Naschem launches a new range of 52-calibre 155mm ammunition

by Leon Engelbrecht, Defence Systems Daily's Southern Africa Correspondent

Naschem, part of South Africa's Denel group launched a new series of ammunition at Eurosatory 2000 yesterday. The nub-less Assegai range is optimised for use on NATO 52-calibre ordnance, but is rearward- compatible with existing 39-calibre guns.

Tony Simon, General Manager at the Potchefstroom-based company, says European countries have in recent years been quick to adopt a 52-calibre solution to long-range fire, but have not, to date, developed suitable ammunition for those weapons. He says the ammunition currently available in the UK, France and Germany is optimised for 39-calibre weapons and cannot be safely fired from the new barrels at top charge. Naschem's engineers believes Europe and the US will not be able to match their product for at least the next three years. "45-calibre to 52 is development, 39 to 52 is a leap in the dark", they say.

And South Africa has already made that transition. Naschem has already improved its range of nubbed Extended Range Full Bore (ERFB) munitions for use on 52-calibre weapons. But this is not NATO-compatible. Eighteen months ago the company decided to develop a family of NATO-standard shells for the export market. The Assegai-series is the result of that effort. The company used many components from its existing 155mm ammunition range to speed up development time.

Executive Marketing Director, Gyfford Fitchat, says the Assegai had to comply with several self-imposed design criteria. It had to be:

• Nub-less(NATO reportedly "dislikes" nubs); Lighter(Users are seeking a shell weighing about 43kg, while the ERFB round tips the scale at 47kg);

• Compliantwith the relevant STANAGs and NATO's Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding;

• Accurate at long range;

• Ballistically matched (similitude: the entire family must be fired using the same range tables);

• Safe to fire at 52-calibre top charge; and,

• Rearward compatible on 39-calibre barrels.

The shells also had to be bag-charge compatible - even though optimised for sister- company Somchem's M90 bi-modular charge system as purchased by the UK Land Forces for the AS90 SPG. And the family had to give users the option of fitting base-bleed generators under field conditions.

Naschem had the expertise in-house to develop the family. The company has been around since the days of Paul Kruger. The company was originally established as a dynamite and explosive storage depot, at the time of the Transvaal gold rush, around 110 years ago. During World War Two it manufactured over 25 million items of ammunition for the Allied war effort. The company now forms part of the state-owned Denel group and answers to the Ministry of Public Enterprises. Naschem specialises in artillery ammunition and aircraft bombs. It has many small and recurring customers, spread globally. The company's products have found buyers in the Middle East, Latin America, Australasia and Europe. Over 90% of current revenue is generated by exports, amounting to R1-billion over the last eight years.

Naschem has been able to meet the requirements it set itself, but, according to Simon, now needs a NATO-based industrial partner to help qualify the munitions and certify the family STANAG and JB MOU compliant. The company says it has held talks with European companies on the subject, some of whom have expressed a "strong interest." Naschem also foresees European manufacture, possibly as part of the offset for South Africa's recent R32-billion strategic acquisition programme.

The "family of shells" consists of the:

• M2000-HE and Practice
• M2001-HEDP
• M2002-Smoke M2003-Red Phosphorous
• M2004-Illumination M2005-VLAP

The performance of the shells are by any standard impressive. Simon says their rocket-assisted VLAP shell can travel about 40km when fired from a 39-calibre barrel. This range increases to 52km with the longer barrel. The VLAP projectile carries a decreased explosive filling of 4.3kg in comparison with the regular 8.3kg charge.

Thus, in the end, the Assegai series offers any end-user an integrated, ballistically compatible family of projectiles that includes fuses and charge systems - an advantage the South African Army has enjoyed for years.

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