IDF takes TopGun artillery guidance system into service
Andrew Galer, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
24 May 2017
A still from an IAI video shows TopGun guidance kits fitted to 155 mm artillery shells being prepared for firing from an M109. Source: Israel Aerospace Industries
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has taken into service the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) TopGun course correction fuze, IAI's Brigadier General (rtd) Benny Mehr told the IPQC Future Artillery Conference in London on 22-24 May. He said the IDF has ordered 5,000 units and the system will be fully operational by 2019.
Attached to standard 155 mm artillery rounds where the fuze is normally screwed in, the TopGun is essentially an add-on guidance kit that also performs the role of a fuze. IAI says it uses a GPS receiver to adjust the trajectory of the shell in flight and is capable of achieving a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 m at up to 40 km with a unit cost of USD20,000.
Mehr said the IDF's requirement was for a munition that can operate in a degraded GPS environment, but declined to provide further details of the TopGun's anti-jamming capabilities.
The fuze has been designed for all 155 mm guns with 52 calibre-long barrels. IAI has announced that it will shortly be producing a version that can be fitted to standard 122 mm Grad-type artillery rockets.
http://www.janes.com/article/70738/idf-takes-topgun-artillery-guidance-system-into-service
Andrew Galer, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
24 May 2017
A still from an IAI video shows TopGun guidance kits fitted to 155 mm artillery shells being prepared for firing from an M109. Source: Israel Aerospace Industries
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has taken into service the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) TopGun course correction fuze, IAI's Brigadier General (rtd) Benny Mehr told the IPQC Future Artillery Conference in London on 22-24 May. He said the IDF has ordered 5,000 units and the system will be fully operational by 2019.
Attached to standard 155 mm artillery rounds where the fuze is normally screwed in, the TopGun is essentially an add-on guidance kit that also performs the role of a fuze. IAI says it uses a GPS receiver to adjust the trajectory of the shell in flight and is capable of achieving a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 m at up to 40 km with a unit cost of USD20,000.
Mehr said the IDF's requirement was for a munition that can operate in a degraded GPS environment, but declined to provide further details of the TopGun's anti-jamming capabilities.
The fuze has been designed for all 155 mm guns with 52 calibre-long barrels. IAI has announced that it will shortly be producing a version that can be fitted to standard 122 mm Grad-type artillery rockets.
http://www.janes.com/article/70738/idf-takes-topgun-artillery-guidance-system-into-service
