Pakistan Builds Smarter Shells
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April 22, 2008: Pakistan has begun production of DPICM (Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition) 155mm artillery shells (each one carrying 88 bomblets). DPICM is more effective against enemy troops than conventional shells. The bomblets are basically anti-vehicle weapons with a fragmentation effect that kills or injures most people within 20 feet of one going off. In use for over three decades, the DPICM bomblets (also used in cluster bombs) have a dud rate of about one percent. That means one percent do not explode when they hit something (after being expelled from the shell, before the shell hits the ground). These duds can explode later if picked up or stepped on.
That's a lower dud rate than for most munitions, but one shell carries 88 separate small bombs, while each MLRS rocket carries 644. So you have a lot more dud munitions sitting around on the battlefield, ready to injure your own troops and civilians. DPICM continues to be used because the bomblets more than triple the effectiveness of each conventional shell (which is just filled with an explosive charge.)
Pakistan licensed the technology for this shell from a South Korean company. The Pakistani shell also uses base bleed technology to increase range 20 percent. This is done by having a solid fuel in the base of the shell burn after firing, releasing gas that reduces drag and extends range.
Artillery: Pakistan Builds Smarter Shells
India artillery upgrade stuck, Pak gets howitzers from US
New Delhi, Tue Aug 25 2009
India's artillery modernisation has been stuck due to scam scares ever since the Bofors scandal but Pakistan has gone ahead, equipping its army with the latest guns that now threaten to give it an edge over the Indian Army.
While India has not received even a single new artillery gun in the last two decades, Pakistan recently received a batch of 67 self-propelled artillery guns from the US using War against Terror funds granted by Washington.
Latest United Nations data reveal that delivery of the M-109 A5 self-propelled artillery guns took place last year. The guns were transferred under the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme that was granted to Pakistan for the fight against militant groups on its border with Afghanistan.
Experts say these M-109 A5 155 mm howitzers give Pakistan a definite conventional edge over the Indian Army that is years away from induction of similar systems. The most modern guns in the Indian Army are the Bofors that were procured in the 1980s.
"While the Indian Army modernisation is getting nowhere, Pakistan is steadily modernising not only its artillery but other arms and services as well. This will lead to erosion in India's conventional superiority if not checked immediately," said Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal, a former artillery officer, who heads the Army's think tank, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
In the Nineties, the Indian Army had put forward a requirement for guns similar to the ones that Pakistan has now got. While the plan took off in 1999, it got scrapped after eight years of trials after South African firm Denel was blacklisted by the government.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-artillery-upgrade-stuck-pak-gets-howitzers-from-us/506762/1
U.S. delivers 48 field artillery cannons to Pakistan Army
10:11, February 14, 2010
The United States delivered 48 self-propelled field artillery cannons to the Pakistan Army on Saturday at the Malir Cantonment in the southern port city of Karachi, the U.S embassy said.
The delivery marks the completion of a total purchase of 115 field artillery cannons by Pakistan through the U.S. foreign military sales/foreign military finance program, the embassy spokesman said.
The FMS/FMF case was initiated by Pakistan in 2006 and enabled the government of Pakistan to obtain the cannons from the United States at a greatly discounted rate.
"These field artillery cannons are an important part of enhancing the capabilities of Pakistan's Army as it continues to wage its courageous fight against terrorists who seek to destroy Pakistan's people and way of life," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Michael Nagata, U.S. Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan.
"It is our hope that these weapons are ultimately able to play an important role in ending extremist violence and bringing peace once again to this great nation," he said.
During the last three years, U.S. civilian and security assistance to Pakistan has totaled more than 4 billion dollars.
Assistance provided and delivered has included support for medical aid, school refurbishment, bridge and well reconstruction, food distribution, agricultural and education projects, 14 F-16 fighter aircraft, 10 Mi-17 helicopters, more than 450 vehicles for Pakistan's Frontier Corps, hundreds of night vision goggles, day/ night scopes, radios, and thousands of protective vests and first- aid items for Pakistan's security forces.
In addition, the U.S. funded and provided training for more than 370 Pakistani military officers in a wide range of leadership and development programs covering topics such as counterterrorism, intelligence, logistics, medical, flight safety, and military law.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Michael Nagata, U.S. Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan deputy commander, officially handed over the M1095A5 Howitzer self-propelled cannons to Pakistan Army Brigadier Farrukh Saeed, 25th Mechanized Division Artillery Commander, during a ceremony in Karachi. The event was attended by Steve Fakan, U.S. Consul General to Karachi, and more than a dozen U.S. and Pakistani military representatives.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6894852.html
North Korea Helps Pakistan Get It Right
April 24, 2011: Pakistan recently successfully tested a new, short range, ballistic missile. The Hatf 9 is the latest model in the Hatf line of nuclear armed missiles. With a range of only 60 kilometers, Hatf 9 is small enough for two to be mounted on one vehicle. It's trajectory is flatter than most ballistic missiles, making it more difficult for anti-missile systems to hit. The apparent size and range of the Hatf 9 is similar to the Russian OTR-21 (SS-21). Introduced in the late 1970s, this two ton, 650mm diameter, 6.4 meter (21 foot) long SS-21 had a range of 70 kilometers and a half ton warhead (large enough for existing Pakistani nuclear warheads). North Korea, a regular supplier of missile technology to Pakistan, had built its own version of the SS-21, and could have provided the needed technical assistance to Pakistan.
Pakistan has a full range of solid fuel rockets. In addition to the Hatf 9, there is the 1.5 ton Hatf 1, which appeared in 1989, has a range of 80 kilometers and a half ton warhead. The Hatf 1 apparently never entered service, due to reliability problems. Thus the Hatf 9 is basically the Hatf 1 done right.
Also showing up in 1989, the 2.5 ton Hatf 2 has a range of 180 kilometers, and also carries a half ton warhead. Then there is the four ton Ghaznavi (Hatf 3), which was first tested four years ago, and appears to be based on the Chinese DF-11. This missile has a range of some 300 kilometers and also carries a half ton warhead. The Shaheen 1 (Hatf 4), which weighs 9.5 tons, and carries a one ton warhead, has a maximum range of 700 kilometers. The Shaheen 1 entered service in 2003, and is apparently a variant of the Chinese DF-9 missile. Pakistan is believed to have received the solid fuel DF-9 in the 1990s, and has modified it somewhat. Pakistan began producing the Hatf 4 in the late 1990s, although it was not tested until 1999. The design appears to be well thought out, for the Hatf 4 has had several successful tests. It's not known if Pakistan has a nuclear warhead of equal reliability. Such warheads are difficult to design, manufacture and test. China has long been selling military technology to Pakistan, but it appears that nuclear warhead technology has not been offered.
The largest Pakistani ballistic missile is the Shaheen 2, which is believed to be an upgraded Pakistani version of the Chinese M-18, which was originally shown at the 1987 Beijing air show as a two-stage missile with a 1,000 km range and carrying a 900-1100 pound payload. This M-18 missile has the longest range of any of the current M/DF-series missiles. The mobile, two-stage missile is said to be able to carry a one ton payload. There have been over half a dozen successful test launches of the Shaheen 2 in the last six years. The missiles now have a range of 2,000 kilometers, which puts Bombay, New Delhi, Lucknow, and Jaipur, as well as all military targets in northern India, within range. Satellite photos of a Pakistani factory 30 kilometers southwest of the capital show transporter erector launchers (TELs) being assembled for the Shaheen 2 ballistic missile. It appears that several dozen of the fifty foot long, six axle vehicles have been built there in the last four years.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htart/20110424.aspx