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M109A7 155mm SP Howitzer

The M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer is a prime example of the shift in focus away from new programs to restoring and upgrading the capabilities of current systems. The upgraded vehicles include fabrication of a new vehicle chassis structure at BAE Systems York and utilization of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle common suspension, drive train and components.

Cannon artillery has always played a significant role in all of the nation’s conflicts, and the U.S. Army has continued to use 155mm cannon artillery since World War I. Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom relied heavily on cannon artillery to provide timely indirect fire support, while minimizing collateral damage. More than 550,000 cannon artillery rounds were called in to directly support units in contact while battling adversaries in harsh desert and mountainous terrains.

The M109A7 program enhances the reliability, maintainability, performance, responsiveness, and lethality of the combat-proven M109A6 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer and M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle’s (FAASV) while providing increased commonality within the U.S. Army Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT).

The M109A7 is the latest howitzer in the BAE Systems M109 family of vehicles, the primary indirect fire support system for the ABCTs. It uses the existing main armament and cab structure of a Paladin M109A6, and replaces the vehicle’s chassis components with modern components common to the Bradley vehicle. The improved chassis structure provides greater survivability and commonality with the existing systems in the ABCT, reducing operational sustainability costs by replacing obsolete components.

The M109A7 is supported by the Army as a vital technology enhancement program to maintain the combat capability of its ABCTs. The M109A7 will solve long-term readiness and modernization needs of the M109 family of vehicles through a critical redesign and production plan that leverages the most advanced technology available today. This state-of-the-art “digital backbone” and power generation capability provides a more robust, survivable and responsive indirect fire support capability for ABCT Soldiers.

The M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer and its associated M992A3 Carrier, Ammunition, Tracked (CAT) vehicle enhance their combat-proven successors’ – the M109A6 Paladin and M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle’s (FAASV) – reliability, maintainability, performance, responsiveness, and lethality. Additionally, they provide increased commonality with the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) of the Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) with significant built-in growth potential in terms of available space, weight and electrical power.

Modernization of the Paladin includes buying back Space, Weight and Power (SWaP). The PIM features a 600-volt on-board power system designed to accommodate emerging technologies. The on-board power system leverages technologies from the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C).

The M109A7’s “shoot and scoot” capability protects the crew from counterbattery fire by means of an onboard position navigation system and fire control system capable of executing missions digitally and via secure voice command. The M109A7 chassis features a power pack, drive train, track, and suspension components common with the BFV, improving supportability and reducing the ABCT’s logistical footprint.

With an upgraded, 675 HP electronically controlled version of the BFV standard V903 engine, coupled with an improved HMPT- 800 transmission, the M109A7 has faster acceleration for rapid displacement, and the ability to keep pace with the maneuver forces it supports.

From the move, the M109A7 can receive a fire mission, compute firing data, select and occupy a firing position, transition from traveling configuration to firing configuration, and point its cannon, and fire within 60 seconds – all with first round fire-for-effect accuracy. The M109A7 operates day ornight, in all weather conditions, providing timely and accurate fires with a range in excess of 30km.

The M109A7 offers increased survivability, because the crew remains inside the vehicle throughout the mission. Along with the “shoot and scoot” capability, the M109A7 features an Automatic Fire Extinguishing System (AFES), CROWS, and enhanced applique armor.

Hull, turret, suspension, and automotive system upgrades increase system reliability. The M109A7 incorporates an onboard computer with comprehensive diagnostics programs that rapidly pinpoint equipment issues early for ease of maintenance while improving system availability.

The Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) is a combined fuze and GPS guidance kit that improves the ballistic accuracy of the current stockpile of high-explosive, field artillery projectiles. The Army plans to develop PGK for 155 mm, high-explosive projectiles (M795 and M549A1) with threshold accuracy of 50 meters Circular Error Probable and objective accuracy of 30 meters Circular Error Probable. The PGK will operate with existing and developmental artillery systems that have digital fire control systems and inductive fuze setters such as the M777A2 Lightweight Towed Howitzer, the M109A6 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer, and the M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management Self-Propelled Howitzer.

The Army conducted a Limited User Test of the Urgent Materiel Release version of the Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) in 2014 to support a Full Materiel Release (FMR). The August 2014 FMR decision supported the use of the Urgent Material Release PGK in training and future contingency operations.

The M109A7 is considered to be the most cost-effective method to significantly improve sustainability and survivability, while reducing the logistics burden on the ABCT and supporting fires brigades. The program will be executed as a public/private partnership between the Army’s Project Manager-HBCT, Anniston Army Depot and BAE Systems that leverages the strengths of both public and private sectors to ensure the best value for U.S. Soldiers. The M109A7 production would be performed at Anniston Army Depot, Alabama and BAE Systems facilities in York, Penn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; Endicott, N.Y.; and Elgin, Okla.

M109A6 Paladin vehicles and M992A2 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicles are shipped to Anniston Army Depot where they are disassembled to provide cab structures, overhauled gun and cannon assemblies, and other vehicle components to industry. The entirely new chassis, built at BAE Systems' facility in York, Pa., is married with the reworked Anniston components at the new BAE Systems production facility in Eglin, Okla., for final assembly.

Milestone C decision was executed on 18 October 2013. The M109A7 and M992A3, formerly known as the Army's Paladin Integrated Management program, were both inducted into low-rate initial production during a ceremony at Anniston Army Depot, Ala., May 14, 2014. The Army plans to build 556 new PIM sets that will fully replace the current M109A6/M992A2 fleet. Each set includes a SPH and a CAT.