Iran inaguarates 130mm HE Rocket-Assisted Shell Facility

[Pasban]

Iran inaguarates 130 mm High-Explosive Rocket-Assisted Shell production facility

نسخه چاپي ارسال به دوستان
با حضور وزير دفاع و پشتيباني نيروهاي مسلح انجام شد
افتتاح خط توليد دوربردترين مهمات توپخانه با عملكردي شبيه موشك بالستيك

خبرگزاري فارس: در ششمين روز از هفته دولت، خط توليد مهمات پيشرفته 130 ميليمتري بيس*بليد راكتي (HERA)، دوربردترين مهمات توپخانه كشور با حضور وزير دفاع و پشتيباني نيروهاي مسلح افتتاح شد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فارس به نقل از اداره كل تبليغات دفاعي وزارت دفاع، سردار احمد وحيدي وزير دفاع و پشتيباني نيروهاي مسلح در مراسم افتتاح خط توليد دوربردترين مهمات توپخانه كشور در محل صنايع مهمات*سازي سازمان صنايع دفاع در جمع خبرنگاران اظهار داشت: مهمات دوربرد پيشرفته 130 ميليمتري با برد 42 كيلومتر براي تخريب مواضع و استحكامات دشمن در فواصل دور دست مورد بهره*برداري قرار مي*گيرد.
وحيدي افزود: اين مهمات مثل يك موشك بالستيك عمل مي كند و سوخت آن جامد است.

وزير دفاع در ادامه تصريح كرد: متخصصين زبده و مجرب صنايع مهمات*سازي وزارت دفاع، براي افزايش برد اين مهمات از 27 كيلومتر به 42 كيلومتر با بهره*گيري از راه*هاي ميان*بر و استفاده از مهمات بيس*بليد به اين موفقيت بسيار مهم دست پيدا كردند.

وي ادامه داد: با توليد انبوه و تحويل اين مهمات به يگان*هاي توپخانه*اي نيروهاي مسلح توان رزمي و عملياتي آن به نحو چشمگيري افزايش مي*يابد.

وزير دفاع تصريح كرد: يكي ديگر از آثار مهم توليد اين مهمات، خودكفايي كشور در اين حوزه و بي*اثر كردن تحريم*هاي دشمنان پيشرفت و تعالي ملت ايران است.

وحيدي تلاش فراوان، همت و كار مضاعف مديران و متخصصان صنايع مهمات*سازي سازمان صنايع دفاع را ستود و تاكيد كرد: قطعاً مديران و متخصصان وزارت دفاع به اين حد اكتفا نخواهند كرد و با كار و تلاش بيشتر دستاوردهاي جديدتري را در اين حوزه براي نيروهاي مسلح و ملت شريف ايران به ارمغان خواهند آورد.

وزير دفاع، پشتيباني موثر از نيروهاي مسلح براي دفاع همه*جانبه از مرزهاي هوايي، دريايي و زميني كشورمان را يكي از راهبردهاي مهم وزارت دفاع ذكر كرد و گفت: توليد مهمات 130 ميليمتري بيس*بليد راكتي (HERA)، در همين راستا صورت گرفته است.
انتهاي پيام/ك

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Below is some background information on HERA cartridges:

105 mm M927 HERA cartridge (United States), Field artillery

Development

The 105 mm M927 High-Explosive Rocket-Assisted (HERA) cartridge was developed specifically to provide the US Army's M101/M101A1 and M102 howitzers with a 40 per cent enhanced range capability. The 105 mm M927 HERA is a direct variant of the 105 mm M913 HERA (see separate entry) and uses the same HERA projectile as the 105 mm M913 HERA round, intended for use with the 105 mm M119A1 towed howitzer, but retaining the less-powerful M67 seven-increment charge system. The 105 mm M927 HERA round may also be fired from the 105 mm M119A1 towed howitzer.The US Army type-classified the 105 mm M927 HERA in October 1994. The only major funding to date was a total of USD5 million made available during FY99 for 1,717 rounds and a second batch of 1,949 funded in FY01 for USD3 million, primarily for issue to the National Guard for its M102 howitzers and for delivery commencing in April 2001. This was accomplished through a combination of new production and conversion of M913 cartridges. A further USD10 million was included in the FY08 war supplemental request for 5,000 rounds. These would be purchased as complete rounds from GD-OTS for an anticipated USD1,450 each with delivery scheduled for July 2009.The M927 was developed by a team of contractors headed by Day & Zimmerman Inc (DZI), including Mason & Hanger (completion of Load, Assemble and Pack (LAP) operations), Talley Defense Systems (provision of the rocket-propellant grain and pyrotechnic delay assembly), Ferrulmatic Operations of Alliant Techsystems

