Namer is the Heavy Armored Personnel Carrier (H-APC) of the Israel Defense Forces based on the chassis of the Merkava 4 MBT. Namer H-APC has a crew of 12 including driver, commander, gunner and 9 dismounts. The vehicle is heavily armored against ballistic and mine/IED threats. The combat weight of NAMER is 62 tons! So that's why it is called a Heavy APC..
NAMER Heavy APC
So far, we have seen Namers armed with only 12.7mm or 40mm grenade launcher armed Remote Weapon Stations (RWS). It's been tested with Rafael and Elbit's 30mm remote weapon stations before, however the in service vehicles are only armed with 12.7mm RWS's.
However, Israel Defense website (http://www.israeldefense.co.il) has published an article that shows the Namer armed with a new remote turret. The turret does not look like the existing products of Rafael or Elbit. The turret seems quite large.
In the article, it is stated that the turret is unmanned and armed with a 30mm automatic cannon. As far as I can see from the video, the turret is fully armored. There two sighting systems, one on the LHS of the main gun, probably gunner's and the other on top of the turret on RHS of the main gun being most probably the commander's sighting system. The commander's sight system seems to have independent traverse, indicating hunter-killer capability.
The main gun seems to be a 30mm Orbital ATK Mk44. From the video I was unable to see exactly if there is a secondary machine gun; however I highly suspect there should be one. There are multiple access hatched on the top, sides and back of the turret.
The turret has active protection system installed. On the front and rear sides, it seems the Rafael Trophy Active Protection System radars are located and on the top of the side protrusions on each side, Trophy launchers and blast shields are located.
The article states the turret will also be installed on the new Eitan 8x8 armored vehicle.
Orbital ATK's Bushmaster User Conference held on end of January in Arizona. Warfare Technology was there to record the event for you... :)
It was a very good event with all the OATK weapon systems fired during the live fire day in Big Sandy Range and product briefings in between.
Many OATK users and integrators were there and witnessed the new developments.
Bushmaster III 35mm Chaingun
The OATK weapons in the event were:
7.62mm Mk52 Chaingun
30mm M230LF
25mm M242
30/40mm Mk44
30/40mm XM813
35mm Bushmaster III
Along with the guns, there were turret and weapon systems on wheeled platforms that are armed with OATK guns.
Kongsberg Protector MCT30 30mm Remote Turret on General Dynamics Stryker 8x8 - Stryker Dragoon.
Oshkosh JLTV's with Kongsberg and EOS 30mm Remote Weapon Stations (RWS)
Toyota truck with 30mm RWS
Nobles Viper gun system with M230LF 30mm
Mk38 naval gun mount with M242 25mm
Mk52 gun mount with 7.62mm Mk52 Chaingun
Bushmaster User Conference Firing Demonstrations
Kongsberg Protector MCT30 30mm Remote Turret
One of the remarkable events was the field conversion of an 30mm cannon to 40mm caliber and firing 40mm ammunition. OATK defines this as the 30/40mm concept. Mk44 and XM813 cannons can be converted to fire 40x180mm ammunition (SuperShot 40).
One of the stars of the event was the M230LF 30x113mm autocannon. M230LF is the link fed and modified version of the AH-64 Apache helicopter's M230 chaingun.
30mm M230LF
Both 30 and 40mm programmable airbust ammunition were also fired against a target area setup with simulating infantry in the open.
Stryker being tested with Kongsberg MCT30 30mm Remote Turret
A press release dated Dec. 21, 2015, Kongsberg announced that:
"General Dynamics Land Systems has notified KONGSBERG that the ’PROTECTOR’ Medium Caliber Remote Weapon Station (MCRWS) has been selected as the 30-millimeter weapon system solution for the Stryker vehicles.
“We are very pleased that our PROTECTOR MCRWS has been selected as the solution for this Stryker brigade. The system is the result of several years of determined effort to develop a system with capabilities and performance required for these types of vehicles,” says Espen Henriksen, President of Kongsberg Protech Systems.
