Bhim self-propelled howitzer
| Bhim Self Propelled Howitzer | |
|---|---|
Side view of the Bhim SPH prototype
|
|
| Type | Self-propelled artillery |
| Place of origin | South Africa/India |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1999 |
| Unit cost | US$4.5 million |
| Produced | Not entered into production |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Combat: 54 t (60 short tons) |
| Length | 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)[1] |
| Width | 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)[1] |
| Height | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)[1] |
| Crew | 4 (commander,loader, driver and gunner) |
|
|
|
| Traverse | 360°[1] |
| Maximum firing range | 52 km (32 mi)[1] |
|
|
|
| Armor | welded steel, 14.5 mm resistant additional bomblet protection |
|
Main
armament |
Denel 155 mm L52 G5 howitzer (50 rounds) 3 rounds in 9.0 seconds (Burst) 8 round/min |
|
Secondary
armament |
MAG 7.62 mm machines guns[1] |
| Engine | MTU 838 Ka-501 1400 hp(1000 kW) |
| Power/weight | 26 hp/t |
| Suspension | hydropneumatic |
|
Operational
range |
450 km (281 mi)[1] |
| Speed | Road: 60 km/h (38 mph)[1] Off-road: 45 km/h (28 mph) |
The Bhim self-propelled howitzer is a private venture of the South African company Denel under the supervision of Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was designed to meet the requirement of self-propelled artillery of the Indian Army.[2]
History
The Bhim artillery system was developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation in the 1990s. Trials of the Bhim artillery system were successfully conducted in 1998 and 1999, but it remained on pause for over 10 years as Denel was blacklisted by the Indian government. Now the Government of India has finally removed the ban from Denel as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after 8 years of Investigation failed to prove corruption charges against the South African state-owned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate.
Last year in September, CBI closed the case against Denel Company and claimed it had failed to uncover any “credible evidence” of corruption in the procurement process. Senior CBI officials in 2012 had also visited South Africa to speak with Individuals involved in the deal, but could not find sufficient evidence into alleged wrongdoing by Denel. Denel had supplied 400 NTW 20/14.5 anti-materiel rifles and the Indian army under the original deal was to procure 300 more anti-materiel rifles directly from Denel with 300 more to be locally produced. Due to Ban on Denel the Indian army was not able to procure spares and required 14.5×114 mm and 20x82mm ammunitions for the anti-materiel rifles.
Development
Bhim a self-propelled howitzer consists of the Denel T6 turret, mounted on Arjun MBT chassis was developed and tested successfully and was also cleared for production, but after Ban on Denel Bhim project was put on back burner. DRDO in 2007 again send Request for proposal (RFP), but only Samsung Techwin responded to the proposal with their K-9 gun. Project was left with single vendor proposal, hence another RPF was re-issued after considerable break to make sure that RPF attracts more proposals.
The Indian army had requirement of 400 mounted 155-mm /52 howitzer, out of which 200 could be based on Arjun chassis and another 200 to be mounted on modified TATRA trucks. The Bhim artillery system has a fully automatic ammunition loading system,[3] as well as a turret-mounted auxiliary power unit, which powers all systems. It consists of a Denel T6 turret mounted on an Arjun MBT chassis.[1] The Bhim's secondary armament consists of a single 7.62-mm machine gun.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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