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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

CRUSADER HOWITZER (SPH) AND RESUPPLY VEHICLE (RSV)

	Army ACAT ID Program 824 systems Total program cost (TY$) $15,728.7M Average unit cost (TY$) $15.8M Full-rate production 1QFY06 Prime Contractor United Defense Limited Partnership

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Crusader system is the Army's next generation, 155 mm, self-propelled howitzer (SPH) and its companion resupply vehicle (RSV). Crusader will be the indirect fire support system which will provide direct support, reinforcing, general support reinforcing, and general support fires to armored and mechanized forces on the battlefield. The SPH will provide close, tactical, and operational fires with significantly increased capabilities over the current M-109-series fleet. The Crusader system is being developed to address present cannon systems' deficiencies in range, rate of fire, ammunition handling, mobility, survivability, and manpower requirements. The Crusader will provide more lethal firepower at longer ranges by conducting precision strike as an integral part of the dominant maneuver force.

The Crusader SPH will employ Advanced Solid Propellant Armament using a modular propellant charge system, auto-settable multi-option fuze, automated ammunition handling system, a Global Positioning System-based position location and azimuth reference system, and improved mobility and RAM. The SPH is required to deliver unassisted munitions at ranges to 30 kilometers, and assisted munitions to 40 kilometers. It will be designed to provide a maximum rate of fire of 10 to 12 rounds per minute for 3 to 5 minutes, and a sustained rate of 3 to 6 rounds per minute until on-board ammunition is exhausted. It will have the agility and mobility to keep up with the supported maneuver force of M1 tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. Crusader should be capable of completing a survivability move of 750 meters within 90 seconds of identifying a potential threat. The Crusader and its resupply vehicle will each have a crew of three to replace the four and five crewmen, respectively, currently on the Paladin and the current M992A1 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle (FAASV).

The RSV will sustain the SPH with ammunition and fuel. It will be a self-propelled armored vehicle with significantly increased capabilities over the FAASV. It will automate ammunition and fuel resupply functions, provide increased payload carrying capabilities (130 complete rounds), and increase survivability. It will also have a GPS-based navigation system. Deployable worldwide, it will keep pace with the SPH and the maneuver force.

The Crusader SPH and RSV, formerly known as the Advanced Field Artillery System (AFAS) and Future Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (FARV), were originally two of the five common chassis vehicles in the Army's Armored Systems Modernization (ASM) program. The other vehicles were a Block III tank, a Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and a Combat Mobility Vehicle. The changing threat and budget realities led to a restructuring of the ASM program that deferred all the ASM components except Crusader. The SPH was originally expected to have a regenerative liquid propellant gun armaments system.

In November 1994, the program completed a Defense Acquisition Board Milestone I review, and was authorized to enter the Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) Phase (formerly the Demonstration/Validation phase).

In March 1996 the decision was made to terminate liquid propellant development due to technical development risks which had not been resolved since Milestone I, and because the solid propellant alternative was determined to be able to meet key performance parameter requirements at lower cost and with less risk.

The LFT&E IPT has made progress on pre-Milestone II (FY-2001) LFT&E strategy development. Initial testing in the Engineering Development Test/Vulnerability Reduction Measures (EDT/VRM) phase has begun (including exploring possible ammunition compartment designs and ammunition sensitivity). PDRR testing is ongoing with developmental testing of the XM297 52-caliber cannon. On June 5, the automatic loader was successfully demonstrated in a 15-round test at maximum charge and at a firing rate of 8 rounds a minute. The firings were conducted from the weapons hard-stand at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The prime contractor has also conducted proof of principle demonstrations on the docking arm through which fuel and ammunition are passed from the RSV to the SPH, and on the RSV's upload ability.

In July, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Systems Manager for Cannon systems (TSM Cannon), and the Depth and Simultaneous Attack Battle Lab conducted a second Concept Evaluation Plan (CEP) exercise to develop Crusader tactics, techniques, and procedures. CEP II employed distributed interactive simulation (DIS) to create a synthetic theater of war (STOW) environment for the command and control elements of a direct support field artillery battalion. The STOW environment included live unit elements, the Target Acquisition Fire Support Model, and a DIS-compatible version of the Janus battlefield simulation.

Testing to date supports design decisions rather than evaluates performance of as yet undetermined configurations of the self-propelled howitzer and resupply vehicle. A new schedule compresses EMD by almost a year by shifting the end of PDRR to the right, but retaining the FY 2005 FUE date. The revised EMD test and evaluation schedule keeps the same amount of testing and is executable, but at a higher risk than with the previous schedule.

Effective thermal management is key to achieving the required rates of fire and tube service life. An in-wall liquid cooling system for the tube and chamber is being developed to lower the internal temperatures to a safe level. The recent 15-round test at the Yuma weapons hardstand shows significant progress in meeting those requirements. Crusader is required to demonstrate a high volume of fires and thermal management in order to meet Milestone II exit criteria.

The RSV will automatically transfer fuel and ammunition to the Crusader SPH. The automated ammunition handling system in the SPH will select and load the projectiles and charges for each fire mission. This is the first U.S. field artillery system to incorporate an automated ammunition and fuel loading and transfer system. Developing this computer-driven, mechanical system and the RSV-SPH docking system will be a greater challenge than developing a traditional howitzer and resupply ammunition handling system. The greater reliance on automated systems is also likely to have an impact on the Crusader's overall reliability.