Orbital ATK, an aerospace manufacturer from the United States, made its formal debut at the MSPO defence exhibition in Poland. For the company, which was formed this year from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems, it was a great opportunity to present its portfolio to Polish and international audience. The flagship element of the company’s offer presented in Poland is the Mk 44 BUSHMASTER Chain Gun (30 mm), which is a derivative of the M242 BUSHMASTER 25mm. The former is widely used in Poland – it is a standard gun of the ROSOMAK wheeled infantry armoured vehicle (based on Patria’s AMV), operationally deployed in the past in Chad and Afghanistan by Polish land forces.
Orbital ATK offers Poland a special upgrade of the Mk 44 from 30mm to 40mm. “It can be done by replacing just a few parts,” said Jeff Linke, Director, Aftermarket Services for Armament Systems Division in Kielce . “This easy conversion requires the replacement of a barrel assembly, forward feeder assembly, recoil spring set and feed sprockets.” Sara Behr from ATK Armament Systems Division added that the company has, “the ability to provide an airbursting ammunition for that cannon with our MK310 airbursting ammunition in its current 30mm configuration. This can be accomplished by adding a fuse setter to existing cannons.”
During the ongoing exhibition in Kielce, the Orbital ATK also presented the precision guidance kit (PGK) for artillery. This system, equipped with GPS, can be attached to a standard shell, converting it into a missile with a declared accuracy of less than 50 metres. According to the company’s representatives present during MSPO, the PGK provided less than 10m accuracy on US artillery systems during recent field trials, and in January 2015 it recorded an impressive accuracy of 5m (Germany’s DM111 shell was fired from PZH2000 self-propelled howitzer). The company confirmed passing several acceptance tests that proves the reliability and safety of the system, and it is now ready for a full production schedule (low-rate initial production started in January 2015). The company confirmed that Australia and Canada were the first international customers to follow the United States (which placed orders for both the US Army and US Marine Corps). According to official information, ATK Orbital’s PGK is much cheaper than EXCALIBUR (the unit price is less than $10,000 and could even drop to $3,000 per unit with a major order), but is believed to be less accurate than EXCALIBUR. It also provides traditional fuze functions for height-of-burst and point detonation.
PGK is designed for a standard 155mm artillery shell, but Orbital ATK’s representatives say they can migrate the technology for both smoothbore and rifled 120mm mortars. Both versions could be interesting for Poland, which has been replacing its 122mm and 152mm self-propelled howitzers with KRAB 155 mm (tracked) and KRYL 155 mm (wheeled) self-propelled howitzers.
The land forces ultimately want to purchase 120 KRAB howitzers for 5 divisions (24 guns each), with guided munition codenamed SZCZERBIEC, by 2020. The smart ammunition will be used in three variants: two self-guided (anti-armour and anti-building) and in semi-active laser-guided version. Poland is also planning to acquire approximately 75 RAK 120 mm mortar systems which could use precision-guided ammunition as well.
Orbital ATK also offers a wide range of tank ammunition, including M830A1 HEAT-MP-T (High Explosive Anti-Tank, Multi-Purpose with Tracer), M1002 TPMP-T (Target Practice, Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank with Tracer), M829A3 APFSDS-T (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer), M865 TPCSDS-T (Target Practice Cone Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer), KET APFSDS-T (Kinetic Energy Tungsten Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer) and M1028 APCC (Anti-Personnel Canister Cartridge). Such ammunition could be used by Poland’s Leopard 2A4/2A5 tanks, which are armed with the Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun.
During MSPO 2015 Orbital ATK also presented a model of the AGM-88E AARGM (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile) which is offered for Poland’s F-16C/D Block 52 fighter jets.
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| Orbital ATK's BUSHMASTER with compeditors magazine. |
Orbital ATK offers Poland a special upgrade of the Mk 44 from 30mm to 40mm. “It can be done by replacing just a few parts,” said Jeff Linke, Director, Aftermarket Services for Armament Systems Division in Kielce . “This easy conversion requires the replacement of a barrel assembly, forward feeder assembly, recoil spring set and feed sprockets.” Sara Behr from ATK Armament Systems Division added that the company has, “the ability to provide an airbursting ammunition for that cannon with our MK310 airbursting ammunition in its current 30mm configuration. This can be accomplished by adding a fuse setter to existing cannons.”
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| Orbital ATK's PGK. |
During the ongoing exhibition in Kielce, the Orbital ATK also presented the precision guidance kit (PGK) for artillery. This system, equipped with GPS, can be attached to a standard shell, converting it into a missile with a declared accuracy of less than 50 metres. According to the company’s representatives present during MSPO, the PGK provided less than 10m accuracy on US artillery systems during recent field trials, and in January 2015 it recorded an impressive accuracy of 5m (Germany’s DM111 shell was fired from PZH2000 self-propelled howitzer). The company confirmed passing several acceptance tests that proves the reliability and safety of the system, and it is now ready for a full production schedule (low-rate initial production started in January 2015). The company confirmed that Australia and Canada were the first international customers to follow the United States (which placed orders for both the US Army and US Marine Corps). According to official information, ATK Orbital’s PGK is much cheaper than EXCALIBUR (the unit price is less than $10,000 and could even drop to $3,000 per unit with a major order), but is believed to be less accurate than EXCALIBUR. It also provides traditional fuze functions for height-of-burst and point detonation.
PGK is designed for a standard 155mm artillery shell, but Orbital ATK’s representatives say they can migrate the technology for both smoothbore and rifled 120mm mortars. Both versions could be interesting for Poland, which has been replacing its 122mm and 152mm self-propelled howitzers with KRAB 155 mm (tracked) and KRYL 155 mm (wheeled) self-propelled howitzers.
The land forces ultimately want to purchase 120 KRAB howitzers for 5 divisions (24 guns each), with guided munition codenamed SZCZERBIEC, by 2020. The smart ammunition will be used in three variants: two self-guided (anti-armour and anti-building) and in semi-active laser-guided version. Poland is also planning to acquire approximately 75 RAK 120 mm mortar systems which could use precision-guided ammunition as well.
Orbital ATK also offers a wide range of tank ammunition, including M830A1 HEAT-MP-T (High Explosive Anti-Tank, Multi-Purpose with Tracer), M1002 TPMP-T (Target Practice, Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank with Tracer), M829A3 APFSDS-T (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer), M865 TPCSDS-T (Target Practice Cone Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer), KET APFSDS-T (Kinetic Energy Tungsten Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer) and M1028 APCC (Anti-Personnel Canister Cartridge). Such ammunition could be used by Poland’s Leopard 2A4/2A5 tanks, which are armed with the Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun.
During MSPO 2015 Orbital ATK also presented a model of the AGM-88E AARGM (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile) which is offered for Poland’s F-16C/D Block 52 fighter jets.
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| Orbital ATK's AGM-88E AARCM offered for Poland's F-16C/D Block 52s. |
Robert Czulda
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