G6 howitzer
Encyclopedia : G : G6 : G6H : G6 howitzer
| |
| G6 Rhino | |
| Country Of Origin: | South Africa |
| Designation: | Self-propelled Howitzer |
| Configuration: | 6 x 6 |
| Manufacturer: | LIW Denel |
| Length: | 10.4 m |
| Width: | 3.4 m |
| Height: | 3.5 m |
| Weight: | 48 t |
| Trench: | 1 m |
| Fording: | 1 m |
| Speed: | 85 km/h (road) 30 km/h (off-road) |
| Range: | 700 km |
| Primary armament: | 155 mm howitzer (47 rounds) |
| NBC: | Yes |
| Power plant: | 525-hp air-cooled diesel |
| Crew: | 6 |
The G6 self propelled howitzer was developed around the ordnance of the G5 howitzer. It is currently the most powerful self-propelled equipment on a wheeled chassis. Both the G5 and the G6 have been used in the close air support role in place of aircraft, which were often too valuable to risk.
In addition to the logistical mobility afforded by a wheeled chassis, the G6 is protected against counter battery fire and is able to defend itself in an unsecured area.
The chassis is mine protected.
Main armament characteristics:
- Maximum range:
- * 30,000 m with standard HE rounds,
- * 39,000 m with HE base bleed rounds, and
- * 53,000 m with a special Velocity enhanced Long Range Projectile (V-LAP).
- * 67,450 m M9703A1 V-LAP round (tested successfully to 73,000 m by Denel in G6-52 platform)
- Minimum range: 3,000 m.
- Rate of fire: 4 round/min, 2 round/min sustained.
- Ammunition: 155 mm ERFB. 47 rounds, 50 charges, 64 primers and fuzes.
- Accuracy: 0.1 % of range in azimuth, 0.48 % of range in range.
Production history
- Manufacturer: LIW division of DENEL Corporation in South Africa.
- Date entered production: 1987.
Variants
- G6
- G6-52 (23L chamber)
- G6-52L (25L chamber)
- * Reduced crew to 3-5,
- * can fire projectile up to 67 km at a rate of fire of eight rounds/minute,
- * increased off-road speeds to nearly 70 km/h,
- * implemented MRSI (Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact) technology and can land six (G6-52L variant) or five (G6-52) rounds simultaneously at targets up to 25 km away, and is
- * currently undergoing extensive trials.
Operators
- South Africa (43 systems)
- United Arab Emirates (78 systems)
- Oman (24 systems)
Combat history
The G6 saw limited action in Angola during 1987/88See also
External links
- [G6 profile from FAS]
- [G6 profile from army-technology.com]
- [G6-52 Press Overview]
- [Denel VLAP ammunition system overview]
- [Denel G6 system overview]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.