Land Force: Wherefore art thou howitzer? | ADM Feb 2010

Julian Kerr | Sydney

His characterisation will have been welcome news to both industry and army, given the drawn-out progress of the project to date and concerns about growing pressure on the defence budget.

The 2009-2013 Defence Capability Plan (DCP) specifically refers to Land 17 as a project with an anticipated growth in expenditure, and costs it at towards the lower end of a band of up to $1.5 billion.

By comparison, the 2006-2016 DCP costed the project at between $450 to $600 million.

In service delivery is projected at 2013-2014 in the 2009 DCP, while the 2006 plan referred to Initial Operating Capability in 2012-2013.

First pass approval to seek proposals for 18, 24 or 30 SPH to replace the army's 36 M198 155mm towed guns under Phase Two of Land 17 was received in February 2006, although it's been assumed for some time that funding constraints will reduce any order to 18 or less.

A Request for Tender was issued in September 2007 and closed in April 2008, since when a cone of silence has descended over the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and the remaining two contenders of the initial six.

These are Kraus-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) teamed with BAE Systems Australia offering the Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 and Raytheon Australia in partnership with Samsung Techwin proposing the Korean company's K9 Thunder - the updated Australian variant of which is known as the AS-9.

The competition underwent an intriguing twist when it became known that KMW had declined to take part in the offer definition and refinement process (ODRP) of the tender, which got underway in early 2009.

Sources close to the program say that KMW still considers itself part of the tender but had refused to participate in the ODRP over several issues, including IP, on which the DMO was not prepared to compromise.

So, is the PzH2000 still a contender?

Defence has declined to answer this but says that the ODRP will be completed next month in March - one month before the expiry of RFT proposals although it's understood that the validity of the Raytheon offer can be extended if necessary because of its participation in the ODRP.

As seen in the previous edition of ADM's From the Source interview, Raytheon chief Michael Ward was unable to comment on the process at all under the ODRP.

Raytheon Australia is clearly keen for its strong Australian industry package to be taken into consideration and the acquisition process to be expedited; KMW for the PzH's combat record with Dutch troops in Afghanistan - sometimes in support of Australian forces - and health and safety factors built into the design to be taken into consideration.

Overseas success
Both contenders can point to sales successes.

The PzH 2000 is in service with Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.

The Dutch army has decided to reduce its order for 57 platforms by 18 and these guns, most of them yet to be built, form part of the KDW proposal.

South Korea's K9 has benefited from a 532-unit order from its own armed forces as well as a $US1 billion deal with Turkey under which Samsung Techwin is supplying components for more than 300 of the howitzers.

This order, however, eventuated only after the German government refused export approval to Turkey for the PzH 2000.

The secrecy surrounding the competition means speculation is not necessarily well-informed.

Generally, however, assumptions appear to be that the K9 is more affordable but the PzH 2000 is more sophisticated and more of a known quantity, and therefore more favoured in some circles.

Hopes of an early decision on the SPH rose with the announcement in October last year that 35 155mm 39 calibre M777 ultra-lightweight towed howitzers are to be acquired under Phase One of Land 17 to replace the ADF's 112 L119 105 mm Hamel guns.

These will be acquired under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) arrangement with the US.

It was then that Senator Faulkner described the M777s, the SP howitzers and a digital fire control system which will be considered by government in the second half of 2010, as high priority acquisitions.

The fire control reference was presumably to Raytheon's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) which was mandated by government early on as the battlefield management system for both the towed and self-propelled howitzers, whatever type was selected.

The M777 decision was widely anticipated albeit long in coming, given first pass in early 2006 and the fact that the 3,745 kg gun was the only contender within the weight limitation of 5,040 kg set to ensure transportability by a ballistically-protected ADF CH-47D.

Manufactured in the US by BAE Systems and making extensive use of titanium and titanium castings, the M777 is already in service with the US Army, US Marine Corps and the Canadian army and has won praise for its performance in Afghanistan.

Faulkner said the acquisition via the US FMS channel would provide the army with four batteries of the lightweight howitzers, each battery presumably of six guns with the balance intended for training and attrition.

A Defence spokesperson told ADM that deliveries would begin in early 2011.

The M777A2 variant selected by Australia features software and hardware upgrades that enable it to use XM982 Excalibur precision base-bleed munitions in conjunction with the Modular Artillery Charge System.

This increases maximum range to 40 km compared to the 24.7 km achievable with standard projectiles and 30 km using rocket-assisted rounds.