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Abbreviations


 

British Army - Artillery - AS 90 - a6a4 - Armed Forces

ARTILLERY

AS 90
 

AS 90

AS 90 was manufactured by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL), at Barrow-in-Furness and in 1992 was the subject of an order for 179 guns, under a fixed price contract for £300 million.


These 179 guns have completely equipped six Field Regiments, replacing the older 120mm Abbot and 155mm M109 in British service.

 


At the beginning of 2005 three of these Regiments were under the command of 1 (UK) Armoured Division in Germany and three under the command of 3 (UK) Div in the United Kingdom.

AS 90 equipped with a 39 calibre gun fires the NATO L15 unassisted projectile out to a range of 24.7 kms (Base Bleed ERA range is 30 kms). The gun has been fitted with an autonomous navigation and gunlaying system (AGLS), enabling it to work independently of external sighting references. Central to the system is an inertial dynamic reference unit (DRU) taken from the US Army's MAPS (Modular Azimuth Positioning System). The bulk of the turret electronics are housed in the Turret Control Computer (TCC) which controls the main turret functions, including gunlaying, magazine control, loading systems control, power distribution and testing.

Artillery has always been a cost effective way of destroying or neutralising targets. When the cost of a battery of guns, (approx £20 million) is compared with the cost of a close air support aircraft, (£40 million) and the cost of training each pilot, (£4 million+) the way ahead for governments with less and less to spend on defence is clear.

 

AS 90 Specifications

146 available
Crew 5
Length 9.07m
Width 3.3m
Height 3.0m overall
Ground Clearance 0.41m
Turret Ring Diameter 2.7m
Armour 17mm
Calibre 155mm
Range (39cal) 24.7kms (52cal) 30kms
Recoil Length 780mm
Rate of Fire 3 rounds in 10secs (burst) 6 rounds per minute (intense) 2 rounds per minute (sustained)
Secondary Armament 7.62mm MG
Traverse 6,400mills
Elevation -89/+1.244mills
Ammunition Carried 48 x 155mm projectiles and charges (31 turret & 17 hull)
Engine Cummins VTA903T turbo-charged V8 diesel 660hp
Max Speed 53kph
Gradient 60 degrees
Vertical Obstacle 0.75m
Trench Crossing 2.8m
Fording Depth 1.5m
Road Range 420kms

Photo Copyright BAe Systems