“This is a very important milestone for our newest innovation in this field, the Medium Caliber RWS, and we are honored to support US Army and General Dynamics Land Systems in this urgent operational requirement,” says Walter Qvam, President and CEO of KONGSBERG..."
So it seems the short term competition for the Stryker Upgunning has been decided and Kongsberg wins with the MCT30 Remote Turret. As far as I know OTO Melara was also in the competition with their HitFist OWS 30mm Remote Turret and probably CMI with their CPWS Remote Turret.
The Upgrade program aims at upgunning the Strykers of the Germany based 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2ACR) with a more potent/lethal weapon system than the .50cal Remote Weapon Station already integrated on the Strykers. This move leads me to thinking that the Europe based 2nd ACR needs more lethality in preparation to threat scenarios including Russian Forces.
I assume that MCT30 turret is to be armed with the brand new Orbital ATK XM813 30mm with a Linkless Ammunition Feed System from Meggitt with 150 ready rounds in dual ammo boxes on each side of the gun.
XM813 30mm Gun with Linkless Ammo Boxes on Each Side
MCT30 is a Remote or Unmanned Turret with the subsystems and ammunition boxes being under armor protection.
There is access to the turret from inside the vehicle thru a hatch under the turret.
Vehicle Interior with MCT30 Turret Integrated
One thing that I am not so fond of this turret is the way 7.62mm coaxial machine gun is mounted.
7.62mm Machine Gun Installation
Warfare Technology has analyzed the Stryker Upgunning and Remote Turrets recently in these following articles:
The story of the M230 30mm autocannon begins with Hughes Helicopter in early 1970's thru the effort to develop AH-64 Apache Helicopter. M230 ChainGun is now part of ATK's ChainGun family.
AH-64 Apache M230 30mm ChainGun
M230 forms an integral part of the Apache helicopter with its 1200 round magazine. It enables he Apache crew to engage fortifications, light armor and personnel in the open.
M230 30mm ChainGun
Ammunition M230 fires 30x113mm ammunition. The ammunition was first developed for British ADEN and French DEFA 550 revolver cannons in 1950s. These guns were developed for aircraft usage.
30x113 Ammunition
One common mistake about M230 gun and its ammunition is to think that it is better than the 25mm (25x137mm) and/or equal to the larger 30mm-30x173mm that is fired from Mk44/MK30 cannons.
In fact, 30x113mm ammunition can be best described as 'Light 30'. The following image shows the size comparison of 30x113mm and its big brother 30x173mm rounds.
You can see from the above image that, 30x173mm round fired from Mk44 cannon has a lot bigger punch than the M230's 30x113mm.
Three types of ammunition were developed for M230. These are:
M788 TP Target Practice
M789 HEDP High Explosive Dual Purpose
M799 HEI High Explosive Incendiary
Lethality For AH-64 and MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator helicopters, the preferred and widely used combat round is M789 HEDP. Some of its characteristics:
Weight: 350grams
Muzzle velocity: 805 m/s
Anti-personel effect: 4m lethality radius
Penetration: 25mm thick RHA Rolled Homogenous Armor at 50degree obliquity at a range of 500m
As comparison for lethality, 25mm APFSDS round that can be fired from a M242 Bushmaster cannon penetrates around 45mm RHA at 500m range.
The penetration for 30x173mm APFSDS round that is fired from Mk44 can easily penetrate about 55mm RHA at the same range.
So these numbers say that M230 is not a direct replacement for 25mm M242 Bushmaster, let alone Mk44 Bushmaster II 30mm.
Development of M230LF ATK started the development of a new variant of M230 chaingun aimed at ground and naval platforms. It is called M230LF with LF stands for LinkFed. The development effort concentrated on the following changes & improvements:
Link-feed ammunition to enable conventional belted ammunition usage and simple ammo cans
Increased barrel length to enable higher muzzle velocity
24V DC electrical operation required for ground platforms
Hang-Fire protection to improve manned turret safety
Rate of fire better suited to land and naval applications
So how best M230/LF can be best employed? Although 30x113mm ammunition is a member of the Medium Caliber Family, it is located at the lower end of the spectrum in terms of lethality. However, M230 is a compact, lightweight and low recoil cannon.
