[dremanu]

Pic of the NLOS-C 155mm. Self Propelled Howitzer Testbed......



Initial firing tests have started for the U.S. Army's next-generation artillery demonstrator, the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C). Unlike the Army's massive Crusader, which was terminated in 2002, the NLOS-C uses a 155mm cannon on a light chassis in the 20-ton class. The result is the first self-propelled howitzer to be tactically transportable by C-130 aircraft. The NLOS-C will begin production in 2008. The U.S. Army is scheduled to begin taking delivery of the cannons in 2010.

[jfsf]

To ensure the U.S. Army maintains its superiority and dominance against future adversaries, in 2002, Congress mandated that a self-propelled non-line-of-sight cannon (NLOS-C) be developed for the Army by 2008.

As part of that mandate, United Defense, L.P. was awarded a year-long Concept, Technology and Development (CTD) contract to demonstrate the feasibility of a 20-ton cannon system.

In only six months, United Defense responded by taking a 20-ton, 155mm, tracked cannon platform from the virtual drawing board to a fully operational demonstrator that will undergo firing and mobility assessments beginning August 2003 at Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz.

The demonstrator features a modified BAE Systems M777, 155mm howitzer tube mounted on a platform developed by United Defense’s Ground Systems Division in San Jose, Calif. The 23-ton demonstrator also features a fully automated ammunition loading system, a magazine capable of holding 24 100-pound artillery projectiles and an advanced band-track system propelled by a hybrid-electric diesel engine.
 


http://www.uniteddefense.com/prod/conce ... trator.htm