Saturday, October 24, 2009

DTN News: Australia To Buy BAE M777A2 Howitzers

DTN News: Australia To Buy BAE M777A2 Howitzers *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - October 24, 2009: The Australian government will purchase 35 lightweight towed 155mm howitzers as the first element of a program to re-equip the Army with new artillery.The M777A2 lightweight 155-mm howitzer is a critical fire support component of U.S. Army Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and U.S. Marine Corps Air Ground Task Forces, and is in full-rate production under a contract awarded in March 2005. It is the first ground combat system to make extensive use of titanium and titanium castings, reducing the howitzer’s weight by 7,000 pounds to offer improved transportability and mobility over the M198 howitzer it replaces. The M777A2 can be transported by the Marine Corps’ MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft and airdropped by C-130 aircraft. A launch platform for the Excalibur precision guided projectile gives the M777A2 better than 10-meter accuracy at ranges out to 40 kilometers. The M777 is deployed with the Army and Marine Corps in both Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, more than 550 guns have been delivered, with 37 additional M777A2s procured by Canada. Since February 2006, M777 howitzers served in Afghanistan with the Canadian Army. A foreign military sales case has been approved in 2008 for Australia to procure M777s. Defence Minister John Faulkner said in a statement that the Army will acquire four batteries of BAE System's M777A2 howitzers as part of a $493 million artillery replacement project known as Land 17. Purchase of an associated digital terminal control system for the howitzer will be considered by the Australian government in the second half of next year, he said. The M777 is used by U.S. and Canadian forces. To date, BAE has received orders for 862 of the Chinook helicopter-transportable weapons. Six hundred have been delivered. Faulkner said the second phase of the artillery enhancement package will include procurement of a self-propelled artillery system that will be capable of providing fire support to highly mobile mechanized forces.

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