Description

The 105 mm M927 HERA cartridge is semi-fixed, with the projectile loose-fitting in the cartridge case to allow access to the charge increments and the rocket separator cap. The 105 mm M927 HERA projectile is the same as that employed with the 105 mm M913 HERA and thus consists of a relatively thin-walled shell body with a streamlined ogive and constructed using HF-1 high-fragmentation steel. The explosive filling is 2.63 kg of TNT.Attached to the shell-body base is a rocket-motor body constructed using 4340 steel with a welded band. Extending from the base of the rocket-motor body is a housing containing a pyrotechnic delay and with the end enclosed by a rocket separator cap; the cap is removed when the rocket-assistance capability is required. The rocket motor is filled with an aluminised Hydroxyl Terminated PolyButadiene (HTPB) composite propellant, designed to survive highg forces and high spin rates. The rocket motor grain is produced by Talley Defense Systems of Mesa, Arizona.The rocket-motor pyrotechnic ignition delay is initiated by the propellant gases as the projectile is fired. The delay operates for 15.5 seconds before the rocket motor is ignited, and the resultant thrust augments the projectile velocity, thus providing the enhanced range performance which, when fired from the M101/M101A1 howitzer, can be 16,300 m. The M927 may be fired from the M102 howitzer and from the M119A1 towed howitzer. For the M102, the maximum range is 17,000 m. For the M119, the maximum range is 17,100 m.The M14B4 cartridge.


105 mm M927 HERA cartridge (United States) - Jane's Ammunition Handbook

M913 ESIP Projectile, 105MM, HERA

Images from the inauguration:

 

[Pasban]

The above cartridges are different from the ERFB-BB ones that Iran already manufactures for her 130 mm M-46 guns and her 155 mm ones.

HERA/HE-RAP shells provide a significant boost to extend ranges while the ERFB-BB shells, which offer a small rocket booster support as well, only alter the aerodynamics of the cartridge by reducing drag at the rear of the projectile.

Iran has already present an MLRS program and it keeps evolving it's artillery rockets further for that purpose. MLRS are most efficient for saturation fire alone as they can't be put to efficient use for pinpoint strikes. This brings about the necessity for such systems for Iran. Moreover, Iran at present doesn't offer 40km ranged 122+ mm rockets (the Iranian Arash-2 provides 30 km maximum with the Arash 1 providing 21.5 km).

It is not certain what control mechanism are present. Iran does manufacture some fire control mechanisms. These are found in Iran's modified M109's/ Raad-2.

My personal opinion is that though Iran does manufacture a host of different artillery systems, the lacking is in them being paired. If Iran pairs them with something along the likes of her ARTES-1000 (which Iran manufactures), a forward spotter can press a button on his part of the system which then datalinks with another part in the gun, and then the gun operators can press another button and the turret will be brought around to bear on the target. Even if this is present already, it would be restricted to only few Iranian units.
Other mechanisms include using ground surveillance radars to direct artillery, and they have ranges up to 40 km. This is based on Iran's current industry alone though. There are better system produced which offer better linkings.

Iran Starts Mass-Production of Long-Range Artillery Ammunition

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Sunday started mass-production of the county's longest-range artillery ammunition in an official ceremony attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi.


Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the mass production of Base bleed projectiles in the capital Tehran, Vahidi said the new 130 millimeter advanced artillery shells will be the longest range artillery shells in arsenals of the Islamic Republic's army, Iran's Defense Ministry said on its website.

"These ammunitions use solid propellants and act like ballistic missiles," Vahidi added.

He also lauded Iranian experts at the arms production division of the country's defense industries for their efforts to modify the base bleed system in order to further enhance the range of the ammunitions from 27 to 42 kilometers.

The defense minister also said such achievements demonstrate that sanctions against Iran have been ineffective.

Base bleed is a system used on some artillery shells to increase their range, typically by about 30%.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

Fars News Agency :: Iran Starts Mass-Production of Long-Range Artillery Ammunition

 

[Pasban]

Some background information:

Base Bleed Projectiles

Within the field of artillery techniques there has been a continual striving to increase the range and precision of field guns. Increased range is achieved either by gun improvements, which even include such modifications to propellant charges that a redesign of gun parts is required due to for example increased gas pressure in the barrel, or by improvements in the projectile performance. The turnover time for gun parts in the meantime is long, and therefore it is more attractive to attempt to improve the performance of the projectile itself without altering the gun as the ammunition has a continual turnover time of a totally different character to that of the gun.

