Artillery - Guns and Howitzers
Modern advances in armament and technology continue to drive the development and application of combined arms doctrine. The integration of artillery assets into a unified fire support plan is a major task for the combined arms commander. Integration is also fundamental to the success of any operation.
The artillery forces call for maximal range and rate of fire. Increasing rate of fire and chamber pressure lead to higher strains on gun, projectiles, primer charges, fuses and ammunition flow. Burst firing requires a very high reliability of all components: flick ramming must not impair fuse function, primer cartridges must be extracted reliably at all chamber pressures, shock and vibration effects on components must be tolerable. Short combat readiness time, quick ammunition change and energy management are additional requirements.
The future thrust in gun systems is with higher accuracy guns, longer range, and smarter munitions. By using smaller magazine loads, ammunition can be mixed to better encounter a diversity of targets. Increasing the speed of the loading, ramming and firing operation is a goal of many organizations. For example, fixed ammunition would require only one ramming action, although it would introduce higher g forces.
Large calibre weapons, 155 mm howitzers for instance, are usually equipped with muzzle brakes. The purpose of these brakes is to reduce the recoil impulse on the weapons. Muzzle brakes unfortunately have negative side effects on the recoil system. The effect is that a force resulting from the gas pressure on the blades in the muzzle brake acts on the barrel, initiating oscillations. These oscillations are transferred from the barrel to the recoil system. The force acting on the recoil rod assemble therefore is oscillatory
Integrated fire support is a decisive element on the modern battlefield. In the offense, it is the principal means of achieving an advantageous correlation of forces over the enemy. It can blast gaps in defenses; disrupt, immobilize, or destroy enemy groupings in his tactical depth; and repel counterattacks. In the defense, it disrupts enemy preparations for the attack, causes attrition as he approaches the forward edge, and repels forces that reach or penetrate the forward edge. Fire superiority is a precondition for the success of any attack. The attacker must be able to execute his fire missions while suppressing counterbattery fire. Fire superiority is also the cornerstone of any defense, although often achieved only for a limited time, at the crucial point in the battle.
Battalion fires are the preferred method of fire for the OPFOR, although there are situations in which battery fire is appropriate. Fire superiority often results from using battalion-size fires, and from artillery groups formed from "top-down" provided assets. The main benefits of battalion versus battery fires result from two major factors: increased volume of fires and decreased firing times. Increased volume of fires allows delivering up to three times the number of rounds fired against the target/target area during a specific period of time. These fires reduce the time to fire the specific number of rounds to achieve the desired damage criteria by about two-thirds. The shorter firing time(s) could also improve/enhance survivability by reducing their exposure to counterfire assets.
Most former Soviet Union, many Middle Eastern, and African countries prefer to "dig-in" (particularly with towed systems). Their artillery will likely remain in already "dug-in" positions rather than "shoot and scoot" (as the US and a few NATO countries prefer) to enhance survivability. This would support battalion fires. On the other hand, if the artillery unit was just occupying a firing position, and not very close to being "dug-in" as would typically occur in the offense, the reasonable choice to minimize losses would be to vacate/move (out of harms way) to another firing position. In the case of MRL units, many, if not all, will to relocate as rapidly as possible because of their firing signature. Other appropriate use of battery-level fires includes: targets of opportunity occupying small areas (to include troop concentrations) generally no larger than a hectare, in response to ambushes, and in situations requiring direct fire.
Standard Unit Set of Ammunition (Basic Load) describes the ammunition carried by the organic transport of an artillery unit. Artillery units begin battle with a full complement of ammunition, to include specialized ammunition such as artillery-delivered high precision munitions (ADHPM), scatterable mines, illumination, and smoke. Under normal conditions specialized munitions are present in limited numbers. This allows a commander to respond to unforeseen situations. The makeup of these ‘basic loads" varies between systems, based on unit missions, ammunition available and haul capacity. The following is a possible breakout of ammunition that would be available to an artillery unit.