As you can see from the image, M230LF has a total length of around 2.2m.
25mm M242 has a total length of 2.6m
30mm Mk44 has a total length of 3.4m
In terms of weight:
M230LF total weight: 72.6kg
25mm M242 total weight: 119kg
30mm Mk44 total weight: 156kg
Recoil force:
M230LF Recoil: 7.34kN (Naval)/ 28kN (Ground)
25mm M242 Recoil: 40kN
30mm Mk44 Recoil: 35.6kN
Looking at the values above, it seems M230LF can be a good alternative for light turrets and Remote Weapon Stations that are armed with:
12.7mm/.50 cal M2 Heavy Machine Gun
40mm Mk19/GMG Automatic Grenade Launcher
In that case, the main reasons/advantages will be:
M230LF's high lethality and longer range compared with M2/Mk19
M230LF's straight trajectory compared with Mk19's high trajectory
M230LF being an electric driven gun that does not need any fancy mechanisms such as trigger solenoid and cocking actuator
Frontal case ejection that makes it easier to integrate in a turret
Lower weight, smaller dimensions and lower recoil enables light turrets to be developed. This also provides light platforms packed with higher fire power.
However, M230LF also has some drawbacks when compared with M2 & Mk19
Apparently higher initial cost
Comparably higher weight that limits man portability
Lack of tripod operation in case of removal from the turret or platform.
The images below shows some applications of M230LF:
Mk51 Weapon System onboard LCS
M230LF would be a very good capability to upgrade the firepower of some platforms such as:
- US Marine Corps AAV7 Amphibious Assault Vehicle
- M1117 4x4 Armored Security Vehicle
- M113 to enable more firepower than the current .50cal cupolas
I've got some more information the turret's potential customer. It is most probably for Qatar Armed Forces. The turret has been specifically designed for Qatar for a possible number of 200+ turrets. Also Lockheed has been working on a dedicated Hellfire and DAGR missile turret which is probably also aimed for Qatar for Artillery Corps. The video below shows a test fire of the Hellfire ATGM from the ATGM turret defining a system called Long Range Surveillance & Attack Vehicle dubbed LRSAV.
Rumor's have been circulating around for sometime that Lockheed Martin UK has been working on a new Two-Men IFV turret with ATK 30mm Bushmaster gun as the main armament.
This video released on July 10th from Lockheed Martin explains:
"On March 31, the Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill team successfully fired a Javelin missile from a turret at Cranfield Ordnance Test & Evaluation Center (COTEC) firing range on Salisbury Plain near Wiltshire, England. The missile hit the target successfully." The most interesting thing in the video beside the turret is the vehicle being a Boxer 8x8.
We have accustomed to seeing Boxer armed with either Rheinmetall's Lance Two-Men Turret or even Spz Puma's remote turret.
However, there are also rumors circulating that this Lockheed turret is specifically developed to be offered to a undisclosed Middle East customer on Boxer 8x8.
We know that Boxer has participated UAE's yearly Summer trials before and offered to UAE for their 4-5 year long 8x8 acquisition programme.
However another country that comes to mind is Qatar which also is evaluating 8x8 vehicles for their 8x8 acquisition programme.
I would bet on Qatar for the possible customer this brand new turret from Lockheed on Boxer.
"Raytheon Company successfully completed an initial round of live-fire testing with a new U.S. Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank (LAV-AT) weapon system. The upgraded, highly mobile, anti-armor LAV-AT weapon system is designed to protect reconnaissance and light infantry. Its mission is to defeat threats at long-range, day or night, and in all weather conditions." Oct 23 - 2013.
USMC is the only remaining user for the Emerson 901A1 Tow Turret in their LAV-AT 8x8 vehicles.
The Emerson TOW turret entered US Army service in 1978 on M113's configured as M901and M981.
The turret was then integrated on the USMC's LAV 8x8 fleet designated as the LAV-AT.
LAV-AT w/ EMERSON TOW Turret
The turret today is very slow and very difficult to maintain. There are difficult to solve obsolescence issues.
