M-109 - Mlrs
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The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It has been continually upgraded and improved to today's current version, the M109A6 "Paladin" which is only used by the US Army. The US still maintains a number of M109A5's in its forces. The M109 family is the most prevalent western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions.
The British Army replaced its M109s with the AS-90. Several European armies have or are currently replacing older M109s with the German PzH2000 which significantly outperforms it in many aspects. Significant upgrades to the M109 have been introduced by the US (see variants below) and Switzerland (KAWEST). With the cancellation of the Crusader Program in the US, the Paladin will remain the principal self-propelled howitzer of the United States for a few more years, until the NLOS-C from the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems program comes online in 2008-2010.
The crew of the M109 consists of a section chief, driver, three gunners who prepare the ammunition, load, and fire the weapon, and two gunners who aim the cannon. The gunner aims the cannon left or right (deflection), the assistant gunner aims the cannon up and down (quadrant). The M109A6 Paladin needs only one gunner and two ammunition handlers for a total crew of six.The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is a multiple rocket launcher, a type of rocket artillery.
The first rocket systems were delivered to the US Army in 1983. The system is in widespread use in the NATO countries and it has also been manufactured in Europe. Some 1,300 M270 systems have been manufactured, along with more than 700,000 rockets. The system has been used in the Gulf wars, where it proved itself as a practical and effective weapons system. The production of the M270 ended in 2003, when a last batch was delivered to the Egyptian army.
Author: Freeaviation
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