DRDO/Denel
Bhim
Notes: When the Indians began searching for a new self-propelled artillery system, it seemed everyone was in. The South Africans has a G-6 turret on a T-72 hull (which they called the T-6), the Russians had their 2S19 with a 155mm gun, the Germans had their PzH-2000 – the list went on and on, and due to the size and specific requirements of the package, competition was heavy. The South Africans tried again, though, and presented an Arjun chassis topped with their T-5 turret. The Indians, seeing the possibility of being able to build the vehicle in their own country, reacted positively to the design and purchased manufacturing rights and equipment from Denel. The new vehicle was called the Bhim after a hero from Indian folklore (Bhima). This also dealt this the mounds of design work the Indians did on the Arjun; since the Indians decided to go primarily with the T-90S for their tank needs, the Bhim development allowed the Arjun factories to remain open, especially since Arjun production ended in 2008 after a rather abortive run.
Note that the
Bhim was ready as early as 1998, but blacklisting of Denel by the Indian
government over a bidding scandal delayed manufacture for almost 10 years.
The resulting
Bhim does in fact look something like a PzH-2000 or 2S19; this makes sense,
since they are all tank chassis with SP howitzer systems atop them in large
turrets. The Bhim is essentially as
modern an artillery system as any of the first-name SP artillery systems in the
world today. Having the T-6 turret,
the Bhim is armed with a Denel L/52 155mm howitzer, replete with a full system
of electronics and computer controls which unites GPS, mapping, blue/red force
tracking, and the ability to function as its own FDC; it is also capable of
5-round MRSI firing. The initial
burst is 8 rounds per minute for 3 minutes; an extreme rate burst rate of 3
rounds in 15 seconds, and a sustained rate of 8 rounds per minute.
The gun is fed by a “limited capacity” autoloader; 20 rounds may be in
the autoloading system at once, though others may be continually fed into the
autoloader. Due to the high
mountains and cliffs of the Kashmir area, gun elevation design was a prime
consideration; Maximum elevation is an astounding +78 degrees, and depression -6
degrees. The turret also has a fast
slew rate; if the gun is raised to max elevation, it can turn at 6 revolutions
per minute. The turret and gun have 360-degree rotation and fire.
The front of the turret on each side has a large door for ingress and
egress, and a large door in the rear of the turret and the hull.
The Bhim carries a conveyor which is hooked to vehicle power to allow the
Bhim to feed from a ground pile, crates, vehicles, etc.
(India is considering acquiring or building a dedicated ammunition
support vehicle to work with the Bhim.)
The gun has a muzzle brake and a fume extractor.
The
vehicle, though not heavily-armored by many standards, is well armored for an SP
artillery vehicle. Given the
current state of affairs with mines and IADs, top and belly armor are
strengthened. The Bhim has an
NBC overpressure system, with a collective vehicular backup.
All over the hull and turret are large equipment boxes for storage of
gear and equipment. As stated, the
Bhim has a mapping system; interfaced computers onboard join the GPS (with
inertial backup), the mapping computer, and fire control computers.
They also have a secondary role of reporting on the state of the Bhim.
The hull is a
modified form of the Arjun’s hull, and has the MTU-838 Ka-501 turbocharged
diesel developing 1400 horsepower and coupled to an automatic transmission.
Furthermore, a 10kW APU is provided to power the gun when the engine is
off, including the conveyor belt (which, if given another power source, can also
be powered by that system). Unlike
most such systems, the APU is located in the turret on the right side instead of
being in the hull. The driver is in
the front right hull with the engine to his left; the commander and loader have
hatches in the roof of the turret, the commander on the left and the loader on
the right. The commander has a
manually-operated cupola with all-around vision blocks; the loader merely a
hatch. The commander also has a
pintle mount, usually used by an Indian-built version of a MAG.
On both sides of the turret are banks of four smoke grenade launchers.
Track design
posed a special problem for the designers of the Bhim.
Himalayan roads can be muddy, rutted, snowy, and slushy.
Then again, parts of India resemble trackless deserts.
The treads are, therefore, a middle ground between wide tracks and normal
or narrow tracks.
Twilight 2000
Notes: This vehicle does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.
Merc 2000 Notes:
The Indians decided to buy a modified 2S19 model (with a 155mm gun) from Russia
instead of the Bhim.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$1,895,010 |
D, A |
550
kg |
54
tons |
4 |
25 |
Passive IR (D, G), Image Intensification (G, C) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor* |
172/120 |
42/30 |
1610 |
514 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF16Sp TS10
TR8 HF20Sp
HS8Sp HR6 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+2 |
Fair |
155mm Denel L/52 howitzer, M-2HB (C) |
50x155mm, 2000x7.62mm |
*Turret Deck
and Hull Deck AV is 4; Hull Floor AV is 6Sp.
DRDO M-46
Catapult
Notes:
During the 1990s Indo-Pakistan wars, India had a large number of M-46
130mm field guns that they wished to be more mobile, and a number of Vijayanta
tanks that they wished to retire from service.
Rather than buy more self-propelled guns from an outside source and
junking the Vijayantas, they combined 400 of these weapons into single
self-propelled howitzers. These
first saw action in Kashmir in 1996.
Though it is supposed to be replaced by the Bhim, Bhim production has
been slow and the Catapult soldiers on. The Catapult is also known as the
Vijayanta/130mm and Vijayanta/M-46.
Some 170 such conversions were done; only about 100 are still operational
officially; it’s possible that only 20 are still operational.
The vehicle
retains the driver's position, but the center of the vehicle has an open area
for the gun and crew, with a frame that has a metal roof for overhead
protection. This metal roof normally is covered with sandbags or extra pieces of
wood or metal, but the sides are open.
The Vijayanta in generally modified to serve its new role; the most
obvious modification is the addition of a seventh roadwheel to the chassis and
the accompanying lengthening of the chassis by a little over half a meter.
The overhead roof covers the gun, and the gun extends partially into the
former turret of the Vijayanta chassis.
The suspension has a unique hydraulic locking system which is used to
help absorb recoil when the gun is fired.
The ad hoc nature of the chassis means that the gun has a maximum
elevation of 45 degrees and a depression of -2.5 degrees.
Traverse is extremely limited, as only 12.5 degrees left or right. The
gun faces and fires over the rear of the vehicle.
The low depression means that the Catapult can function as a tank
destroyer if required, and a small number of rounds for such a purpose are
generally carried by the Catapult.
The Catapult
uses an earlier version of the engine of the Bhim, a turbocharged diesel.
The driver is on the front right side with the engine to his left; the
rest of the crew are in the hull or in the raised gun section.
There are no other weapons except for the gun, and the crew’s small arms.
Hull armor is actually fairly heavy for such a vehicle, but the armor of
the raised section (which is represented by the “turret” section below) is
virtually nonexistent. The hull
looks almost like a US M-88 Hercules ARV.
No other crew amenities or protection are supplied, other than a hot
plate and water/ration heater.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$373,739 |
D, A |
500
kg |
40
tons |
5 |
14 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
137/96 |
34/24 |
1000 |
284 |
Stnd |
T6 |
TF3
TS2* TR2* HF38
HS13 HR7 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+1 |
Basic |
130mm M-46 Gun/Howitzer |
40x130mm |
*The
“turret” AV ratings are a bit strange for the Catapult.
The side and rear ratings are only 50% likely to hit the metal of the
superstructure; otherwise, TS and TR are 0.
The TF rating is the gun shield and a bit of an extension on each side,
but applies in all cases to TF hits.
TR, HR, and belly AV are 4.