Improved projectile performance can be achieved in several different ways which to a certain extent can be combined in one and the same projectile. At present work is proceeding along three different lines, of which the first involves attempting to produce a low-resistance projectile where the air resistance is reduced to a minimum. This work has resulted in longer and slimmer projectiles. The second line involves equipping special projectiles with their own source of power in the form of a built-in rocket motor, so-called "reatiles" or Rocket Assisted Projectile (RAP). With regard to the third line, the work has been concentrated around reducing the base resistance of the projectile, caused by the stream of air round the projectile generating a lower pressure immediately behind the projectile base than in the surrounding air.

A conventional bullet in flight forms a partial vacuum immediately therebehind. This partial vacuum or low pressure area creates a force which acts on the projectile in a direction opposite its motion thereby lessening the flight velocity of the projectile. This force is commonly referred to as "base drag". Drag may be defined as that force acting on the projectile in a direction opposite its motion. Base drag is that drag acting on the projectile at its base, and this invention concerns itself primarily with base drag and the reduction thereof.

An artillery projectile in flight forms a low pressure area immediately behind the projectile which creates a force (commonly called "base drag") which lessens the velocity of the projectile. This method is a completely different approach to the problem, since no rocket assisting effect is achieved.

It is known that theoretically this base resistance can be reduced or even eliminated by allowing a stream of gas to flow out of the base surface of the projectile in a suitable manner, thereby increasing the base pressure. This base pressure can be further increased if the stream of gas is combined with the release of heat. The effect produced by this, the so-called base-bleed effect, differs from purely rocket power in as much as the flow generated is so low that the reaction force generated by the flow is practically negligible when compared with the change in pressure affecting the projectile base. The problem with producing a satisfactory base-bleed projectile has been predominently on the practical level. The necessity for a long burning time and a subdued gas outflow has caused attempts to be made to produce slow burning powder charges which ran towards the base surface of the projectile via a relatively large gas outlet opening. Consequently it has been a problem to produce sufficiently slow burning powder charges which in addition did not disintegrate under the aggregate influence of all the forces affecting the projectile. Slow burning powder charges for earlier actual base-bleed type projectiles even suffer from the fact that powder charges which are open to the surrounding atmosphere via a relatively large outlet opening will burn at varying speeds at different external pressures, i.e. the speed of burning will vary according to the trajectory height.

Base drag contributes generally to a relatively large part of the total drag and depends upon the fact that the base pressure due to the resulting wake flow in the base region is lower than the ambient air pressure. By ejecting a mass flow from the base region of the body into the near wake the flow pattern can be affected in such a way that the base pressure is increased and thereby the base drag is reduced. If the ejection of mass is combined with liberation of heat, e.g. by combustion, the base pressure can be further increased. The base flow/burning effect differs from rocket propulsion foremost therein that the reaction force caused by the base flow is very small as compared to the decrease in drag due to increased base pressure. In order to efficiently utilize the base flow effect the base mass flow should occur during a considerable part of the flight time.

Small caliber (e.g., about 30 mm. or less) projectiles have been equipped with tracer or fumer compositions which provide some relief to the base drag problems with these types of projectiles. These systems, however, burn relatively rapidly (usually for only a few seconds) and cannot be controlled to provide prolonged relief for longer times. Tracer or fumer compositions are generally solid, relatively inflexible compositions which also contain relatively high amounts of metals (e.g., about 35&#37 and thus produce a gas containing high amounts of solid combustion particles which do not provide relief to the base drag problem. Also, these systems are most often applicable to small caliber (e.g., about 30 mm or less), short range (e.g., about 4000 m., often about 300-400 m.) projectiles, although proposals for use with larger caliber projectiles have been made.

Conventional tracer bullets have reduced total drag by about 9.3 percent and base drag about 18.6 percent over comparable inert rounds, with attendant increases of velocity of about 4 percent, due to the rearward pressures exerted by the reaction gases formed during combustion of the tracer compositions. It would be desirable, however, if base drag could be further reduced or substantially eliminated, thus providing fighting forces with more effective weapons having greater striking power.

Source: Base Bleed Projectiles