Enter Enhanced LAV-AT
In April 2012, USMC Program Management Office awarded Raytheon to develop a new weapon system for the LAV-AT platform.
The new TOW turret system will provide an enhanced capability over the existing sighting system in terms of the integration of an enhanced TOW system - TOW Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS) designated as M41 Saber for USMC service. It will provide a second-generation forward looking infra-red, far target location and ability to acquire targets on the move. Turret has got high performance electric drives and folding capability for aerial transport.
BAE Systems started developing a remote controlled weapon system for V-22 Osprey in 2005. The system is called Remote Guardian.The resulting solution was a defensive weapon system that provides 360 degrees of coverage through a remotely operated retractable weapon that compensates for platform motion.
The aim is to give effective defensive armament to the Osprey when the it approaches a hot landing zone.
The MV-22 normally has a M240 7.62mm machine gun pintle at the ramp facing rear as the only armament.
Watch the video from 04:16 to end
The Remote Guardian System is an add-on kit that is mounted under the belly and it is retractable.
It has two turrets, a gun turret with a 7.62mm minigun and a FLIR type sight turret in front of it. The system is controlled from a display and a playstation type hand controller.
Ref: Helfrich, T., M., Young, D., L., "Arming the Osprey, Summary of Developmental Testing, of V-22 Interim Defensive Weapon System", US Air Force T&E Days, 2010.
Marines have taken 5 systems to Afghanistan. However the feedback from the field is not what's expected.
Here is an excerpt from DefenseTech:
A senior crew chief explains that the controller/targeting station takes up too much room in the cabin
(three seats) and needs devotion of a crew chief’s entire attention to running the
system.
“And you’d better have a strong stomach,” the gunny said.
“Because sitting sideways and trying to keep that thing on target
looking at the screen will make you pretty sick.”
Ref: Helfrich, T., M., Young, D., L., "Arming the Osprey, Summary of Developmental Testing, of V-22 Interim Defensive Weapon System", US Air Force T&E Days, 2010.
Plus the added weight of 360kg's is also restricting the payload capacity of the aircraft.
Ref: Helfrich, T., M., Young, D., L., "Arming the Osprey, Summary of Developmental Testing, of V-22 Interim Defensive Weapon System", US Air Force T&E Days, 2010.
One of limitations for arming V-22 is its 12m diameter rotors prevents armament to be mounted under the wings on hard-points. Also side firing guns should be limited in order not to fire to the rotors accidentally.
So it only leaves the fuselage for the armament to be mounted.
Also the add-on weight of the armament system has to be carefully considered not to greatly reduce the payload capacity of the aircraft.
One thing that I would prefer for the armament is that it should use the aircraft's existing FLIR system as the sensor suite, rather than employing another sight like the Remote Guardian did.
Also the underbelly approach has two major drawbacks:
- The turret & sight should be retracted well before landing which will leave the aircraft without the armament when it is in its most vulnerable phase.
- The retraction mechanisms add too much unnecessary weight to the armament kit and thus to the aircraft in the end.
A better approch for arming V-22 Osprey
I've come across a NDIA document for a proposed system for the V-22. (Barton, V., De Pasqual, E., J., "Defensive Armament for the V-22 Selection, Integration and Development", NDIA, 2002.)
The study explains a nose mounted turret for the MV-22 that is controlled from the cocpit via a helmet tracker like the gun control system in AH-64 Apache.
The helmet embedded gun control is the best approach for v-22. I believe it will eliminate the motion sickness problem that the Remote Guardian operator suffers. Motion sickness appears when you are not sitting facing forward and when you are looking at a display below your eye level constantly.
The nose turret is equipped with a three barrel 12.7mm gatling type gun, which is far more lethal and longer reaching than the Remote Guardian's 7.62mm.
Here are some of the features from the study:
Barton, V., De Pasqual, E., J., "Defensive Armament for the V-22 Selection, Integration and Development", NDIA, 2002.
The conceptual image of the turret installation in V-22 is like this:
Barton, V., De Pasqual, E., J., "Defensive Armament for the V-22 Selection, Integration and Development", NDIA, 2002.
I believe this should be the way V-22 Osprey is weaponized.
