A2 standard respectively. Some A3s feature three contact arm assemblies, while all A2s have five. M109A2 self propelled howitzers of 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division(FWD) conduct artillery strikes on Iraqi positions during the 1st Gulf War. 4-3 FA was the primary fire support battalion for Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991. M109A4 M109A2s and M109A3s improved with Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical / Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (NBC/RAM) improvements, including air purifiers, heaters, and Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear. The traversing mechanism's clutch is hydraulic, as compared to the electric mechanism on previous M109s, and features a manual override in the event of an electrical failure. The A4 also adds an additional hydraulic filter, for a total of two. Also included is an improvement to the engine starting equipment, greatly improving the ability to start in an emergency. Ammunition amounts remain the same as two previous models. M109A5 Replaces the 155 mm M185 cannon in an M178 mount with a 39-caliber 155 mm M284 cannon in an M182 mount, giving the A5 a maximum range of 22,000 meters with unassisted projectiles and 30,000 meters with Rocket Assisted Projectiles (RAP Rounds).[8] The vehicle can carry 36 complete rounds of ammunition and has a 440 hp engine instead of the standard 405 hp engine. M109A5 under repair M109A5+ Various manufacturers have upgraded the fire control and other components of the M109A5. BAE Systems in York PA recently delivered 12 M109A5+ vehicles to Chile. M109A6 "Paladin" M109A6 "Paladin" firing at night An M109A6 firing a shell during combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq Overall product improvement in the areas of survivability, RAM, and armament. This includes increased armor, redesigned (safer) internal storage arrangement for ammunition and equipment, engine and suspension upgrades, and product improvement of the M284 cannon and M182A1 mount. The greatest difference is the integration of an inertial navigation system, sensors detecting the weapons' lay, automation, and an encrypted digital communication system, which utilizes computer controlled frequency hopping to avoid enemy electronic warfare and allow the howitzer to send grid location and altitude to the battery fire direction center (FDC). The battery FDCs in turn coordinate fires through a battalion or higher FDC. This allows the Paladin to halt from the move and fire within 30 seconds with an accuracy equivalent to the previous models when properly emplaced, laid, and safed—a process that required several minutes under the best of circumstances. Tactically, this improves the system's survivability by allowing the battery to operate dispersed by pairs across the countryside and allowing the howitzer to quickly displace between salvos, or if attacked by indirect fire, aircraft, or ground forces. Ammunition storage is increased from 36 to 39 155 mm rounds. M109 "KAWEST" Swiss M109 KAWEST howitzer in 2009 This Swiss improved version produced by Ruag incorporates a new Swiss-designed L47 155 mm gun with an increased firing range of up to 36 km. The L47 155 mm gun is derived from the Swiss Bison fortress gun's inertial navigation system coupled with a new gun- laying system and more ammunition storage. The KAWEST (lit. Kampfwertsteigerung = upgrade of combat capabilities) requires only 6 crew members instead of 8, and is able to fire 3-round bursts within 15 seconds or maintain a constant firing rate of over one round per minute. Technical modifications: Increased firing range of up to 27 km, increased rate of fire (burst of 3 rounds in 15 sec.), increased ammunition autonomy (40 rounds, 64 charges). New electrical system increases reliability (better than Mil STD 1245A, higher operational readiness, increased mean time between failures, fault-finding diagnostics with test equipment.) Integrated inertial navigation and positioning system, increased mobility (gears, engine), day and night operations capabilities, effective fire suppression system installed, NEMP and EMP protection. Camouflage: paint and netting. Upgraded Swiss PzHb (Panzerhaubitze) 79 and 88 (M109A1) are known as respectively PzHb 79/95 and PzHb 88/95. M109L52 Jointly developed by the Dutch firm RDM and the German firm Rheinmetall, the M109L52 was first revealed in 2002. The main improvement was replacing the M126 series gun with the longer 52-caliber cannon from the PzH 2000, thus the MTLS ammunition of the PzH 2000 can be used. In addition, improvements to the loading system were made. This resulted in an increase of the rate of fire to 9–10 rds/min from the original 3 rds/min, and this high rate of fire can be sustained for up to 2 minutes. A total of 35 rounds can be carried. M109A3GNM The current version in service with the Norwegian Army's Artilleribataljonen. 126 M109Gs were acquired from West Germany between 1969-1971. They were then upgraded to the M109A3GN configuration during the latter half of the 1980s.